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Tiger whiptail

Aspidoscelis tigris · Lizards · Reptiles

Tiger whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris): Slender lizard 127-330 mm total length with a triangular head, slim body and long tail. Light brown or orange ground colour with eight light or dark longitudinal stripes from head base to tail, plus small black or white spots on the back. 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
Aspidoscelis tigris
Family
Teiidae
In North America
Native
Range
Oregon and Idaho south through California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado and western Texas to Baja California and northern Mexico.
Biology

How to identify it

Slender lizard 127-330 mm total length with a triangular head, slim body and long tail. [1][2]

Light brown or orange ground colour with eight light or dark longitudinal stripes from head base to tail, plus small black or white spots on the back. [1][2]

Males slightly larger than females; juveniles are light orange with dark spots or stripes. [1][2]

Similar to sympatric whiptails; the all-female New Mexico whiptail is smaller with a blue tint on the belly and tail end. [1][2]

Compared with the new mexico whiptail: Female-only species, smaller than the western whiptail, with a blue tint on the underbelly and tail end. [1][2]

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a tiger whiptail before you act. Compared with the new mexico whiptail: Female-only species, smaller than the western whiptail, with a blue tint on the underbelly and tail end.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Deserts and semiarid shrublands with sparse vegetation, plus open woodland, dry forest, canyons and riparian areas on firm, sandy or rocky soil. [1][2]

Shelters in burrows or under surface objects; eggs are laid underground. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Diurnal, active forager that digs for prey and uses chemical senses; active mainly April-September in the north, with juveniles active longer. [1][2]

Uses rodent burrows or digs its own, and shelters in burrows overnight and in inclement weather. [1][2]

Insectivore; grasshoppers, beetles and termites are frequent prey in New Mexico. [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

Oregon and Idaho south through California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado and western Texas to Baja California and northern Mexico.

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