Florida's Marvelous Reptiles and Amphibians

Five-lined skinks spend most of their time on the ground, under leaf litter and rotting logs where they forage on any small invertebrates, spiders, insects, larvae, earthworms, crustaceans, lizards, even small mice. They climb only to bask on stumps or the lower reaches of tree trunks.Skinks purposely break their tails when confronted with danger. This break occurs at specialized vertebrae that are split by contractions of the surrounding muscles. The lost tail is then slowly regenerated. Skinks are eaten by snakes, hawks and other bird of prey and mammals such as raccoons, skunks, possums, foxes.

As I research lizards and skinks online I'm finding out that many skink young have blue tails.

This species was released intentionally in the 1940s in Palm Beach in an attempt to rid sugarcane of insect pests, and it has since expanded both north and south. This native of the Bahama Islands is also popular in the pet trade, which has resulted in additional releases and escapes. It is now common in parks, in agricultural lands, along canal edges, along seawalls, and in other habitats in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. This alert, robust lizard is mostly terrestrial but climbs well, especially preferring areas with ground rubble. This is a fairly large lizard and males may reach a length of 11 in.

Excerpt from: Florida's Exotic Wildlife from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission

This lizard is, quite literally, all over the place. You'll find him peeking out from under your shutters, scurring along the arm of your lawn chair and sometimes even running across the wall in your house.

An Anole drinking from a tiny collection of water in a small hole in the asphalt parking lot of Walgreens.

This tree frog is 1 to 1 3/4 inches and is mostly grayish-brown with a slight reddish cast. It can change colors to green when on green leaves. Many individuals have a dark band that runs from the nostril through the eye. This frog is often confused with the Squirrel Treefrog but unlike the Squirrel Treefrog, it does not have any yellow around the mouth or under parts. The Pinewoods treefrog eats insects. It stays high in tree tops both in pine flatland and cypress and only comes down to breed and lay eggs. It breeds between March and October, mostly during the rainy season. The Pinewoods treefrogs chorus at night sounds like a staccato of many typewriters all going at once.

There have been some questions concerning how to take care of turtles. I love turtles and have kept many as pets but I keep Box Turtles as pets. Box turtles are land animals. There's also a lot of them and, except for the ban on removing them from the state of Florida, they aren't protected. They are also much easier to keep clean. By the way, turtles in the wild have not been found to have salmonella. They get salmonella from messy cages so cleaning cages and washing your hands is extremely important. This means that if you have a water loving turtle you must keep that tank constantly clean. Also, feed your turtles somewhere other than where they usually live. For water turtles this means two tanks constantly cleaned. I even gave my turtles a bath after they fed.

Turtles are not the easiest pets to have. Don't keep one just because your son or daughter brought one home. Instead use it as an example of how we should let wild things be wild, let it go, and go buy a hamster.

Rule Number 1: Be sure the turtle you have is NOT a protected species.
Rule Number 2: Keep your turtle and cages very clean.
Rule Number 3: Learn everything you possibly can about your turtle species and find a good reptile vet.

Please be a responsible pet owner!

This is a pygmy rattlesnake. They're common throughout Florida and on many offshore islands. The rattle is small and makes a sound like the buzzing of an insect that is not easy to hear. It also can not be heard from more than a few feet away. They are fiesty and quick to strike. The bite causes inflammation, swelling and pain and needs immediate medical treatment but there have been no reports of people being killed by this snake. Of course, it is a poisonous snake and there is a good possibility that someone could be vulnerable to this snakes bite.

As you can see in the photo, this is a captive snake. It's not easy to find snakes; let alone poisonous ones. But just because we don't see one doesn't mean it's not there so we take precautions when walking and watch for snakes. Looking where you walk is your best precaution against snake bites. Look up. Look down. Look where you place your foot or hand before you place it there. And look in your own backyard as well as in the scrub.