We've got a Texas Spiny Lizard in our backyard that's about 10 inches long. The dog ignores him. I hope the neighbor's cats do. The cats tend to stay out of our backyard. A 75 pound dog can have that effect. The Anole things? We called them chameleons growing up in Houston. They were everywhere in our neighborhood and there are a bunch in our front and back yards here in Austin. Spotted a pair having sex while looking out of a window of our house. Damnedest thing I've seen in a long time. I actually felt embarrassed and walked away.
Yeah - I've seen a LOT of them this year! Not sure why there's been such a surge. Thanks a lot, Trump.
Oh yeah, have a ton of those around, they're awesome. They can blend in with an oak tree's bark like nothing, then come down at full speed and eat some slowass bug. Haven't seen a horned toad in years, but I've see a hognose snake twice in the last 10, they're non-poisonous and rare and beneficial. If you've never seen one, it will scare the hell out of you, looks like a rattlesnake at first glance...then rises up and puffs out it's neck like a cobra. They're not really supposed to be populous in Central Texas, mostly in EastTex, but now I've seen 2 about 40 miles apart....https://tpwmagazine.com/archive/2011/aug/scout5_wildthing_hognosesnake/
I had these things everywhere in the trees in my yard in the house I had NE of Ft Worth. The first time I saw one I was shocked...a foot-long-lizard? I feel like I should have brought some with me as pets when I moved back from Ft. Worth.
I have a few Brown anoles in my yard. We've had them in DFW for years. I always thought it was regional because the last time I saw a green anole was in Houston. I'm sad to hear they are disappearing.
That is a wild looking snake! Yeah, it would scare the hell out of me if I saw one do that. Same here with the horned toads. They were common in the '50's and '60's, back when you could go barefoot all summer because there weren't any fire ants. Heck, I knew someone that kept a couple in a metal framed aquarium in my neighborhood, picked up traveling in the Hill Country. My understanding is that fire ants have made them very endangered. I hate the damned fire ants. Absolutely hate them.
That's a shame about the scarcity due to invasive species. Maybe the fire ants will get the mosquito-gene treatment....
Now that you know what it is, no reason to be scared! That first one I saw was a very, very WTF?!? moment. On the horny toads: Horned lizards used to be widespread in Texas but have been in gradual decline for the last few decades. Several factors have contributed, such as urban development, which has fragmented the landscape, robbing the reptiles of space and pressuring populations of the harvester ants they feed on. And that’s not all. “The introduced red imported fire ants will kill hatchlings,” says Barber, as well as harvester ants. “As green spaces shrink, some predators become more abundant or consolidated.” https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...dangered-threatened-species-video-news/#close https://tpwmagazine.com/archive/2018/dec/ed_2_lizards/index.phtml The breeding program at the Ft Worth Zoo is pretty cool. Our ranch in Blanco County is on the list to have some released, someday.
Here's one for you @Deckard...the mom just showed me this from one of her facebook friends, Benavidez, TX: 35 pencil-sized nope-ropes in a 3 1/2 foot snake
Ridley Scott's next Alien movie. Or: Momma rattlesnake without her skin, and the sacs are all the babies.
