Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Looks like bark instead of a bite

Can you see him?

Great camouflage on this Spiny Fence Lizard [see comments]. It's not a chameleon (even though people might call then that), but it does put on a good disguise. Here he is from the side:

8 comments:

Freida Bee said...

I love these guys. We have several where we live, especially in our wood pile.

I think this one is a Texas Fence (or Spiny) Lizard. Anoles aren't so bumpy or spiny and their color is uniform, though excellently camoflaged.

I may be wrong, but my husband has a reptile fetish, so I have be subjugated to reptiles of all sorts for the last several years. My sons kept one and fed one of these for a few months.

If they are caught early, they are fairly friendly. I always feel bad and let them go. Oops.

Blueberry said...

You just might be right! I know the green guys can change color, but I think this is the fence lizard.

i used to catch and keep horned toads when I was a kid (bad idea) (esp. since they are now threatened or even endangered), but now my goal with lizards is to keep them out of Jax's mouth.

Utah Savage said...

And Jax is?

Th' Rev said...

Yeah,that's a fence skink.Very cool lizards.When i was a kid living in Garfield they were everywhere.You don't see them so much anymore these days,and they seem smaller to me.Nice pics.

Blueberry said...

Jax is our cat, previous alley cat and hanger-on. Before he was brought indoors he was eating all the lizards in the yard (and taking down 1-2 birds a day too). He's been seen with two lizard tails sticking out of his mouth, and I don't even know how he managed that one.

DrDon said...

I love lizards. Of course, you don't see many in the wild here in Cleveland! Salamanders, frogs and toads but not many lizards. I always love when I'm down South and see them just running around. For whatever reason, it just makes me happy.

DivaJood said...

so, an anole is not related to a mole, but is indeed a skink. Not a skank.

Mando Mama said...

HA! Lizards! TheyaresocoolIlovethem. Nice shot! Does Austin award back yard habitat thingys? You should definitely be designated.

Over the weekend we had skink weirdness. My daughter was reading a Judy Moody book that prominently featured a skink in the story line, and then we discovered a couple of the smooth little critters in my sister's yard. SkinkFest. Not, SkankFest. Maybe next year.