The Chuckwalla lizards of Arizona!! Epic footage inside the rocks.

Dave and Jeremy head to South Mountain in the beautiful Arizona desert in search of the orange-tailed Chuckwalla lizard. These medium sized, diurnal lizards eat plants, flowers and fruits and can be observed during the hottest time of the day. It wasn't easy, but we managed to get some great, up-close footage of the chuckwalla's eating, basking and trying to win over a mate!

[@ericclarington565]

I remember the first time I saw a chuckwalla. It was in 29 Palms California 1977. I was training in the desert and one of the guys in the unit picked one and told us city guys what they were. They were so calm being held, I fell in love with them from the start. We tried as much as possible as not to disturb them when we were out and about. We did see lots of other animals some not to friendly very dangerous and we gave them plenty of room as well. I will never forget that time, it was very educational, fun and hard work out there as well. But the chuckwalla is still one of my favorite lizards ever.

[@NatureInYourFace]

The first time I picked up a chuckwalla I was expecting to get bit, they're fairly large and I thought it would try to turn and grab me. It didn't even open its mouth. It's hard not to like a Chuckwalla. Thanks for your service and for sharing your story from way back in 77!

[@ericclarington565]

And thank you for your support we need more people to love nature as well.

[@janeythompson3058]

This was a great video! it was so nice to watch other nature lovers explaining and showing something that I wouldn't otherwise be able to observe. wish I could pay for your slurpees..

[@NatureInYourFace]

Thank you Janey! We'd let you buy our slurpees but your kind words are enough. You should really try and visit Arizona and see a chuckwalla as well many of the other unique wildlife Arizona has to offer. Thanks for commenting!

[@raybeauskillet9610]

I seen two for the first time today in Phoenix. Soon as i got back from work i was looking up the lizards and came across this video. Great job good info

[@NatureInYourFace]

That’s great! You’re very fortunate to be able to see them anytime by living there. One of our favorite lizard species.

[@bbakes779]

Fun chuckwalla fact: their proper name is the Charleswalla

[@NatureInYourFace]

Hah what’s funny is the name of the folder this was edited from is Charles Wallace 😂

[@WildLife_Perspective]

Very well put together video! Chuckwallas are so cool!

[@NatureInYourFace]

Thank you ZD....we had a great time finding and catching them. Triple digit temps in the summer kinda suck but sometimes you have to make a few sacrifices to find what you're looking for!

[@cheezhead6007]

I really enjoyed your video

[@NatureInYourFace]

Thank you Cheez Head, our hope is for our viewers to be entertained and at the same time, gain a better understanding and respect for the animals we feature in the episodes. Thanks for commenting, we're glad you enjoyed the video, hope you'll check out a few others!

[@lgbtqiarights]

learning about the chuckwallas since i recently found out they existed. tysm for the post! ♥️

[@NatureInYourFace]

You’re welcome! They are super cool lizards.

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

Chuckwallas are amazing, definitely one of my biggest target lizards out west. That footage of the chuckwallas emerging from the rock crevice was really cool, I might have to try that technique of leaving a camera behind sometime. Great work guys! - Harrison and Evan

[@NatureInYourFace]

Thanks Bros! We were very excited to see the footage that the camera caught after waiting so long in the heat haha. But being able to see them interact with each other and the foreign object without fear of us was pretty epic! When you head out West let us know we can point you in the right direction or just meet you out there 😉. Thanks for watching

[@midoriking2102]

I just found a chuckwalla and a Mohave rattlesnake today! So I'm checking out chuckwalla videos :)

[@NatureInYourFace]

Nice work! Hope you dig the video. 👊🏼

[@fionnmaccumhaill3257]

​@@NatureInYourFace Next time lure them out with rose petals....they go CRAZY for them.

[@NatureInYourFace]

Was this a random experiment or do you typically hike with rose pedals on you? 😃

[@adrianbara-popa9960]

Excellent video. These are indeed beautiful creatures!!

[@NatureInYourFace]

Thank you and we agree 💯

[@johnbenton3663]

I appreciate the Dumb and Dumber reference at the end. 😆

[@NatureInYourFace]

Lol heck yea 😂. Glad you caught that

[@BigBass-xf5yi]

Excellent videos guys. Chucks have always been on of my favorite herps.

