If you value independent local news, become a sustainer today. Your gift could help unlock a $1M challenge.
Noticing more lizards running around? Here's the likely reason
Southern alligator lizards can be found up and down the West Coast of the U.S.
(
Diego Blanco
/
iNaturalist
)
Listen
0:41
Early lizard season in SoCal carries risks for the reptiles
Especially if this hot weather returns to seasonal norms and sends the lizards back into semi-hibernation.
Topline:
If you think you’re seeing more lizards than you normally do during this time of year, you’re probably correct. Common alligator, Western fence and side-blotched lizards all seem to be out and about a month earlier than they normally would due to recent unusually hot days.
Why now: Lizards are cold-blooded, meaning their activity and metabolism is tied to the temperature around them. Normally, lizards remain in a state of torpor from around late October to the middle of April, until temperatures warm.
The risk: When they emerge from their semi-hibernation, females are often looking to bulk up so that they can successfully lay eggs. If they wake up too early, the late-spring abundance of insects may not be available, raising the risk of a food shortage that could negatively affect their reproduction.
UCLA's Brad Shaffer is bitten by an alligator lizard that wandered into his office on a hot March day.
(
Brad Shaffer
/
UCLA
)
If cold weather comes back: The lizards may enter a state of torpor yet again. However, because their metabolism slows during cold weather, if they’ve recently eaten a large meal, dead insects may just sit in their stomachs — rotting, undigested. In that case, they can die.
Expert reaction: “ Their physiology, their behavior, everything about them is tied to temperature,” said UCLA professor Brad Shaffer, who had an alligator lizard sneak into his lab on a scorching 90-degree day. He added: “Climate change … can disrupt relatively well tuned systems where plants come out, insects come out and … the lizards that feed on them come out.”
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
