Western Fence Lizard

Walter Siegmund, Wikimedia

Sceloporus occidentalis
 
For those living in the western United States and northeastern Mexico, now is the time you start seeing a proliferation of Western Fence Lizards. They are so common, especially in California, that I don’t think people even notice them. They definitely don’t think they are special in any way, but they are! Plus, isn’t it exciting to have wildlife in your yard?

For starters, they are quite pretty. The males have blue bellies, so they are often called blue-bellies. The males may also have iridescent, turquoise patches on their backs, too. While the females and juveniles are not quite as colorful, they change color from tan to dark brown to absorb or repel heat.

The males are often seen doing push-ups. This is not because they love working out, but because they are flashing that bright blue belly to show dominance.

Here is where Western Fence Lizards become superheroes. They fight Lyme disease. They have this special protein in their blood which kills the Lyme infection in any tick that might feed on them. The tick is then no longer infected and can’t pass the disease on to other people or animals. Cases of Lyme disease are rarer in areas where Western Fence Lizards live.

As a child, I remember watching the lizards sunning themselves on rocks and concrete walls. Even though they were all over the place, it was still fun to have these wild animals in our yard. Every once in a while, we would startle one while playing, and its tail would drop off and keep twitching. We would scream and be grossed out, not realizing that it is a defense mechanism to protect it from predators.
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While they might be common in your area, and you may have seen them all your life, I hope you can appreciate how special these little lizards are. 

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