Look What I Found ...

[Moose]

Following Dr. Frank Brown's words of wisdom, I took a saunter around the garden shortly after sunrise. There was a heavy cool misty fog with the sun struggling to beak through. I happened upon this critter hanging out in the Bogoriensis awaiting some warming rays. Pretty certain its not a native (can any reptile fans ID?), its the first I've seen in my garden that looks like this. The head had this strange looking "helmet" that colored a chocolate red. The underbelly has an orangish hue.The tail has dark banding. What I strange is that his fore feet are grasping the branch while his hind legs are straddling it. I guesstimate the overall length to be about 12 inches.

Truly an onward through the fog morning ...

 

[palmisland]

Cool, that's a Basilisk Lizard, sometimes called a "Jesus Lizard" due to their ability to almost walk on water ( they run across water on their hind legs ) & not native to Florida. There are tons of them in Loxahatchee & they won't harm your plants. They are from Central-South America.

 

[Moose]

Cool, that's a Basilisk Lizard, sometimes called a "Jesus Lizard" due to their ability to almost walk on water ( they run across water on their hind legs ) & not native to Florida. There are tons of them in Loxahatchee & they won't harm your plants. They are from Central-South America.

OK - I've heard of them. I used to see them at my buddy's nursery (Ricky Kern) in Loxahatchee. Never seen one up this close. At Ricky's place you would see them dashing away on their hind legs. He told me they were Jesus Christ lizards because they could do the water thing like you said.

Randy - do you know how large they can get ?

 

[Native son]

We have them, they are meat eater's I think. Our largest is about 20 inches. Very serious hole diggers the sea wall is their favorite area.

 

[fawnridge]

Shove a skewer through it and roast it over an open fire. I'll bet they're tasty.

 

[Moose]

Herringbone