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Lizards are the largest living group of reptiles. Lizards have 2-4 legs, claws, lungs, and a tough outer skin of epidermal scales. They do not control their own body temperature. They cannot live in extreme heat or cold. Lizards are most common in warm climates.
Lizards come in different sizes. The smallest lizards in the world are Skinks and Geckos. The largest lizard in the world is the Komodo Dragon. Komodo Dragons can be greater than ten feet long. A lizard that is a different shape is the South American Flat Bellied Rock Lizard.
There are only two poisonous lizards in the world. They are the Gila Monster of the Southwestern United States and the Beaded Lizard of Mexico.
Most lizards eat live prey, but a few species are vegetarians. Some eat seeds. The Desert Iguana of the American Southwest eats insects while young but is a vegetarian when it becomes an adult.
Lizards make good pets. They can be kept in a terrarium. Lizards must be kept warm so they can be active and eat well. I have a pet lizard whose name is Lizzy. He is a flat bellied rock lizard. I keep him in an aquarium. I have a light on top of the aquarium so he is always warm. I give him water and crickets to eat. He likes to hide under the log I gave him.
Bibliography
1. Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia on CD Rom (1995).
2. All About Lizards, Robert Sprackland (1989).
3. National Geographic, Vol. 190 No. 3, (September, 1996).
4. Amazing Lizards, Jayne Pettit, (1990).
This is my lizard diorama.