If you have a sunny spot in your garden with flowerpots or rocks or logs, perhaps you have seen this little lizard, the Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undalutas) basking in the sun. This mid-Atlantic reptile is easily identified by the gray or brown rough ridged (keeled) scales and dark crossbars. Bright blue markings are found under the chins and sides on males during breeding season (April-August). The territorial males emphasize these bright patches by bobbing up and down to attract females.
As a child, I caught my fair share of fence lizards, however it can be a little tricky. No matter where you may see one, the lizard’s escape tactic is to circling the pot or tree staying just out of sight and out of reach. It can be a dizzying experience. The adult lizard isn’t afraid to bite if caught… although it quite harmless and the bite is only to scare. It does not break the skin.
These days I leave the little fellas alone because if you aren’t adept in trapping lizards on the body but trap the tail instead, they will allow the vertebra in the tail to separate and break off (caudal autonomy) in self-defense. The tail continues to wiggle to distract a predator. In several weeks, it will regenerate with cartilage, not bone, but the new appendage is never as normal looking as the original tail.
Why is the fence lizard a friend in the garden? Its diet consists of spiders and insects, some quite harmful to humans, like ticks. If you would like to attract the fence lizard to your garden, provide a sunny spot with a pile of rocks for basking or pots of flowers and for an escape from predators. The main predator of the fence lizard is the snake… and I have an abundance of them this spring!
Ann Hohenberger, The Garden Club of Gloucester
Wow. I love this creature, and I learned something. I knew the tail would regenerate, but had no idea that it was all cartilage afterward. When I was a child, I would hug the tree so the lizard couln’t run up, and would slowly work my way down the trunk until he would come into view, and capture him. Once caught, it wouldn’t drop it’s wiggly tail. After studying it for a few minutes, it was released, and the hunt for a new woodland adventure was begun. By the way, as one walks along a woodland path, you can hear the leaves rustle as these little fellows scurry away. That’s how I used to find them (maybe 10 a day when I was 8 or 10 years old.) I am glad to know they help keep ticks and other undesirables in check.
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So I ran myself dizzy trying to catch one and all I’d have to do is hug the tree? Rats! Wish I’d known this when I was 8.
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