Thank you for the interesting and enjoyable article. I love Desert Iguanas! I have gotten endless entertainment watching them interact around my studio yard.
One will wander into another's territory. A confrontation ensues, with both lizards bluffing and doing pushups. It ends with one chasing the other off. Almost invariably, the chasee winds up in someone else's territory, and the ritualized bluffing and pushups begin again. I have watched this process daisy chain around the studio yard!
I saw two of them end a territorial dispute in mutual combat once. They closed quarters, and bit the hell out if each other for several seconds. I didn't observe any wounds or injuries when they parted. The event ended in the usual way, with the presumed victor chasing his opponent off.
They do love heat. When casting metal, I have occaisionally had one get close to the furnace to bask in the radiant heat. It worries me; I have to be extra careful transferring the crucible to avoid spilling hot metal on my little guest. 😬
I too have observed Desert Iguana out at Amboy crater, but the one I saw had done a subperb job of matching his body color to the dark volcanic rock. I had never seen one so dark, and had to look closely to confirm it really was a desert iguana.
I have never seen a dark-phase lizard; when it cools off a bit, I'll have to go out to Amboy to check! I love that you have a scaly helper in your studio.
Still loving Wildlife Wednesdays. Wondering if a black light works to find those lizard markings? Thank you!
I would think it would. I tried a UV flashlight where I knew they hung out; I'll have to try again.
Mark Heuston, Wonder Valley
Thank you for the interesting and enjoyable article. I love Desert Iguanas! I have gotten endless entertainment watching them interact around my studio yard.
One will wander into another's territory. A confrontation ensues, with both lizards bluffing and doing pushups. It ends with one chasing the other off. Almost invariably, the chasee winds up in someone else's territory, and the ritualized bluffing and pushups begin again. I have watched this process daisy chain around the studio yard!
I saw two of them end a territorial dispute in mutual combat once. They closed quarters, and bit the hell out if each other for several seconds. I didn't observe any wounds or injuries when they parted. The event ended in the usual way, with the presumed victor chasing his opponent off.
They do love heat. When casting metal, I have occaisionally had one get close to the furnace to bask in the radiant heat. It worries me; I have to be extra careful transferring the crucible to avoid spilling hot metal on my little guest. 😬
I too have observed Desert Iguana out at Amboy crater, but the one I saw had done a subperb job of matching his body color to the dark volcanic rock. I had never seen one so dark, and had to look closely to confirm it really was a desert iguana.
I have never seen a dark-phase lizard; when it cools off a bit, I'll have to go out to Amboy to check! I love that you have a scaly helper in your studio.