Lizards of Wisconsin

Check out the difference in color between this
adult five-lined skink and the young skinks.

The Future for Lizards

Unlike the large desert landscapes of the southwestern United States, the habitats that support Wisconsin's lizards are limited both naturally and by a growing human population. The western slender glass lizard, which calls the central Wisconsin sand plain its home, is an endangered species. This lizard's range in the state is like an island. It is separated from the nearest population in Illinois by more than 100 miles. Changes in habitat because of agriculture and a maze of roads breaking the habitat into small islands have caused the lizard numbers to decline. The glass lizard has great difficulty crossing paved roads because of their smooth bellies. They can't use their belly scales like snakes do for locomotion. When one of these lizards gets itself out onto a roadway, it is likely to meet up with a vehicle or a red-tailed hawk who spots it out in the open.

You can help out Wisconsin's lizards. Check out some tips at "Ways You Can Help Turtles and Lizards."

Read about more reptiles...