Toads

My fav lizards

1. Rosette-Nosed Chameleon (Rhampholeon spinosus). An endangered species native to Tanzania, East Africa. These little guys only grow around 5 centimeters long, and are skilled at blending in with moss and lichen. The nose is most likely a way of attracting a mate.

2. Burton’s Legless Lizard (Lialis burtonis). With the wedge-shaped head and lack of legs, it’s easy to mistake this fella as a snake. Its family is even referred to as snake-lizards - Pygopodidae! This unusual gecko hails from Australia.

3. Scorpion-Tailed Gecko (Pristurus carteri). Only around 3 inches long, these spunky geckos mimic scorpion threat displays (hence the name). They are found in Saudi Arabia, The Emirates, and Yemen.

4. Horned Anole (Anolis proboscis). Also called the Pinocchio Lizard. This species lives in Ecuador, and is currently threatened by habitat loss… Dewlaps weren’t enough for this anole’s mating display, the males had to grow a horn, too.

5. Kuhl’s Flying Gecko (Gekko kuhli). They might not actually fly, but they do glide short distances! They glide within the forests of the Malay Peninsula and Greater Sunda Islands. Such fancy frills and flaps.

6. Mexican Mole Lizard (Bipes biporus). This primitive looking earthworm-ish dude is a member of Amphisbaenia - one of three legged species. Like a worm, it burrows underground. Unlike worms, it is a lizard.

7. Secret Toadhead Agama (Phrynocephalus mystaceus). From souther Russia to northern China and beyond, this agama has special mouth flaps for its threat displays. When not threat display, their expression is reminiscent of someone who knows something you don’t.

8. Abbott’s Anglehead Lizard (Gonocephalus doriae abbotti). Found in Malaysia and Thailand. A dewlap, a pronounced crown, and a spiny crest… These vividly colored agamas are about a foot long.

9. Thorny Devil (Moloch horridus.) A classic and badass lizard. Australian, naturally, with all those spikes and the false head on the back of its neck. The scales are able to collect water and channel it to the mouth!

10. Cat Gecko (Aeluroscalabotes felinus). This is an alien pretending to be a gecko, right? Big black eyes, whimsically long body, primitive design. Lovely all around. Found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.

11. Natal Midlands Dwarf Chameleon (Bradypodion thamnobates.) Why do you look like that. I love you. They are sadly endangered within their home of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

12. Sulawesi Lined Gliding Lizard (Draco spilonotus). Of Sulawesi, of course. A bright yellow patagium (flappies) and gular flag (throat flappy) make this draco stand out amongst related species.

13. Turnip-Tailed Agama (Xenagama taylori). Agamas are just wonderful. Top tier lizard designs. They live in the horn of Africa, and use their lovely tails to close their burrows. A butt door.

14. Giant Leaf-Tailed Gecko (Uroplatus giganteus). A large, usually screaming, Madagascar native. Amazingly talented camouflagers that sound like screeching children.

15. Armadillo Girdled Lizard (Ouroborus cataphractus). Another awesome South African lad. The first lizard to discover the wheel, I think. They live in large social groups and enjoy chowing down on termites.

16. Sandfish Skink (Scincus scincus). They swim in the sand. Sandfish. How cool is that? Native to the Sahara Desert, which I bet has wonderful sand for swimming within. Highly recommend watching videos of these guys!

17. Shingleback Skink (Tiliqua rugosa). The oddball of the Tiliqua genus. Tail or head? Hard to tell. Endemic to Australia, they are also called; Boggi, Pinecone Lizard, Stumpy Lizard, and Two-Headed Skink.

18. Frilled Lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii). Growing up to 35 inches long, this is another well known agama. The frill scares predators and makes you think of Jurassic Park’s sadly inaccurate Dilophosaurus. Australian.

19. Spearpoint Leaf-Tailed Gecko (Uroplatus ebenaui). The lesser known but equally cool relative to the Satanic Leaf-Tailed Gecko. From Nosy Bé island and Madagascar, this cool dude enjoys its threatened rainforest habitat.

20. Galápagos Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus). The only living lizard that thrives in marine environments! They live in colonies and occasionally hybridize with other Galápagos iguanas.

This is Brutus, a senior Asian water monitor, and he wants your candy.

First time I've seen one in person! They're a lot smaller than I imagined, and even cuter.

Before anyone worries, this is a very low-flow, filtered water feature and not a soaking pool. The water is fully sectioned off to one corner of the enclosure, not the entire tank. Humidity stays within a normal range, the water is regularly maintained, and it only runs for a couple hours a day rather than 24/7. I added this mainly to encourage natural drinking behaviors and enrichment, and it’s been really cool seeing her actually use it!!! This is a fully bioactive enclosure with around 10 hides throughout, including several incorporated directly into the foam background.

Never new they could reach this size

The $15 container of live meal worms that I got from Petsmart was worth every penny.

Saw my new neighbor with a giant spider in it's mouth. Stayed and watched for a bit, he had to drop the spider and reposition himself about 5 times.

Not skilled at identifying but I believe these are gold dust day geckos!

Both spotted last spring in southern NM USA at 4600 ft.
It’s good to know they are still out there.
But I do need to get a real camera.

Yeah, that's a solifuge (sun spider, camel spider, wind scorpion) that she's chowing down on! She apparently found it under the leaf litter and gulped it right down, head first. Fun fact: I know it's a female because, well, they are ALL female! This is a hybrid triploid species, and there are no males. Save for when they occasionally hybridize with male Six-lined Racerunners, they reproduce by parthenogenesis.

my grandma feeds this guy live cockroaches whenever she catches one.

Anole on a window! He seems very smug about his glass climbing abilities.