Blue Spiny Lizard

Blue Spiny Lizard

Sceloporus serrifer cyanogenys

Great Southwest icon

Great Southwest


Back To Animals

Biography

The scales of this lizard are pointy and keeled, giving the lizard its common name. These lizards change color depending on their temperature and the season. When cooler and inactive, they darken to absorb more heat while basking in the morning sun. Males become a more brilliant blue during the breeding season. Unlike most lizards that lay eggs, blue spiny females give birth to live young. They readily climb shrubs or rocks in search of insect prey and occasional plants and flowers. They seek shelter in crevices, under logs, and sometimes in woodrat nests and other rodent burrows.

Our Animal's Story

Our blue spiny lizard is a male and was born to a previous pair at the zoo in 2009. These lizards may reach up to 14 inches in length.

silhouette of mountain range