Fattening Anoles
July 12th, 2006 by Editor BNew Orleans has been visited by a truly biblical plague of flies since the flood waters receded. You can’t eat food outside without being blanketed by a swarm.
However…
I’ve noticed the friendly little lizards around our house (mostly anoles and a few geckos) are getting fatter lately, and that makes me happy. Nature has a way of balancing things out.
If Lucy was around she’d probably be hunting those lizards…
July 12th, 2006 at 4:47 pm
I agree, and I’d have to say the one in your photo is a waif compared to some I’ve seen in my backyard. I wonder if they face fewer predators, because I’ve seen a lot more of the tiny ones too. I’ve heard they eat their own kind, but I’m not sure what else preys on them.
July 12th, 2006 at 6:58 pm
birds eat ‘em, at least they do in Florida. I love the little guys. I mistakenly called the ones at my folks’ place geckos, but I’ve since learned that they’re really anoles. Facinating little creatures, I wish we had them in Indiana.
July 12th, 2006 at 6:58 pm
meant to include this link to anole pix.
July 12th, 2006 at 7:21 pm
Anoles are very fascinating. The green one in the photo on your blog is the native variety, which has become much rarer since the brown anoles (and several other species, too–at least here in FL) invaded the southern US. I think I’ve only seen two or three the past year, and, being a reptile freak, I’m always paying attention!
The males are especially fun to watch. They get territorial with each other, and I get a kick out of seeing them do push-ups or flicking out their dewlap, that colorful flap under their chin.
July 13th, 2006 at 10:36 am
Walking out of my house last evening, I was terribly startled by a large green thing sitting on the handrail of my back stairs. It was a gecko that was beginning to resemble a komodo dragon.
“Aaaah! You scared me, gecko! Don’t do that again,” I said before I walked down. Geckos have never scared me mostly because the ones around my house have never been this big.
MUTANTS! MUTANTS!
July 13th, 2006 at 10:48 am
Cats do terrible things to those lizards which I’ve always referred to as chameleons because they change color to match the surroundings.
July 13th, 2006 at 12:23 pm
I too meant to leave an anole pic link, from a serious sparring session on my front porch. If you’re up for a virtual expedition, you can link your way through to videos of the anole showdown and a post on my blog as well.
July 13th, 2006 at 12:38 pm
When i saw the blog title, having never heard of anoles before [but VERY familiar with fattening], i assumed you were talking about some kind of tasty mexican dish….
July 14th, 2006 at 9:26 am
I saw a lot of those things the first time I visited Treasure Island, Florida, but I could never get a good picture on my old crap digicam.
Didn’t see any the next time I went, but that motel had a cat working the beat.