lizards in the genera Aspidoscelis are active at body temperatures between . Since they need the sunlight to heat their bodies up for activities, whiptails adjust their activity to take advantage of heat sources. Larger whiptails are present in shaded regions more so that their bodies don't overheat. Smaller whiptails can heat and cool their bodies quickly so they are more comfortable in open areas even in the summer. Aspidoscelis are not sit-and-wait ambush predators. Instead, they are active foragers. They move quite frequently, and almost constantly, in short gaits and at a frenetic pace. Foraging is their primary activity throughout the day. When they are on the move under plants or through leaf-litter, their jerky, start-stop movements create unique crunching switch sounds from disturbed dry leaves. When Whiptails must run away from threats, they run fast at top speeds of , and appear to keep theirs tail behind the body in a straight line. They do not whip their tails when they run. Predators This species and virtually all Aspidoscelis species are preyed upon by snakes and predaceous birds. The active mode of foraging, constantly moving behavioral pattern of whiptail lizards may subject them to a high frequency of predation attempts by diurnal predators. Such predators include owls, eagles, hawks, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, virtually all species of snakes large enough to swallow them, and even larger lizards such as collared lizards, long-nose leopard lizards. Many species of bird of prey take whiptails for diet. It was found that whiptail lizards make up a large percentage of the food items consumed by roadrunners (a largely terrestrial, speedy running bird). Whiptail lizards are fast runners, and will try to flee the predator. When in danger, like most lizards, whiptail lizard will drop a portion of their tail in response to an attack by a predator. This defensive strategy is called caudal autotomy, meant to distract the predator since muscles in the tail would continue contracting, causing the tail to flop and wiggle around. The lizard tail is easily broken due to fracture planes in the tail, although it will take the lizard lots of foraging to gather enough energy to regrow the tail. The food habits of whiptails at times overlaps considerably with those of other dwarf lizards. Competition for food is minimal since whiptails prey on insects that are seasonally abundant, and foraging habitat preferences are different between different species.