Friday, May 3, 2013

With Heat comes Reptiles

As my children get older I find that they have inherited my tendency for catching lizards. My younger son recently stated that when he grows up he wants to have a “lizard ranch”.


A young Spotted Whiptail Lizard about to go into my garden

While rising summer temperatures increase, so does the activity of the reptiles outside. My children run after whiptails and fence lizards during by day and my wife and I enjoy seeing the geckos consume moths around our porch light at night.

This Blind snake does not want his picture taken

This last week was the second time I saw a blind snake, while many people here in Tucson keep tame desert tortoises in their backyard. Reptiles are pretty well adapted to the Southwest and make our desert landscape much more interesting.

The Blind snake showing his head on his way off

4 comments:

  1. A lizard ranch, indeed. I feel like I already live on one. I use leaf mulch and they make creepy noises as they scuttle across the leaves. Enough to make you think something far larger and more threatening is nearby. And I have plants, such as canna lilies, that can only be classified as "lizard getters."

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    1. Thank you so much for the reply! I'll have to tell my son about the canna lilies - perhaps he'll be more into flowers after hearing that they can attract lizards. (=

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  2. I have never seen a blind snake..when I first looked at the picture it looked like a large earth worm.

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    1. I would have thought that the blind snake was a worm too, but the two times I have seen them at night they were moving fast like a snake and it was hot and dry outside. Some other good indicators are the scales and the fact that I RARELY if ever see worms here in Tucson. Good thing the blind snake is nocturnal as I am sure birds would try to eat it if they got a chance.

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