Geckos Found in Arizona

Arizona, a desert state in the southwest of the United States, hosts many animals that are not found in most of the rest of the country. Its wide variety of bears, bobcats, mountain lions, coyotes, bats and birds is joined by lizards and other native reptiles. One of the state's smallest desert inhabitants is the gecko, which appears in three species native to Arizona.

  1. Tuscon Gecko

    • The Tuscon gecko is a small lizard, only about 5 inches long, with most of its length in its tail. Its color varies from pinkish-tan to cream, and it has reddish brown crossbars on its body. The Tuscan gecko is centered in Pima County, but it is also found in the counties of Maricopa, Pinal and Santa Cruz counties in the southeastern part of the state. It lives in rocky outcrops, sandy areas and canyons, and in the heat of the day is found in crevices, under rubbish, fallen limbs or logs. It hibernates in the winter when the temperature is too low and lives from fat stored in its tail. It eats insects such as spiders, beetles, termites, grasshoppers and insect larvae.

    Utah Banded Lizard

    • The Utah banded lizard is a medium-size lizard averaging between 6 and 7 inches long. Its body is light tan with dark brown to black blotches, spots or crossbands. It also has a light tan stripe starting under its eyes and going behind its ears. The stripe ends in a loop on the back of its neck. It lives in northwestern Arizona in Mojave County up to an elevation of 5,000 feet. This gecko likes the desert and rocky areas with sagebrush and creosote bushes. It eats insects and spiders.

    Desert Banded Gecko

    • The desert banded gecko is another medium-size gecko, ranging from 5 to 6 inches long. More than half of its body length is its tail. Its sides are unpigmented and its back is cream to tan colored with dark bands or spots. The top of its head has red-brown spots and it has a yellow band running from under the eyes to a loop in the back of the neck. The desert banded gecko's range overlaps that of the Utah and Tuscon geckos in Arizona, and other species in neighboring states. It lives in the western part of Arizona in La Paz, Pima, Maricopa, Yovapai, Yuma and Mojave counties. It eats insects and spiders and likes sand dunes, rock canyons and washes in desert or semi-arid areas. It likes the chaparral and juniper woodlands but can also be found in the Sonoran and Mojave Desert scrub.