Hello there my fine scaly-free friends.

Please, let me introduce myself.  My name is Don Juan. I am a lizard and I am looking for love.

Oh what a fine day for romance.  The birds are singing.

The air is sweet.

The scenery is breathtaking.

SHE is breathtaking. Oh my, just look at how her scales glitter.

Her eyes shine like tiny amber stars in her sleek arrow shaped head.  Her stripes, did you see her stripes?

That yellow!

Oh, she has the brains to go with those gorgeous stripes.  She has impeccable taste.

Just look at that delectable brilliant emerald green cadydid leg she is crunching on.  What strong, fast legs she must have to catch such prey.

I must go talk to her.  I must tell her how I feel.  What a beautiful creature she is.

“Oh creature of my heart; jewel of my eye.”

“I am known as the great Don Juan.”

“Just look at my strong claws; my brilliant blue flash of scales down my side.”

Hey!  Where are you going?

Come back!

I did not mean to frighten you little lady.

No, no I do not mean to eat you!

Please, just give me a minute of your precious time.  I heard you were interested in laying some eggs over there underneath the pineapple plant.  I wish for you to consider me to assist you with that.

I am known to be the largest and strongest lizard in these parts.  I am able to catch the tastiest and largest of all the insects under the banana tree.  My legs are strong and fast.  My tail quick and flexible for balance.

Just look at my blue scales, they are as beautiful as the noon sky.

Have you seen any lizard more handsome than I?

Just take a moment to consider.

Let me know your decision.  I assure you there is no other lizard better suited for your needs.

One of my greatest pleasures at my lodging in Costa Rica were all the little friends who would greet me every hour of the day and night.

They would hang from the ceiling, crawl along the ground, skitter under my feet, sneak under the table tops, stick to the light fixture, plaster themselves to the mirror, and chirp happily while clinging to the mosquito netting above my bed.  They also joyfully consumed thousands of little insects that were out for blood, my blood.

This little Yellow-headed Gecko (Gonatodes albogularis) greeted me in the morning at the top of the stairs.  Most of the geckos in Costa Rica are nocturnal, but these guys enjoy sunshine. Only males have the nice yellow head.

Don’t you just love his blue lips?

There were many lizards that peered at me from the walls.  The most common were these little guys.

I had trouble spotting these lizards until they moved.

Really nice camoflague there buddy.

This beautiful rusty red creature is an anole.  There are over 400 different species of anoles.

Perhaps someone out there will tell me which one this is?

He lived in my cabin.  The entire building was his domain.  I would wake up in the morning with him sitting on the open windowsill, catching the morning sun.  Sometimes he would sit at the very edge of the handrail waiting for me to return from my shower.

Mr. Red had no interest in me, however.  He was looking for love.

Hey!  Is that a girl anole over there?

I better get her attention!

That brilliant red gem of a flag fanning from his throat is called a dewlap.  Mr. Red’s dewlap is quite impressive.  I have no doubt that the scaly girl he was trying to woo noticed this handsome display.

Different anoles, different dewlaps.

This anole reminded me of agate I used to polish in my rock tumbler.  My favorites were always the small bursts of color encased in a glass clear drop of transparent rock.

Everywhere I looked there was a lizard resting in the sun, sitting in the shade, munching on a bug, or trying to attract love.  I would sit for hours just watching them go about their lizardy business.

At night they seemed to disappear, replaced with nocturnal geckos chirping from hidden places among the palm fronds.  Following the sound, I would not find the gecko, but the anoles fast asleep.  The gecko would chuckle his chirps at me from his new hiding place.

It is time for me to find my own frond to snuggle up on for the night.

sueños dulces

A small blurry brown shape dashed away in to the trees to my right.

I croched down with my camera poised for a picture of the blur, now hidden under a many leafed bush.  My husband taps my left shoulder and guides my eye with an outstreached finger to the opposite side of he trail. There, on a fallen log streatched out among dappled light with his regal head held high was the elusive king.

He did not move and neither did I.

I nearly forgot the camera cradled in my right hand.  He stayed frozen as a statue as I framed and shot picture after picture.  All while struck in complete amazement as this skittish creature simply relaxed not 20 feet from me. The brown basilisk or jesus christ lizard is an easily frightened creature, dashing away at the slightest hint of danger.

Basilisks may be found in forests across Central America and northern South America often climbing expertly along branches.

They are omnivorous, dining on delicious bugs, animals, and vegetable matter.  Perhaps this lizard now staring me in the eye is resting after a nice meal of sweet tree flowers and the nutty crunch of insects.

