Lizards

In Old Yeller Arliss was always playing with bugs, snakes, and lizards. Mama hated lizards, but she still asked Arliss to find one for her: a green striped one. This would distract Arliss, so that he wouldn't see how hurt Old Yeller was. Read Old Yeller to see if Mama's idea worked. Learn more about lizards below.

~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^

Description

The lizard is the largest group of reptiles. More than 3,000 species live in our world. Lizards make up 57 percent of all reptiles.

Lizards have claws, lungs, and a tough outer skin of scales. Most lizards have four legs, eyelids, and ear openings. They are cold blooded.They adjust their body temperature depending on the sun. If they are in the sun their body temperature will rise, but if they are in the cold, it will drop. Lizards turn bright colors when they are courting.

The smallest lizards belongs to the skink and gecko families. The brown skink is only 3 inches long. The largest lizard is the Komodo dragon. It grows greater than ten feet long.

Habitat

Lizards cannot live in extreme cold or heat. They are most common in warm regions in the world such as the oceanic islands of the temperate and tropic regions. The United States has about 70 species of lizards.

Food

Lizards eat many different kinds of food. Most eat live prey. A few are vegetarians. Some eat seeds. The desert iguana eats insects when it is young and is a vegetarian as an adult.

Young

Most lizards lay eggs with a tough, leathery shell. They lay the eggs in sand or rotting vegetation. Some lizards lay only one egg. Most lay several eggs at a time. Most mother lizards abandon their eggs. A few species help guard the eggs and incubate the eggs. Some lizards are live bearers.

Behavior

Most lizards run on all four legs, but some run on their back legs. Others move like a snake. They can hide from other animals by camouflage, speed, and secretiveness.

Most lizards lose their tails when touched. The broken tail twists and wiggles. The tail gets the attention of the predator so the lizard can escape. A new tail grows back.

Two poisonous kinds of lizards live in our world. They are the Gila monster of the southwestern United States and the beaded lizard. The Gila monster is a "threatened" animal. It rarely bites people and is in far more danger from people than people are from it

~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^~*~^