Posted in Nature Study
This is the speech my 2ds8 wrote for his Toastmasters Speech about this really cool critter:A few weeks ago, we went to the Elephant Butte with my family and some friends of my mom & dad’s. We had a really good time and it was a lot of fun. We got to stay on a houseboat and we jumped off the top of it into the water. We had a great time on the boat and playing in the lake, but the coolest thing we did wasn't in the water.
On one of the days, we took the speed boat out on the lake and we went to a little inlet. We got off the boat and played on the shore. We collected shells and sticks that looked like skulls. We were having a great time when all of a sudden my dad and his friend started to run up the hills trying to catch the coolest thing you have ever seen. AND my dad CAUGHT IT!
Let me describe it first before I show you the picture.
My dad yells, "ds! ds! Come here quick" "Do you see it?" And I said, "See what?" My dad said, "Hold still, it is right there in front of you!" Then I saw it lift its long tail high in the air and lift itself up on its front legs making him self really tall. It had black and white rings all along its tail and his sides were orange and a shiny metal blue. The rest of him was brown and gold striped and his belly was white. It sounds like I'm not telling the truth but this is the truth.
Then the funniest thing you could ever hear happened. This little critter did tiny little push ups like this. And then it bolted soooooo fast I thought nobody in the world could catch it. My dad and his friend chased after it. Then my mom came to help and she saw two more just like it. Do you want to know what it is? We all surrounded one of them and after lots of running on this very rocky, slippery, and sandy hill we CAUGHT IT! It was very exciting - Do you want to know what it is now?
Here is the picture 
It is called a Zebra-Tailed Lizard. Its scientific name is: Callisaurus draconoides rhodostictus - which means beautiful rose dotted dragon lizard. It is about 9 inches long.
It can be found throughout the southwest including parts of
It lives in the desert under bushes in the shade but loves the hot sun. They are diurnal which means that they are active chiefly in the daytime. During the hottest times of day, they may do this little dance by standing on just two legs, and then switching to the opposite two. They are often seen basking on rocks, even on extremely hot afternoons. It hibernates underground when it is cold.
The girls have faint black stripes with no blue on their sides while the boys have 2 black stripes on their sides. The boys get the blue color when they are looking for a girl.
They like to eat any thing they can catch but mostly insects and smaller lizards. They sometimes eat spring buds or flowers.
When they are threatened, they raise their tail up over their back and they wave it back and forth as a sign of warning. Supposedly, they wave their tail to put their attacker into a trance.
They did that to us when we were trying to catch it and then burst off running. They are said to be the fastest lizards in the world. Sometimes they run only on their hind legs instead of all four legs. That would be funny to see!
On that same day, we came home. I really wanted to keep the lizard but I needed to do some research first to find out how to take care of it and besides “What if it didn’t eat the crickets that I have in my yard?” Madame/Master Toastmaster.
