Reptiles on the Loose

[mutepointe]

OK, I have a question that some of you folks can answer. I've been to parts of the United States where little lizard reptiles are scurrying all around the condo and occasionally get inside. I know they're harmless but still, yikes. What happens when these baby Godzillas and baby Monitor Lizards and baby Hogwart's Dragons make it into an office building? Does general panic ensue? Are folks cool? Do you try to catch them or do you just let them be?

[Nanohedron]

You mean one o' these li'l critters?



It's an anole. When I was a kid they sold 'em mail-order to anywhere in the States out of ads in the backs of comic books. They were marketed by the name "chameleons", but they're not. My family call them chameleons. I try not to blow a gasket.

Personally, I say let 'em be, if for no other reason than they eat bugs. Besides, I wager that if they found their way in, they can find their way right back out where there's more to eat. They're pretty tough to catch, anyway; very wary, fast, and while tameable can be full of fight into the bargain. I have no idea what it'd be like to be bitten by one, but you'd have to ask for it; in the wild they're not in the least concerned about humans aside from keeping comfortably away from us.

[mutepointe]

The ones I have seen have more evil in their eyes and a hunger to taste human flesh but these look close enough. We always tried to be careful at the condo to scare them away from the door when we went in and out but office buildings and grocery stores have automatic doors and people hustling and bustling. I know how much a field mouse or a spider or heaven forbid a snake can cause in an office building up here in West Virginia. I've never heard of panic over these guys.

I think I would be OK with them hanging around and glad if they ate bugs but I'd scream like a school girl if one ran across my hand as I typed or if I opened a drawer and found one.

[dwest]

Had a snake in the house back in November. Complete panic ensued. The dogs and the cats were going for the poor little fella, luckily I was faster. Found a good spot in the vegetable garden for him/her. The wife is still mourning her grass spider who lived in the bathroom, there just wasn't enough food.

[Innocent Bystander]

Bathrooms never have enough food. What makes it worse is the current craze for soaps that smell like chocolate and bath-bombs that look like iced fancies ( wee buns. I don't know what the American translation is). I've mentioned to the wife about having at least a tin of biscuits in there, but she frowns on the suggestion for some reason.

Used to be geckoes running around the ceilings in the hotel when I was in Arabia. Cute wee critturs. And they eat bugs. They don't mind sharing. Neither do I.

[Denny]

cupcake?

[dwest]

I like having a good book or two or three or more in the bathroom. The wife claims she doesn't understand this yet she'll relate some topic to me that I know came from her reading something in my "library." Binocs would be helpful too but they get fogged up during a bath.

[Innocent Bystander]

Aye, cupcake. Thank you.

[Denny]

always willing to snag the low hanging fruit!

[MTGuru]

<-- Side-Blotched Lizard (Click for more)

We have these little guys all over the place year-round. They're cute as all heck and very friendly, though they skitter away if you get too close. I love watching them do push-ups out on the patio. And they love watching us do stuff, by climbing up the door screens and staring in. This also gives you a good view of their bright blue dorsal spots.

Don't think they get inside much, since they much prefer sunny places, and they tend to avoid entrances where there's movement and traffic. I've never seen one in an office. They're very quick and hard to catch, but you can sometimes nab them with a cardboard box, especially if they've been indoors for a while and are feeling sluggish. When they get in the garage I either leave them alone or point them in the right direction with a broom. They're usually pretty cooperative.

In the springtime we like to look for plenty of lizard activity on the walks and patios. It's a good sign that there are no rattlesnakes around.

<-- Alligator Lizard (Click for more)

These guys do sometimes freak me out. They're long and snake-like, and not friendly. They're much rarer, but they do get inside and in the garage, and then may stand their ground when confronted. That makes them easier to catch if you can avoid being bitten first.

[Nanohedron]

Used to be geckoes running around the ceilings in the hotel when I was in Arabia. Cute wee critturs. And they eat bugs. They don't mind sharing. Neither do I.

Interesting! We could stand to learn altruism from the gecko. And what bugs did you prefer over there?

[dwest]

A number of lizard species have given up having their own men folk around, that's why I don't watch "V", complete and utter nonsense.

[crookedtune]

We have skinks. When they get inside, they usually just hide somewhere until they dry up.

Then they make good belts for 'Do-You-Really-Feel-A-Need-To-Ask-GI Joe'.

[Nanohedron]

[clickypic]<-- Alligator Lizard (Click for more)

These guys do sometimes freak me out. They're long and snake-like, and not friendly.

No kidding. Face-on, looks very much like a juvenile 'gator. And those bloodshot eyes surely bespeak a peevish how-d'you-do; I'm pretty darned peevish myself when my eyes are like that in the morning.

[dwest]

We have Ophisaurus ventralis here. They will kill you.... if you're a grasshopper or cricket and do it with out using either hands or feet. They're very breakable unfortunately.