[8] The common name chuckwalla derives from the Shoshone word tcaxxwal or Cahuilla caxwal, transcribed by Spaniards as chacahuala.

The Seri people named originally the island for this species: Coftécöl lifa or the Peninsula of the Giant Chuckwalla.

Chuckwallas use a combination of color and physical displays, namely "push ups", head-hobbing, and gaping of the mouth to communicate and defend their territory.

Chuckwallas prefer dwelling in lava flows and rocky areas with nooks and crannies available for a retreat when threatened.

These areas are typically vegetated by creosote bush and cholla cacti which form the staple of their diet, as the chuckwalla is primarily herbivorous.

Chuckwallas also feed on leaves, fruit, and flowers of annuals, perennial plants, and even weeds; insects represent a supplementary prey if eaten at all.

[6] This was before the founding of America, and most of these populations appear to have died out, but the process was repeated by herpeticulturalists in the early 2000s as a way of legally producing a San Esteban-like lizard that the average reptile enthusiast could keep.