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Post by fantastic5 on Jun 12, 2017 8:22:02 GMT -5
My boss has a weekend home on Lookout Mountain in Georgia and today she brought me a picture of this little guy who had taken up residence in her rocks. He/she is less than a foot long and doesn't look anything like the skinks and salamanders that we have around here. Could he be an escaped pet? Can he survive the winters here? He likes to sit in the rocks and watch them work in the yard. @shotgunner?
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jun 12, 2017 9:02:52 GMT -5
My boss has a weekend home on Lookout Mountain in Georgia and today she brought me a picture of this little guy who had taken up residence in her rocks. He/she is less than a foot long and doesn't look anything like the skinks and salamanders that we have around here. Could he be an escaped pet? Can he survive the winters here? He likes to sit in the rocks and watch them work in the yard. @shotgunner ? 22 species of the Sceloporus Genus occur in the United States. Most likely - Eastern fence lizard (Sceloperus undulates): N.Y., N.J., Pa., Ohio, Ind., Ill., Mo., Kan., Okla., Texas, La., Ark., Ky., W. Va., Va., N.C., S.C., Ga., Fla., Ala., Miss., and Tenn.
srelherp.uga.edu/lizards/sceund.htm
We have several different flavors of them in CA.
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Post by wigglinrocks on Jun 12, 2017 9:23:17 GMT -5
My boss has a weekend home on Lookout Mountain in Georgia and today she brought me a picture of this little guy who had taken up residence in her rocks. He/she is less than a foot long and doesn't look anything like the skinks and salamanders that we have around here. Could he be an escaped pet? Can he survive the winters here? He likes to sit in the rocks and watch them work in the yard. @shotgunner ? 22 species of the Sceloporus Genus occur in the United States. Most likely - Eastern fence lizard (Sceloperus undulates): N.Y., N.J., Pa., Ohio, Ind., Ill., Mo., Kan., Okla., Texas, La., Ark., Ky., W. Va., Va., N.C., S.C., Ga., Fla., Ala., Miss., and Tenn.
srelherp.uga.edu/lizards/sceund.htm
We have several different flavors of them in CA.
Do they come in chocolate ?
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Post by fantastic5 on Jun 12, 2017 10:01:16 GMT -5
My boss has a weekend home on Lookout Mountain in Georgia and today she brought me a picture of this little guy who had taken up residence in her rocks. He/she is less than a foot long and doesn't look anything like the skinks and salamanders that we have around here. Could he be an escaped pet? Can he survive the winters here? He likes to sit in the rocks and watch them work in the yard. @shotgunner ? 22 species of the Sceloporus Genus occur in the United States. Most likely - Eastern fence lizard (Sceloperus undulates): N.Y., N.J., Pa., Ohio, Ind., Ill., Mo., Kan., Okla., Texas, La., Ark., Ky., W. Va., Va., N.C., S.C., Ga., Fla., Ala., Miss., and Tenn.
srelherp.uga.edu/lizards/sceund.htm
We have several different flavors of them in CA.
Thanks so much rockpickerforever! It looks exactly right. Just never seen a scaly lizard around here. But fence lizard??? Just sounds derogatory. For such a cute little gal, she sure needs a better name.
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Jun 12, 2017 10:38:56 GMT -5
We've always called the ones in Calif & Utah, Bluebellies. Sometimes there's also yellow on the belly, but that's even more derogatory. Lynn
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,648
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Post by Tommy on Jun 12, 2017 14:13:59 GMT -5
Bluebellies are so prolific here in northern CA bay area it's hard to walk from one end of the yard to the other without seeing a couple of them. They like to sun themselves on my rockpiles - or the soundwall out behind the house. Keeps Charley busy so it's a good thing. He takes his varmit clearing job pretty serious lol.
We used to get what we called alligator lizards here at the house - also known as skinks (I think) but I haven't seen one in years.
