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Eastern fence lizard

Sceloporus undulatus · Lizards · Reptiles

Eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus): Gray, brown or rusty lizard, 9-19 cm total length, with keeled scales. Males have a blue patch on the belly and throat; colour varies geographically. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Sceloporus undulatus
Family
Phrynosomatidae
In North America
Native
Range
Eastern United States (NatureServe: Alabama, Delaware, DC, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia); Animal Diversity Web gives the broader concept as mid New York to mid Florida and west to Colorado; not in Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Gray, brown or rusty lizard, 9-19 cm total length, with keeled scales. [1][2]

Males have a blue patch on the belly and throat; colour varies geographically. [1][2]

Northern populations (New York to Maryland) are generally smaller than southern ones. [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Mostly arboreal in wooded landscapes in open, sunny situations; also grasslands, shrublands and the edges of pine or hardwood forests. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Diurnal, active roughly 0600-2000 h; basks on fences, logs, rocks, wood piles and tree trunks, using trunks and branches more in summer. [1][2]

Males head-bob, do push-ups and flash the blue belly patches to signal territory; territories are roughly 47-61 square metres. [1][2]

Eats mostly insects, spiders, centipedes and occasionally snails; inactive in cold periods and the hottest part of summer days. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Eastern United States (NatureServe: Alabama, Delaware, DC, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia); Animal Diversity Web gives the broader concept as mid New York to mid Florida and west to Colorado; not in Canada.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology