The western fence lizard is a common lizard of warm, rocky ground. It is spiny and medium-sized, up to about 8 inches long including the tail, with rough gray, tan or brown scales broken by darker wavy bars or blotches. The underside is white or yellowish, and adult males show large, bright blue patches on the belly and throat, outlined in black.
Males show off those colors with push-ups, bobbing up and down on a rock or log to warn rival males away and to attract females. Fence lizards are active by day and spend much of it basking. They eat beetles, ants, flies, grasshoppers, caterpillars and spiders. If a predator such as a hawk or snake grabs the tail, it can break off and grow back in a few weeks. Females lay one clutch of 3 to 17 eggs between spring and midsummer, and the young hatch about two months later.
Fence lizards also play a curious part in the story of Lyme disease. A protein in their blood kills the bacterium that causes it, so ticks that feed on a lizard lose the infection. On Mt. Hood, look for them in dry, sunny, open places with rock piles, logs or stumps, especially on the east side and at lower elevations. They avoid dense, damp forest.
How to identify it
A spiny-scaled lizard up to about 8 inches long, gray, tan or brown with darker wavy blotches; belly white or yellowish. Adult males have large, bright blue patches outlined in black on the belly and throat.
Habitat
Open, sunny places with rocks, logs or other vertical structure, from grasslands and sagebrush to open woodland and coniferous forest. It avoids dense, moist forest, so around Mt. Hood it favors dry, open, rocky sites.
Sightings in the forest
254 research-grade sightings in Mt. Hood National Forest on iNaturalist, most recently on September 23, 2026. See them on iNaturalist →