Lizards of the Keys

All our daily adventures thus far, regardless of the habitat, had one big thing in common- lizards. On day one I got a good glance of a big green iguana and I have been on the lookout for more since. Even though I was expecting iguanas, I am pleasantly surprised at how many of them I've seen and the number species present. I've seen lizards from the size of my pinky finger all the way up to lizards that are thicker and longer than the size of my entire arm. There are all pretty shy and tend to make a run for it when they are approached. I learned quickly that the best time to spot iguanas is in the afternoon and my best guess is because they prefer to mosey about when the weather isn't too hot. The are most frequently seen in the grass, eating the grass, or just posing for passing tourists near the highway. Though, they are built for a wide range of activities and can be spotted chilling in trees/mangroves, going for a swim, hanging with friends on an out-of-use railroad track, or retreating from said out-of-use railroad track and scaling a wall after being approached by a group of college students. Another fun fact is that they can change color, although that characteristic isn't unique to just iguanas.     

Windley Key State Park - great place to lizard watch

Today's visit to Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park was rich with all kinds of lizards. I've been in areas with loads of lizards before but never this many! Lizards, like most reptiles and animals, blend in very well with their surrounding environment. However, because the lizards why so easily frightened, they brought attention to themselves as they made their hasty retreats. Some of the lizards spotted were: agama agama, brown anoles, chunky Florida scrub lizards, a southeastern five-lined skink, black spiny-tailed iguana, Mexican spiny-tailed iguana, and plenty of reasonably thick curly tailed lizards. Why doing a bit of research, I discovered that there are actually a fee species of glass lizards residing in the state of Florida. I have not seen one as yet and I hope things remain that way because they look like snakes! They are really long and have no legs. Click here to learn more. The agama agama is orignally from Africa and is invasive to Florida- click to read more.

Agama Agama

#LizardsRcool #AgamaAgama