These lizards are common throughout Idaho's sagebrush-steppe.
They are well-equipped to blend in with their rangeland
surroundings; they are gray or tan-colored, and they have
lighter gray or tan stripes that run down the middle of their
backs. Male sagebrush lizards have two bright blue patches on
their stomachs, and females and juveniles usually lack this
coloration. Sagebrush lizards are small, they only grow to be
about five to six inches including their tails. Their bland
coloring allows them to stealthily hide in their sagebrush
environment to keep from becoming food for birds, snakes and
small mammals. True to their name, sagebrush lizards live in
sagebrush environments, but they have also been found in other
desert shrub areas. They typically like to live in higher
elevations and have even been found in juniper-pine woodlands.
If you visit BLM lands, you may see some of these little
reptiles scurrying from sagebrush to sagebrush, looking for
food. Because they are reptiles and need the sun to warm the