Editing Chuckwalla (section)

== Behavior and reproduction==

Harmless to humans, these lizards are known to run from potential threats.<ref name="Stebbins"/>  When disturbed, a chuckwalla  wedges itself into a tight rock crevice and inflates its lungs to entrench itself.<ref name="Stebbins">Stebbins, Robert C., (2003) ''A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians'', 3rd Edition.  Houghton Mifflin Company, {{ISBN|0-395-98272-3}}</ref><ref name="Deban">{{cite journal |last1=Deban |first1=Stephen M. |last2=O'Reilly |first2=James C. |last3=Theimer |first3=Tad |title=Mechanism of defensive inflation in the chuckwalla, ''Sauromalus obesus'' |journal=Journal of Experimental Zoology |date=1994 |volume=270 |issue=5 |pages=451–459 |doi=10.1002/jez.1402700506}}</ref>

Males are seasonally and conditionally territorial; an abundance of resources tends to create a hierarchy based on size, with one large male dominating the area's smaller males.<ref name="Stebbins"/> Chuckwallas use a combination of color and physical displays, namely "push-ups", head-hobbing, and gaping of the mouth, to [[animal communication|communicate]] and defend their territory.<ref name="Stebbins"/>

Chuckwallas are [[diurnal animal|diurnal]] animals and as they are [[ectotherm]]ic, spend much of their mornings and winter days [[wikt:bask|basking]].<ref name="Stebbins"/>  These lizards are well adapted to desert conditions; they are active at temperatures up to {{convert|39|C|F}}. Chuckwallas [[Hibernation|hibernate]] during cooler months and emerge in February.<ref name="Stebbins"/> Juveniles emerge first, then adults, as temperatures reach around {{convert|32|C|F}}.<ref name="Stebbins"/>

Mating occurs from April to July, with five to 16 eggs laid between June and August. The eggs hatch in late September.<ref name="Stebbins"/> Chuckwallas may live for 25 years or more.

<gallery>
File:Male Chuckwalla.JPG|Large male chuckwalla, picture taken in the White Tank Mountains near Surprise, AZ
File:Chuckwalla.jpg|Adult chuckwalla of the Sonoran Desert
File:Juvenile Chuckwalla.jpg|Juvenile chuckwalla of the Sonoran Desert
File:Chuckwalla(landers ca).jpg|Adult chuckwalla of the Mojave Desert
File:Basking Chuckwalla.jpg|Large male common chuckwalla in Joshua Tree National Park
File:Chuckwalla Sneezing.jpg|A chuckwalla sneezing salt in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
File:Chuckwalla baby.jpg|Baby Chuckwalla, Titus Canyon, Death Valley National Park
</gallery>