Basilisk translates from latin, the language of science, as ‘”little king,”

perhaps derived from the little crown of scales on the back of his head. To me, this animal looks like something that has not existed since the Permian age.  With the huge sails on its back, this three foot long lizard looks more like a miniature Dimetrodon than an iguana’s cousin.  Scientists believe the sails on the dinosaur Dimetrodon’s back were used for temperature regulation. Perhaps this is what the basilisk uses his scales for in the tropical rain forest.

As impressive as his sails are, it is his feet which makes this lizard famous.

This handsome lizard can run blindingly fast to escape hungry predators.  The Costa Ricans or Ticos, call this lizard Jesus (Hey-soos) Christo (Cree-stow) for his amazing ability to run across the surface of water.  Any animal this size would immediately crash into the water on the first step.

This ability has be described in detail in a 2004 study by Shi-Tong Tonia Hsieh of Harvard University, as a vertical slapping of a foot directly onto the surface of the water forming a bubble of air around it.  This is followed by a horizontal push backward to propel the creature forward before the leg is pulled up to the body, ready for another slap downward.

Each toe is surround by a fringe or flat flap of scales thereby increasing the foot’s surface area and preventing it from breaking the surface tension of water.  This fringe also enables the lizard to become an expert climber.

The gorgeous basilisk ensured I had some very nice photographs of him before simply sliding off the side of the fallen tree and beyond my vision.

I thought this would be my only basilisk sighting for the trip.  However, only a few days later,  I heard a rustling noise on the edge of a gurgling stream.

Baby basilisks only slightly resemble their parents.  The triangle shaped head and bright yellow stripe above the eye helped me guess the species of this animal.  I would have thought this youngster would be even more shy than the adult.  This one became the perfect lizard photo model posing lizard pozes as I crept forward snapping nearly 30 pictures before he tired of the game and dove into some dense brush, out of sight.

Crested Gecko (aka Eyelash Gecko)

Rhacodactylus ciliatus

Reptiles Alive Name: Rhacodactylus (aka Rhacky)

Hissstory: Rhacky came to us as an unwanted pet in July 2010.

RA Diet: Crickets and fruit.

Natural Diet: Insects and other invertebrates plus fruit and nectar.

Range: New Caledonia.

Habitat: Cool and humid tropical lowland rain forest from the understory to the canopy.

Size: 6-7 inches long.

Lifespan: 10-20 years.

Reproduction: Females lay 1 or 2 eggs which hatch in about 2 months.

Conservation: Crested gecko habitat is threatened by: deforestation, nickel mining, and the introduction of exotic predators.  Most of the crested geckos available for sale as pets in the United States have been captive bred.

Cool Facts: Crested geckos were first discovered in 1866, but were later thought to be extinct.  However, in 1994, two herpetologists on expeditions to New Caledonia “rediscovered” the geckos.

Water Monitor Lizard

Varanus salvator

Splash the Water Monitor Lizard

Reptiles Alive Name: “Splash”

Hissstory: Splash was either an abandoned or escaped pet.  He was found hiding in a drain pipe in the city of Alexandria, VA.  An animal control officer was able to capture him and then called us.  We received him in July 2006 and he has been just a ton of fun ever since!

RA Diet: We feed Splash a varied diet including: roaches, crickets, super worms, cooked chicken eggs, and his favorite:  dead mice.

Natural Diet: Monitors eat carrion, fish, shellfish, small reptiles (including baby crocodiles!) and mammals, eggs of all kinds, and insects.  Pretty much, they will eat anything except their vegetables!

Range: Water monitors are found in southern Asia, from Bengal in the west to the Philippines and the Indo-Australian islands.

Habitat: Water monitors like to live anywhere  near water, including swamps, woodlands, and riverbanks.

Size: Water monitors are one of the biggest species of lizards on Earth.  They can grow almost 10 feet long and weigh up to 75 pounds.  Whew – that is BIG!

Lifespan: Monitor lizards can live for over 20 years.

Reproduction: Water monitors  will take advantage of termite mounds as well as rotting logs or stumps to lay their eggs.  Females lay 20-50 eggs which take about 6 months to hatch.

Conservation: Water monitors are listed as CITES Appendix II, meaning they are becoming endangered.  Their biggest threats come from habitat loss, the skin trade, and the pet trade.

Cool Facts: The largest living lizard in the world is a monitor lizard commonly known as the “Komodo dragon.”  Water monitors are very closely related to the the Komodo dragon, and just like the dragon, the water monitor is very intelligent.  Some scientists believe monitor lizards may be the most intelligent groups of lizards.  After working with monitors, I would say I agree.  They are fast learners and they are VERY curious.  There really is something going on behind those dragon eyes!