lizard Archives - the right effort

Lizard in Our Home?

August 4, 2022July 28, 2022Posted in Animals, bloggingTagged lizardLeave a comment

The outdoor air temperature is 101 degrees Fahrenheit. Needless to say, I am indoors. I played pickleball in the morning hours when the air temperature was just 86 degrees. Now I am watching a twin-spotted spiny lizard through a glass window at my home because there have been times a lizard has found its way into our home.

Lizard hot in the sun, so come to the shade.

I‘m watching this lizard. Is there a place where lizards sneak into our home? The few occasions a lizard has been in our home, was it walking in when we do? Or sliding in through the sliding door tracks? Or some other way? Can I discover anything while watching this one? Is it looking at me? I understand lizards can see as well or even better than humans. Wow!

Does the lizard know we have captured then released a few of their fellow lizards in our home this past year? My partner seems to have caught the most lizards … in a washcloth, a t-shirt, a napkin and a glue-board (oh that one sounds horrible!) I caught one with a bath towel. None of those captures were easy. Do you know they can run 5 feet a second for about 15 feet? When it is hot outdoors they can run fast, although in our home they seem to move faster; surely just my imagination!

Who else has stopped by … another lizard and….

For 10 minutes of time, a black-throated sparrow is here in the shade too and another lizard for a couple of minutes, then runs to the rocks. Animals are smart enough to know where to go for cooler temperatures. Lizards can burrow into the sand or hide under rocks in our backyard to escape the intense heat, but they seem to also enjoy running across our shaded area.

The other lizard ran off, but after 49 minutes of observing the first one, it now seems to pump itself up and down – no doubt showing off its strength – and then scoots off to the rocky area too. Today no lizard entered our home! The mystery remains though on how they are entering it. That’s the way it is when you live in a desert! Fun fact: lizards feed on ants, beetles, caterpillars and small lizards! No wonder the other one went running!

Look Who Is Basking in the Sun!

September 6, 2021August 5, 2021Posted in AnimalsTagged lizard, turtleLeave a comment

It is 99 degrees. I am standing in any shady place I can find looking for birds this morning. They too are in the shade of many tree branches thus challenging my ability to observe and photographic a bird! So I turn my attention to some, very easy to spot, turtles as they walk at a pond’s edge or lay on a rock or log!

When I returned home, I researched why turtles and lizards were basking in the sun, holding their legs out for more sun. Were they cold and needing heat? Were they hot and cooling off?

I discover the scientific community no longer refers to turtles and lizards, reptiles, as cold-blooded animals. Forget the cold-blooded term for an animal getting their heat from outside their body. The turtle and lizard were basking in the sun to raise their body temperature which allows cellular chemical activity to speed up and these animals are now called ectothermic poikilotherms.

These ectothermic poikilotherms, turtles and lizards, move slowly till their body warms up since they do not retain heat from the food they eat. Sunning themselves is important!

In case you are curious, humans once referred to as warm-blooded individuals are now called endothermic homeotherms. We eat to keep our body temperature steady no matter the environment. I now am sorry the turtle jumped into the pond when I possibly got to close … not sure it was done warming itself! I’ll be more careful in the future.

Don’t Move … Thanks!

June 16, 2020June 12, 2020Posted in Animals, blogging, photographyTagged desert, desert spiny lizard, jibberjabber, lively, lizard2 Comments

This desert spiny lizard was not lively at all. It simply stayed on the tree limb and watched as two photographers tried to capture the perfect photo!

I see you and I am staying right here for a moment or two!

I was sort of wondering what this lizard was thinking about while the two of us with cameras tried to jockey around for a photo. Its reptilian brain knew this was a safe spot in the park and there was no need to move till it was time to hunt for food: ants, spiders, plant material, and/or caterpillars. And so we enjoyed watching and photographing this colorful lizard!