General Distribution
The western whiptail is widely distributed, but uncommon, over much of its range in
California, except in desert regions where it is abundant in suitable habitats. The species is
found throughout the state except in the humid northwest, along the humid outer Coast
Ranges, and in mountainous regions above 2290 m (7500 ft). The western whiptail occurs in
a variety of habitats including valley-foothill hardwood, valley-foothill hardwood-conifer,
valley-foothill riparian, mixed conifer, pine-juniper, chamise-redshank chaparral, mixed
chaparral, desert scrub, desert wash, alkali scrub, and annual grass types. Habitat Requirements
Whiptails are always most common in and around dense vegetation. They spend
little time in open areas but will cross barren spaces in order to reach the cover of dense
shrubs in sparsely vegetated areas. Initially they rely on speed or the cover provided by
dense vegetation to avoid predators, but if pursued they will eventually seek refuge in
burrows. Reproduction
The reproductive season for the western whiptail varies geographically and
from year to year depending on local conditions. Reproductive behavior generally occurs
from May to August. Parker (1972) reported the average clutch size to be 2.9 eggs with a
range of 1-5. It is possible that females from the southern California desert regions may lay
more than one clutch of eggs per year (Pianka 1970). Daily/Seasonal Activity
Whiptails are primarily diurnal. In the deserts most activity occurs in the
morning (Vitt and Ohmart 1977) except on cloudy days when individuals may be active all
day. In northern California where summers are milder, the peak of activity occurs about
midday (Johnson 1969). Adult whiptails usually become inactive by early fall, but juveniles
extend the period of activity until late fall or even early winter depending on local conditions. Diet and Foraging
Whiptails forage actively on the ground near the base of vegetation taking a wide
variety of ground-dwelling invertebrates including grasshoppers, beetles, ants, termites, insect
larvae, and spiders (Stebbins 1954). Individuals often probe cracks and crevices and dig in
loose soil as they forage. Whiptails occasionally appear to stalk larger prey items such as
grasshoppers. Individuals have been observed breaking up termite galleries in dead
vegetation. Vitt and Ohmart (1977) reported that the diet of whiptails may change seasonally
to reflect the abundance of seasonally available prey items. Territoriality/Home Range
Average home ranges for whiptails (excluding wandering individuals) have
been calculated by Milstead (1957) to be about 0.1 ha (0.26 ac). Jorgensen and Tanner
(1963) have reported home range sizes of 0.07 ha (0.18 ac) for males and 0.04 ha (0.10 ac)
for females. Parker (1972) reported densities of whiptail lizards in the Sonoran Desert of
Arizona to vary from 13-36/ha (5-15/ac). In Nevada Tanner et al. (1969) observed densities
ranging from 7-19/ha (3-8 ac).Observed overlaps in the home ranges of adult whiptails, coupled with an
apparent lack of aggressive behavior between individuals, have suggested to some workers
(Milstead 1957, Parker 1972) that there is a lack of male territoriality in this species. Predator-Prey Relations
Vitt and Ohmart (1977) suggest that the active, constantly moving behavioral
pattern of whiptail lizards makes them subject to a high frequency of predation attempts by
diurnal predators. Such predators include snakes, larger lizards, and predaceous birds.
Ohmart (1973) found that whiptails make up a large percentage of the food items consumed
by roadrunners. Literature Cited
Johnson, C. R. 1969. Observations on northern california populations of cnemidophorus
tigris (Sauria: Teiidae). Herpetologica 25:316-318.
Jorgensen, C. D., and W. W. Tanner. 1963. The application of the density probability
function to determine the home ranges of uta stansburiana stansburiana and
cnemidoporus trigris tigris. Herpetologica 19:105-115.
Milstead, W. W. 1957. Observations on the natural history of four species of the whiptail
lizard, cnemidophorus (Sauria: Teiidae) in Trans-Pecos Texas. Southwest Nat. 2:105-
121.
Ohmart, R. D. 1973. Observations on the breeding adaptations of the roadrunner.
Condor 75:140-149.
Parker, W. S. 1972. Ecological study of the western whiptail lizard, cnemidophorus tigris
gracilis in Arizona. Herpetologica 28:360-369.
Pianka, E. R. 1970. Comparative autecology of the lizard cnemidophorus tigris in
different parts of its geographic range. Ecology 51:703-720.
Stebbins, R. C. 1954. Amphibians and reptiles of western North America. McGraw-Hill,
New York. 536pp.
Tanner, W. W., et al. 1969.
Vitt, L. J., and R. D. Ohmart. 1977. Ecology and reproduction of lower colorado river
lizards: ii. Cnemidophorus tigris (Teiidae), with comparisons. Herpetologica 33:223-234.
Information gathered from California DFG - California Interagency Wildlife Task Group
