It may also cover itself in loose sand. It is only seen on warm days of late Spring or Summer. It feeds on large ants and squirts blood from its eyes under stress. It hibernates from late Summer to late Spring. Breeding occurs in late spring upon emergence from hibernation.
Females lay eggs in burrows.
In North America, the range of this lizard extends from a line from Kansas to Louisiana through Texas to New Mexico and northern Mexico. In Texas, it was originally seen throughout the state, but numbers dropped dramatically in the fifties and sixties with pesticide use. Today, they are only seen in the western third of the state. This project funded by the University of Texas College of Natural Sciences and the Texas Memorial Museum . Comments welcome .