Slanted hatch indicates pre-1980 records only. Not all specimens upon which these maps are based have been verified. Color and pattern depend on age and sex. Juvenile and subadult have a dark back with five longitudinal light lines and a blue tail. Adult female is similar but tail is not blue.
Adult male loses stripes with age, eventually becoming uniform olive or brown.
Jaws of male become swollen and orange to red during breeding. Wooded habitats including dry uplands, floodplains, and hardwood swamps. Also found on abandoned buildings and around trash piles. Mating occurs in May with eggs laid from late June to July. Two to 18 eggs are laid in sawdust piles, under fallen logs, and under leaf litter.