Some wild Florida lizards

ZEROPILOT said:

Just now, while I was working on a recreational vehicle for one of our High Schools, I came across these.
A small green iguana and a Basilisk in the one shot.
Then the same Basilisk and a large, female green Iguana.
Strange.
As hot as it is today, they are all basking and slow moving..

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We used to call the basilisk lizards Coneheads

Toddrickfl1 said:

We used to call the basilisk lizards Coneheads

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Also called JESUS lizards because they can run across water.

ZEROPILOT said:

Also called JESUS lizards because they can run across water.

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I used to catch them and Cuban Anoles all the time when I was younger. The Cuban Anoles are nasty little creatures though.

Toddrickfl1 said:

I used to catch them and Cuban Anoles all the time when I was younger. The Cuban Anoles are nasty little creatures though.

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Yes
They have a ferocious bite considering their size.

This guy was not interested in moving or running away.
Good patch of grass, I suppose...
It's a wonder why his tail is still intact.
"Fearless" might mean "eaten".

ZEROPILOT said:

This guy was not interested in moving or running away.
Good patch of grass, I suppose...
It's a wonder why his tail is still intact.
"Fearless" might mean "eaten".

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No, not 'fearless', but rather invisible. If he doesn't move, you can't see him!

ZEROPILOT said:

This guy was not interested in moving or running away.
Good patch of grass, I suppose...
It's a wonder why his tail is still intact.
"Fearless" might mean "eaten".

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Most of the ones I seen when I was down there were more orange. I've seen a lot of pics of very green ones lately. I wonder why that is?

Toddrickfl1 said:

Most of the ones I seen when I was down there were more orange. I've seen a lot of pics of very green ones lately. I wonder why that is?

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From what I THINK I know....It seems like the largest (Dominant) males in a particular area are often orange. The rest of the nearby males are duller. Often, you'll see an old gigantic male with a missing tail that will be just mostly brown...And I assume that he was once the King of the area and has now been de-throned.
Sub adult males and females of every size tend to be green with the sub adults brighter green. Lesser with size.
None of this is based on fact. Just my observation.
There is also another species of Iguana, it would seem. They are smaller and striped green and black. They also seem slimmer and have smaller heads. But this might just be a color variation that goes away once the animal reaches about 3 feet long. I've never seen one larger with the stripes. All of the 5 and 6 footers (Rare these days) are about the same color and build. Except for the orange/red male that seems to be about one in 10 or 12 animals.

Yvonne G said:

No, not 'fearless', but rather invisible. If he doesn't move, you can't see him!

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I agree. But this guy kept chomping on grass and at one point actually moved in closer to me.
I could have easily grabbed him.

Here's a "Curley tail" lizard. The get to over 6" and are an exotic species.
This is an odd sight because there is a baby to the right.
Most lizards DO NOT guard babies. These do. And babies are almost never seen this small.

How lovely to have such a variety of lizards around you.
I'm excited because I have 2 common frogs living in my garden!

I caught this little dude today.
He had somehow navigated three hallways and was found in the men's locker room.
I released him by the canal out back.
He would have been killed for sure.
People are scared to death about these things.
To me they are beautiful!

Boy my hands look dirty in H.D.!

Gosh that is a lovely little guy. I like those bright greens!

Today I walked to and from my little weekend job at Lowes.
I'm officially retired now.
On the way home, I walk past several canals. I always see the usual fishes, ducks and iguanas.
But today I saw a pair of rather large Chinese Water Dragons. I got a very good look at them and they tore off into the water before I could get my phone out for a photo.
This is a first sighting for me.
I've never seen a Water Dragon here before. They seem a lot more skittish than Green Iguanas or Basilisks. But I'm certain of what I saw.

I saw two more lizards on my walk today.
A common, brown Basilisk and another odd looking, long, slender lizard. A species that I've seen before, but cannot identify.
It is heavily scaled like a Swift. Almost armor plated. And very attractive.
It's very, very fast. But runs on all fours. Not on two legs like a Basilisk. More like a skink.

ZEROPILOT said:

I saw two more lizards on my walk today.
A common, brown Basilisk and another odd looking, long, slender lizard. A species that I've seen before, but cannot identify.
It is heavily scaled like a Swift. Almost armor plated. And very attractive.
It's very, very fast. But runs on all fours. Not on two legs like a Basilisk. More like a skink.

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Never seen the second one when I lived there. Must be a new invader.

Toddrickfl1 said:

Never seen the second one when I lived there. Must be a new invader.

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I saw one at a reptile show and it was called T REX lizard.

Blue tailed skink.
Very common.
Not my photo

A common green anole.
A color changing south Florida native. But this is the first one I've seen in years.
The Curly tail lizards eat all native lizards. And I'm surprised to see him