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Jun 12, 2017 14:20:29 GMT -5
Tommy, Alligator lizards & Skinks are different. We used to catch some Alligator lizards in the foothills above Cupertino. Sometimes they have ticks on their necks. Watch out! Skinks are much more slender than Alligator lizards. They often have a colored tail. I've chased many Skinks, but never caught one. They are survivors. Lynn
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Post by aDave on Jun 12, 2017 15:04:14 GMT -5
Tommy , Alligator lizards & Skinks are different. We used to catch some Alligator lizards in the foothills above Cupertino. Sometimes they have ticks on their necks. Watch out! Skinks are much more slender than Alligator lizards. They often have a colored tail. I've chased many Skinks, but never caught one. They are survivors. Lynn Every now and then, we find an alligator lizard at home. It's been a few months though. Fence lizards, on the other hand, are numerous in the yard. Interesting note about ticks on Western Fence Lizards, that I found on this site: In California, western black-legged ticks (deer ticks) are the primary carriers of Lyme disease. Very tiny nymphal deer ticks are more likely to carry the disease than adults. A protein in the blood of Western Fence Lizards kills the bacterium in these nymphal ticks when they attach themselves to a lizard and ingest the lizard's blood. This could explain why Lyme disease is less common in California than it is in some areas such as the Northeastern states, where it is epidemic.
More InfoDave
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jun 12, 2017 17:05:14 GMT -5
Do they come in chocolate ? Why yes, yes they do! Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, avocado, pistachio and tutti-frutti. Just kidding.
There are actually five different species in the state of California:
Sceloporus graciosus - Common Sagebrush Lizard Sceloporus magister - Desert Spiny Lizard Sceloporus occidentalis - Western Fence Lizard Sceloporus orcutti - Granite Spiny Lizard Sceloporus uniformis - Yellow-backed Spiny Lizard
All but the last one can be found nearby, very common lizards around here.
Thanks so much rockpickerforever ! It looks exactly right. Just never seen a scaly lizard around here. But fence lizard??? Just sounds derogatory. For such a cute little gal, she sure needs a better name.
You are welcome, Anne. I just call them as I see them, I don't name them, lol.
What do you think she should be called? Judy? She probably wouldn't come anyway....
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Post by wigglinrocks on Jun 12, 2017 17:25:13 GMT -5
Do they come in chocolate ? Why yes, yes they do! Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, avocado, pistachio and tutti-frutti. Just kidding.
There are actually five different species in the state of California:
Sceloporus graciosus - Common Sagebrush Lizard Sceloporus magister - Desert Spiny Lizard Sceloporus occidentalis - Western Fence Lizard Sceloporus orcutti - Granite Spiny Lizard Sceloporus uniformis - Yellow-backed Spiny Lizard
All but the last one can be found nearby, very common lizards around here.
Thanks so much rockpickerforever ! It looks exactly right. Just never seen a scaly lizard around here. But fence lizard??? Just sounds derogatory. For such a cute little gal, she sure needs a better name.
You are welcome, Anne. I just call them as I see them, I don't name them, lol.
What do you think she should be called? Judy? She probably wouldn't come anyway....
Ah Ha , I'll have a neopolitan .
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Post by radio on Jun 12, 2017 17:27:30 GMT -5
LOL! "Fence Lizard" is what we always called them also.
My first encounter with an Alligator lizard was in the Sierra foothills between Sonora and Mariposa. I was moving rocks on a creek bank to sluice for Gold when one jumped straight up a foot or more and tried to latch onto my finger! They have a powerful bite!
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Post by oregon on Jun 12, 2017 17:43:46 GMT -5
Interesting note about ticks on Western Fence Lizards, that I found on this site: In California, western black-legged ticks (deer ticks) are the primary carriers of Lyme disease. Very tiny nymphal deer ticks are more likely to carry the disease than adults. A protein in the blood of Western Fence Lizards kills the bacterium in these nymphal ticks when they attach themselves to a lizard and ingest the lizard's blood. This could explain why Lyme disease is less common in California than it is in some areas such as the Northeastern states, where it is epidemic.
More InfoDave that is pretty interesting, all the more reason to make a bigger rock garden. Never realized how many ticks lizards carried, couple pics - look near the ear... western Fence and aligator
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