Colorful lizard!

I had the opportunity to hear the cats muttering strangely about something outside.  Peering over the porch, I spotted Dot (ha-hah) munching on something, or at least trying to.  I went down quickly to see who we were trying to consume, thinking the cats had been fighting over vermin (As W had recently come in to eat a large rodent head in the kitchen, getting him thrown out of the house for awhile...).  I got to be surprised by not only seeing my first lizard of the year, but one I've never seen around the house before.  The lizards around here typically are the smooth, brown, soft variety that loose their tails in order to live.  This one though, as you see, was thorny in texture, colorful and much stouter than the usual specimen.  It was very cold, but alive, so I moved it to the north side of the house where it could bask in heat off the retaining walls.  The cats unhelpfully followed, but the lizard survived unnoticed.

What is my name?  Brownie points to whomever knows.