When faced with danger, the Chuckwalla will seek protection in the tight crevices of rocks. They then inflate their body (thanks to all that loose skin) filling the entire space so that predators cannot pull it out.
The common Chuckwalla Sauromalus ater is a stocky, dark grey lizard that can be distinguished by its pot belly and folds of skin around the neck. The females and the young of the species are coloured slightly differently, being covered in spots or bands in lighter grey or yellow.
They prefer to eat fruit and leaves rather than insects, and have been observed to have a particular preference for yellow flowers, like those of the brittle bush, which is a plant commonly found in the areas it lives in.
Chuckwallas are territorial and solitary.
There are 5 species of Chuckwalla.
