Lizard Identification

[Steve Wertz]

I see these guys a lot in the spring, on the back deck.

They change from very dark brown (almost black) to a light brown,
then change to a lime green. They seem to communicate by
twitching their heads up and down. There's a pink and white disk
that forms underneath the neck of the one sex. I'm guessing this
is a male, and about 3" long (not including tail).

The females (?) are much smaller (2" body), and don't seem to
change color, nor do they have the disk that I've noticed.

Anybody? They must be pretty common around here. I see 'em every
year.

-sw

[Rusty Mase]

On Mon, 29 Mar 2004 13:04:19 -0600, Steve Wertz
> wrote:

>I see these guys a lot in the spring, on the back deck.

Carolina Anole. Nice to have around.

Rusty Mase

[Katra]

In article >,
Steve Wertz > wrote:

> I see these guys a lot in the spring, on the back deck.
>
> They change from very dark brown (almost black) to a light brown,
> then change to a lime green. They seem to communicate by
> twitching their heads up and down. There's a pink and white disk
> that forms underneath the neck of the one sex. I'm guessing this
> is a male, and about 3" long (not including tail).

Yes, the chin flaps are called "dewlaps" and they are rose colored when
extended. That is a "challenge" thing with the males. I love to watch
them challenge me! <G>

>
> The females (?) are much smaller (2" body), and don't seem to
> change color, nor do they have the disk that I've noticed.
>
> Anybody? They must be pretty common around here. I see 'em every
> year.
>
> -sw

Some people call them chameleons due to the ability to change color,
(you might watch one sometime on a stump that is a dark brown, but when
they move to foliage, they will turn green).

These are called "Anoles".

http://www.eoni.com/~neener/anoles.html

Neat lizards. :-)

K.

--
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[Steve Wertz]

On Mon, 29 Mar 2004 13:36:00 -0600, Katra
> wrote:

>Some people call them chameleons due to the ability to change color,
>(you might watch one sometime on a stump that is a dark brown, but when
>they move to foliage, they will turn green).

Chameleons are butt ugly. There are much prettier ;-)

>These are called "Anoles".
>
>http://www.eoni.com/~neener/anoles.html
>
>Neat lizards. :-)

Yeah, that's them. Here's another site I found that mentions they
dump their tail when grabbed. A good defense from cats at least.
My cat came home with one of these tails in his mouth one time, it
was still squirming - it was pretty spooky. Now I know where it
came from.

http://www.wildtexas.com/wildguides/anole.php

Thanks Rusty and Kathy (I'm on a slow dialup so I didn't want to
have to go searching through a zillion photos on the net)

-sw

[Katra]

In article >,
Steve Wertz > wrote:

> On Mon, 29 Mar 2004 13:36:00 -0600, Katra
> > wrote:
>
> >Some people call them chameleons due to the ability to change color,
> >(you might watch one sometime on a stump that is a dark brown, but when
> >they move to foliage, they will turn green).
>
> Chameleons are butt ugly. There are much prettier ;-)

<grins> So ugly they are cute...

Yes, Anoles are pretty. So are skinks!

>
> >These are called "Anoles".
> >
> >http://www.eoni.com/~neener/anoles.html
> >
> >Neat lizards. :-)
>
> Yeah, that's them. Here's another site I found that mentions they
> dump their tail when grabbed. A good defense from cats at least.
> My cat came home with one of these tails in his mouth one time, it
> was still squirming - it was pretty spooky. Now I know where it
> came from.

Yeah, most "true lizards" can and will dump their tails, even legless
lizards. Geckos do that too. Seen many a wriggling gecko tail in the
house. <sigh> It does let them get away from the cats!

The tails grow back over time. Scientists have studied lizard tail
regeneration for possible limb regrowth for years, and still don't
really understand how it works.

>
> http://www.wildtexas.com/wildguides/anole.php
>
> Thanks Rusty and Kathy (I'm on a slow dialup so I didn't want to
> have to go searching through a zillion photos on the net)
>
> -sw

You are most welcome! But, how did you discover my RL nickname?
I don't use it on the 'net! ;-o

K.

--
Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

"There are many intelligent species in the universe, and they are all owned by cats! -- Asimov

>,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katraatcenturyteldotnet>,,<
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&include=0&userid=katra

[Steve Wertz]

On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 01:02:16 -0600, Katra
> wrote:

>You are most welcome! But, how did you discover my RL nickname?
>I don't use it on the 'net! ;-o

You used to post under the name Kathy, Katherine ;-)

-sw

[Katra]

Xref: 127.0.0.1 austin.gardening:23691

In article >,
Steve Wertz > wrote:

> On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 01:02:16 -0600, Katra
> > wrote:
>
> >You are most welcome! But, how did you discover my RL nickname?
> >I don't use it on the 'net! ;-o
>
> You used to post under the name Kathy, Katherine ;-)
>
> -sw

That was over 8 years ago?????? 1996? I've used Katra for ages.

Now if anyone gets anything off of ebay sales, they get my real name,
Kathleen. :-)

K.

--
Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

"There are many intelligent species in the universe, and they are all owned by cats! -- Asimov

>,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katraatcenturyteldotnet>,,<
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&include=0&userid=katra

[escapee]

As everyone else has said, these are anoles. I have them teaming in my gardens.
They are very sensitive to any type of pesticide, so please try not to use
them. These lizards (anoles) and others like fence lizards eat insects, and
best of all, grasshoppers. All lizards are the best pesticide to have around.



On Mon, 29 Mar 2004 13:04:19 -0600, Steve Wertz
> opined:

>I see these guys a lot in the spring, on the back deck.
>
>They change from very dark brown (almost black) to a light brown,
>then change to a lime green. They seem to communicate by
>twitching their heads up and down. There's a pink and white disk
>that forms underneath the neck of the one sex. I'm guessing this
>is a male, and about 3" long (not including tail).
>
>The females (?) are much smaller (2" body), and don't seem to
>change color, nor do they have the disk that I've noticed.
>
>Anybody? They must be pretty common around here. I see 'em every
>year.
>
>-sw