There are large ground lizards, up to a foot and half to two feel long. The older males have beautiful turquoise blue bellies. These lizards live out their lives on the ground. They are very fast, even though they move in a jerky sort of stop-action manner. It took me quite a while to get a decent picture of one. By the time you hear the rustle of their movement in the leaf litter, they are already somewhere else.
Here’s the first picture I got of a large fellow disappearing into the sansevieria.
But finally I got these pictures.
You can see his turquoise coloring. He is between 16 and 18 inches long, because that’s how long the seed pod of the flamboyant tree is, which he is next too. He is on the move, his left foot is raised. The orange petals are from the flamboyant as well.
Here’s a picture of a pretty little green lizard with dark spots. I’m sure it has a name, but I don’t know what it is.
Another lizard is the gecko. They are the only lizards that have a voice and sing at night. Their song sounds like their name, “Geck-geck-geck-geck-geck-go.”It is a sort of high peeping sound that blends in nicely with song of the little tree frogs, the coquis, and crickets which also sing at night.
When we were growing up many people were afraid of geckos. They believed that if a gecko fell on you it would suck your blood. This belief may be because of their “sticky” toes which gives them the ability to move around on just about any surface, even upside down on glass. They were called woodslaves probably because they are often found in dark places like inside dead trees. They are pale and anemic looking and almost transparent. You can sometimes see the blood vessels just under the skin, and even the eggs inside a female.
Here’s a picture of a youngster, barely two inches long, with eyes on a meal.
He hung out around my bedside lamp during the evening.
Coming up next: Part V, the last in my series. Can you guess what kind of lizard it will be about?
I'm really enjoying your lizard stories, Bish. Thanks! Love the pics, especially that last one with the gecko eyeing the moth. Wow!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rena! Coming from you, a freelance photographer I take that as a very nice compliment!
ReplyDeleteWow, my oldest would be in heaven to see all those little guys! We only have a couple of kinds of lizards here. I'm afraid I don't know what they're called. "Brown" and "Green" is what we call them. We never get tired of pointing them out to each other.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was small, there were geckoes living in the curtains above my bed (top bunk). They'd come out at night; sometimes, I'd wake to find pale shadows on the ceiling.
ReplyDeleteThen, when I moved to the US, I found that you can buy Australian geckoes in the pet store! But I never have (despite loving lizards), because I'd rather have a few adopt me again.
Great pictures, Bish!