Fence Lizard

Eastern fence lizards earned their common name by being conspicuous daytime baskers on the tops of fence posts and other promontories. Eastern fence lizards seek these places so they can safely soak up the rays of the sun each day and also have a great vantage point to watch for and pounce down upon their main food, insects, and also to keep a watchful eye open for approaching danger.

The many races are all basically shades of grey with patterns of stripes, spots or chevrons in black. Their scales end in spines which give them rough appearances, but those spines are too small to cause injury to human hands. Don’t handle eastern fence lizards by their tails – they break off easily and wiggle for several minutes as a defensive strategy to confuse predators.  This information was taken from www.reptilechannel.com

Fence Lizards are one of the common Lizards that we have in Missouri.  During Summer Science Camp our campers will see these Fence Lizards in the woods sunning on branches and rocks and we will catch some of them for observation.  Fence Lizards can reach up to 7 inches in length and they eat live insects. They are arboreal climbing to safety on fence posts and trees.  Like many other lizards their tails come off quite easily as a defense against predators.