SUSIE, HARRY AND OSCAR
Don Watson

A dozen times a day excited screams are heard from the museum patio. They merely mean that some visitor, usually feminine, has suddenly noticed a large green lizard, sitting on a rock, eyeing her with a certain amount of interest.

"Is it poisonous?" is always the first question.

"No, not at all," is the answer of the nearest Naturalist or the Museum Attendant. "It is very tame and you may pick it up if you like."

If the visitor is brave enough she places her hand in front of the lizard. After eyeing it for a moment the lizard flicks it with an inquisitive tongue, then crawls upon it and flattens out to enjoy the warmth of the hand upon its belly.

There are three of these lizards in the patio; Susie, Harry and Oscar. They belong to the species known as the Collared Lizard, or Mountain Boomer (Crotaphytus collaris (Tay)). Because of their size and brilliant coloration they are a never-ending source of interest to museum visitors.

Collared Lizards sometimes attain a length of twelve inches. The body is short and heavy while the head is large and a bit formidable looking. The tail is very long and slender. Colors range through the yellows to a bright bluish green and around the neck are two black bands that give the name, Collared Lizard. During the breeding season the colors become especially vivid and there are often reddish spots on the neck and along the sides.

The three Collared Lizards that live in the museum patio show a great deal of variation both in appearance and in habits. Each is a distinct individual and demands different treatment.

Susie, the favorite with all, has ruled over the patio for three years. She is believed to be a female because her color is lighter, she is smaller and she is never molested by the other two lizards. Harry and Oscar fight each other incessantly but for Susie they have absolute respect. Susie is the least lizardy of all. It may sound absurd to suggest that a lizard has a kind face but she actually does. There is none of the fierce, vicious appearance of the other two. Her head is a light yellow color and her countenance has a distinct air of amiability. She shows much interest in any person who approaches her and when she tests a hand with an inquisitive tongue and crawls upon it she carries a very definite air of confidence and friendliness. Susie's only possible weakness is that she is a glutton. She often eats two lizards in one day (the Collard Lizards feed on Swift; a smaller species of lizards) and sometimes seems close to the bursting point. She is a splendid hunter and after catching a lizard is very adept at turning it around so it can be swallowed head first. When she is hungry and has no trouble finding room for a lizard she can swallow a large Swift in two or three minutes. When she is not empty, however, it takes longer as the Swift, which may be almost as long as she is, must be coiled around and around in her stomach.

Susie lives in a den under a large brown rock in the center of the patio. It has always been hoped that sometime a swarm of tiny Collared Lizards would come out of this den but so far Susie has failed us. Female Collared Lizards lay as many as two dozen eggs at a time. Each is about three-fourths of an inch long and is covered with a thin, soft membrane.

Harry has lived in the patio for two years. He is the largest of the three, measuring eleven inches in length, and has the most brilliant colors. He is a rich bluish green mottled over with yellow and one neck band is very heavy. Harry really has a regal appearance and although he likes to have his belly scratched he usually snubs strangers. He was named after Mr. Harry Goulding of Kayenta, Arizona, who sent him to the museum. Harry (the lizard) is a good hunter and handles his food well. Occasionally, when he catches a lizard near the tail, he does not bother to turn it around but swallows it backward. This always takes longer as it is difficult to fold the legs in. Harry lives in a den under a rock on the west side of the patio.

Oscar is the dumb cluck of the group. His color is a blue-green liberally peppered with grey and black spots. He has the least pleasing appearance; his face has a sullen, fierce look. Usually his nose is plastered with mud and that does not help. Oscar is a fair hunter but handles his food very poorly. After catching a Swift he always has trouble in turning it and it sometimes takes him several minutes to get it into position so he can swallow it head first. Oscar is quarrelsome and often dashes across the patio to pounce upon Harry. They chew each others legs in these encounters and the skin is sometimes badly torn. Oscar lives in a den under a rock in the center of the patio just across the walk from Susie's den.

Collared Lizards have very interesting habits. They never come out until the sun has warmed the rocks around the mouth of the den. Often they sit for half an hour with only the head out in the sunlight. Then they crawl out and are motionless for another half hour. During this time the color changes completely. When they first appear in the morning they are of an ugly, dark grey color; half an hour in the sunlight, however, brings out the brilliant hues. They retreat into the den as soon as the shadows fall in the afternoon, sometimes as early as three o'clock. On cloudy, cool days they do not come out at all. They refuse to leave the den unless the sun is shining. The hibernation period is long. This year Susie went into winter quarters on September 5, and will not appear again until early May. Thus, she hibernates at least eight months.

The food seems to consist almost entirely of smaller lizards such as the Rock Swift (Sceloporus elongatus) and the Sagebrush Swift (Sceloporus g. graciosus) although bright flower blossoms and insects are also eaten. These Swifts abound in the Mesa Verde and form a bountiful supply of food for the Collared Lizards. They capture them with little difficulty; being much faster than the small Swifts they snap them up with seldom a miss. If the Swift is caught by the tail it escapes for the tails are so brittle they break off easily. While the surprised Collared Lizard is swallowing the tail the rest of the Swift runs off to grow a new one.

The Collared Lizard makes no effort to seize the Swift at any particular spot. After a quick dash across the rocks and through the bushes it seizes its terrorized prey, usually along the side of the body. The powerful jaws crush the Swift and render it helpless. In order to turn the Swift, so that it may be swallowed head first, the Collared Lizard relaxes its hold slightly and with a quick snap of its head seizes the Swift farther up the body toward the head. By repeating this a number of times it soon has the Swift's head in its mouth and the swallowing process begins. Convulsive tightening of the neck muscles forces the Swift down the throat, its legs being folded neatly back along the sides.

If the big lizard is hungry the swallowing takes only a couple of minutes: if the lizard has fed recently and is not empty it takes longer. Sometimes the tail of the Swift remains in view for an hour or more, for all the world as though the lizard is enjoying an after-dinner cigar.

One day Oscar swallowed two Striped Race Runners (Cnemidophorus sexlineatus perplexus) within a space of three or four hours. The Race Runners are very slender lizards but each of the two was almost as long as Oscar himself. The first one went down easily. There was hardly room for the second so Oscar spent most of the afternoon trying to swallow it. When it was finally out of sight he bulged horribly and small bumps were clearly evident where the head and legs of the Race Runners pressed out against his sides. Oscar sat hunched on a rock, his mouth hanging open, a truly miserable lizard.

The three lizards have done well in the patio for the conditions are practically the same as in their regular habitat. Trees, bushes and rocks are the same and except for being confined to the patio they lead a normal life. They are not able to climb perpendicular surfaces so there is no escape as the patio is completely enclosed by the museum walls. For three years they have lived there contentedly. The only change that it has brought into their lives is that they have become accustomed to man and have found him quite curious and amusing.

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