Cnemidophorus sexlineatus can be found in prairies, dune edges, oak savannas, riverbanks, abandoned fields, vacant lots, and road cuts. Road cuts normally provide plentiful basking sites during summer and are less likely to freeze during winter. These lizards avoid shady forests but will inhabit open woodland. Six-lined racerunners have a relatively short activity season, since they can lie dormant for as many as nine months in a year. Generally, however, their activity season is four to five months. Adults tend to be the most active in June and July while juveniles are more active from August onward.
Ten Facts about Six-lined Racerunner
- In early summer these lizards are normally active from about 9:30 or 10:00 AM and remain so until about 4 PM.
- They prefer higher air temperatures than most temperate zone reptiles.
- Predators of six-lined racerunners include snakes (especially milk snakes and racers), birds, and small mammals.
- They rely on flight to escape from predators, and thus have a very streamlined body to help them run faster.
- Both males and females reach maturity in up to or less than one year.
- Freezing is not really an issue for them, as they can withstand temperatures up to -6.0 degrees C.
- They are wary, energetic, and fast moving, with speeds of up to 18mph.
- Due to its extensive range, it is found in a wide variety of habitats including grasslands, woodlands, open floodplains, or rocky outcroppings.
- Lizard reaching a length of 9 1/2 inches.
- They probably live 4 to 5 years, although males have a shorter life expectancy than females.
