I'm not sure I even need to elaborate on the title of this post. Lizards! On treadmills! What more do you need to know? That this little skink in the photo below (FYI, that would be the lizard; the gentleman in the picture is Professor Steve Adolph, chair of the biology department) can run at a mighty fast clip? Despite being chilled on ice for twenty minutes beforehand so he would be less fidgety and more photogenic? That iguanas run on two legs when they're at maximum speed? That for one particular research project, the iguanas have even been outfitted with miniature respiratory masks to measure their breathing? (Really -- you can see the research poster in the biology hallway. There are photos!)
And don't think the treadmill is just for lizards. A student did her senior thesis this year on tarantula locomotion. I wouldn't have considered tarantulas the most cooperative subjects, but as the research is continuing this coming year, presumably they behaved themselves and/or embraced the LA Fitness lifestyle.
Which is more than I can say for this little sucker. While iguanas might be quite the sprinters when they're on the treadmills, this one doesn't seem to be going anywhere in a hurry. Pesky freeloader.
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