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| Houston green lizard....called Anole |
Not sure how many other areas of the country/world have these little guys. Houston is blessed with them all over the place. They are called "anoles" or sometimes "green anoles". They change from green to tan to dark brown. I saw this one peeking out from behind a glass jar on the porch and snapped his picture. I say we are blessed because they don't bite of course, they aren't big, and best of all, they eat all sorts of bugs.
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| Green Anole Lizard |
Here, he was looking right at me as I got close with the camera. Too funny. He was curiously cautious, and then ran off shortly after the photo was taken. Gardeners around these parts are quite used to sharing their space with them, what about you? Would it freak you out?
I used to have one as a pet (bought it from a pet store) and he was incredibly cute! Don't think we have those naturally here in NW Iowa. I've never seen one here anyway.
ReplyDeleteA pet? That's fun. I had friends who had those hermit crabs. I can see where a lizard like that might be something similar.
DeleteMy oldest girl had these in an aquarium when she was growing up. They sell them in pet shops here! It looked like Jurassic Park when you added the crickets once a week!
ReplyDeleteLOL! Jurassic Park, I love it!!
DeleteLucky! So cute!
ReplyDeleteI think they are cute too. Scares a lot of people but they really seem to be curious about us too...wary, but curious.
DeleteWe have something similar here and my cats bring them into the house all the time. Poor buggers. It's funny to see them buff out their throat in a red flag, open their mouths and seem to say "I'm a big scary dragon! Look out!" LOL!
ReplyDeleteYes, they do the puffy neck thing don't they. I bet the cats are happy with their 'score', ha.
DeleteI love these little lizards! Being in your neck of the woods, I am also blessed with them. And you're right - they are not only cute but eat all kinds of bad things that eat our good things!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures!
Texas Rose
They are all over aren't they? I do think they are cute, though they do have a habit of startling me on occasion, ha. Thanks!!
DeleteWe have them here in AL. When we lived in Jackson, MS, Daddy caught one on the porch railing, brought it inside and put it on his bed. As little bugs fell from the light over head, Daddy would give them to the lizard. Then, he put him back on the porch railing. From then on for several months the lizard would be waiting on the porch railing for his dinner. He would crawl up in Daddy's hand and sit on the bed and eat bugs. We children were just fascinated. I was seven-years-old at this time.
ReplyDeleteThat is an AWESOME story! Love it. Thanks for sharing such a great memory. Dang makes me want to try 'feeding' one, ha. Thanks again, very neat.
DeleteWe don't have those but plenty of others here including big monitor lizards (goannas). We use to have one visit that was a good 2 metres from tip to tail. I love them all and would gladly have the lizards over the snakes any day. I loved the above story.
ReplyDeleteI bet you have all sorts of strange (to US anyway, ha) creepy crawlies. 2 meters? Yikes!
DeleteWasn't that story great? She was sweet to share it.
I don't mind them in the garden, but I'm not particularly fond of them in the house. (smile) If my cat doesn't get to them first, I'll carry the house invaders out into the yard. I like Parsimony's story too. (smile)
ReplyDeleteThey do have a way of just "appearing" don't they? And trying to catch one is not the easiest thing in the world, ha.
DeleteParsimony scored a hit with that one. I think we all enjoyed it.
My daughter had 2 of these as pets that we kept in an aquarium. During our Wisconsin winter when bugs were not so plentiful, we would go to the pet store to buy them crickets. In the bitter cold, my husband would put the bag inside his jacket to make sure the bugs lived. Not me, couldn't do it. I brought a blanket along for them! The things we do for kids and pets!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great memory to share too. A bag O crickets? Ha. You (and hubby) were great parents to do that. I'm sure the kids (and lizards) appreciated it, ha.
DeleteWe also have these cute little guys in SC, and love watching them. They like to hang out next to our pond just off our back porch. I just wish my dog would leave them alone...they are great bug catchers!
ReplyDeleteThey do catch bugs like crazy. And it's fun to watch them stalk a bug and then boom! It's gone, ha.
DeleteYes, I'd be freaked out. Just like if I saw a garter snake. Thank you very much, but you can have them.
ReplyDeleteI'm not too bothered by bats, as some people, though. Have a good week. I'm hoping for some sunshine to dry out the garden so I can plant. Have the plants but no garden tilled!!
I hope you got your sunshine and garden time. Yes, I understand some people are scare of them, and I wouldn't fault anyone for that. Snakes scare me. Not sure I've been around enough bats to have a feeling either way, ha. I love what bats are and what they do and think they are neat looking creatures, but not sure if one was flying toward me.....how I'd react, ha.
DeleteI'd duck too, if a bat flew toward me. They have sharp little claws. Finally, got the garden tilled and planted..... Yah!!! Where I live the farmers are just now being able to get into the fields to plow and plant. They are getting a very late start this year. Have a great week. M
DeleteI'm a Texas transplant so when I first saw these, I'd run the other direction. When my daughters were little, they would come in the house, hands behind their backs and in the sweetest little voices, "mommie, mommie". I knew it was time to run. As they got older they were called for lizard removal, when one got in the house. Alas, they are grown and gone from my house, so I bought a butterfly net and have become very skilled at trapping and removing back into the yard. Still can't touch them, but enjoy watching them in the garden.
ReplyDeleteHa, definitely takes some getting used to if you are from a place that doesn't have anything like that. A butterfly net is a great idea to have, I might have to think about keeping one at the farm.
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