[@NatureInYourFace]

Thanks BigBass man! We love seeing chuckwallas and felt very fortunate to be able to capture their natural behavior on video. We appreciate the comment. Tight lines bro 🎣

[@user-si6ud2uu8q]

Off to see more of your videos ❤ this one was awesome

[@NatureInYourFace]

Thanks for the feedback and for checking out the channel. Definitely leave comments on any others you enjoy! 😃

[@MakeSewingStudio]

I saw my first chuckwalla yesterday while hiking in the San Tan Mountains! I was so mesmerized because I thought it was a rat at first since it had a dark body and a long white tail. I got a picture (a pretty good one) of it after it went into a crevice in the rocks. I'm glad I found your video because I wanted to confirm my research that pointed toward it being a female chuckwalla. Thanks for sharing this video!

[@NatureInYourFace]

That’s awesome!! We never get tired of seeing chuckwallas and we’re stoked you got to see you’re first! Thanks for letting us know you enjoyed the video and got something out of it. 👊🏼

[@502bourboncrew2]

Saw one yesterday hiking Telegraph Pass outside Yuma…. Scared the crap out of me

[@NatureInYourFace]

Haha but they sure are cool aren’t they?!

[@scottm8914]

Awesome video guys, the make me a sandwhich part had me rolling 😂🤣

[@NatureInYourFace]

😆 glad you liked it! We are always being goofy, it’s in our blood. Thanks for the comment 👊🏼

[@scottm8914]

@@NatureInYourFace 😂where you guys from!?

[@NatureInYourFace]

We live in Northern Illinois. A little south of Chicago. Jeremy grew up in north Florida but lives here now.

[@smetlogik]

Some sweet up-close footage of the chucks, gave me an idea to buy a stuffed lizard to hide my camera in and try your trick. Been a minute since we've done the chuck thing, we were just talking about that today. It's on the list for 2022.

[@NatureInYourFace]

Thanks bro! Yea Chuckwallas are such cool lizards. The females are definitely more social and will take plants from your hand. We were pretty excited to watch the footage to see what kind of interaction we got. We’d love to plan a Mexico trip with some people if you guys are down.

[@smetlogik]

@@NatureInYourFace funny about the plants, she was munching. Nick was down in Mexico last year for almost 2 months, we've been keeping an eye out on things. Have a few connections down there, a bit sketchy right now according to our sources. Not sure Mexico is on the table just yet for 2022 in our book.

[@kimberlydorney9146]

so cool you got to hold one! he or she didn't seem to mind :)

[@NatureInYourFace]

Yeah they are pretty chill lizards and they do not really attempt to bite which is kind of surprising considering their size. It's likely because they don't really need to defend themselves from predators with teeth and claws since they are very effective at wedging themselves into crevices to avoid being eaten. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@rayrieder2380]

To hot for me but those Chuckwalla's are so cool 😎 👍😃

[@NatureInYourFace]

They definitely are awesome lizards. Always good to see them when in Arizona.

[@tygranlund]

🤘🏼

[@NatureInYourFace]

Heck yea 🎸 🦎

[@davidkatz1829]

I was able to get some really close photos by feeding some fresh arugula lettuce to a Chuckwalla. I have observed some intelligence and social behavior amongst Chuckwallas, the adult males seem to control a territory. my guess in the wild they live along time, some look like they have been around many years.

[@NatureInYourFace]

That is a great way to get them to sit still for photos/videos and not stay jammed up in a rock crevice. They definitely seem to have a home range and preferred rock once established as we have found the same female and male several years in a row in the exact rock crevices. Like you said they are very intelligent and social. Not sure how many mates a male will keep in an area or if he just prefers one. Would be a great study. Always a pleasure to see a chuck in the wild.

[@skrillbolt1397]

Hi it’s me Miguel

[@NatureInYourFace]

What's up Miguel....fun party last night. Thanks for checking out the channel!

[@SublimeSquamata]

Where’d you all go in AZ to find these colors of chucks?

[@NatureInYourFace]

South Mountain 🏔️

[@SublimeSquamata]

@@NatureInYourFace interesting, for some reason I thought the south Mtn chucks were al black with a bright orange tail

[@NatureInYourFace]

South Mountain is the only place you find the orange tailed ones but the males there don’t all have orange tails.

[@officialPROCLUBGOD]

how could u tell the one u caught was male?

[@NatureInYourFace]

Because of the bright colors. Females stay drab and grayish in color

[@officialPROCLUBGOD]

@@NatureInYourFace okay thank you!! its the season once again!!

[@NatureInYourFace]

Oh yea it is 😃. You’re welcome