Geckos in The Villages
 

What are they really? I thought Anole, but I read that Carolina Anoles are like 8 inches long and I have not seen one over 5. Also, I have never seen a white strip on their spines (females).

Any ideas?

:click: for the answer





just kidding on the click.

One learns to live with them. They significantly out number us, they do no damage and they eat bugs.

I was checking the grill yesterday for these creatures. Beau is always up for the hunt. I lifted up the propane tank and a lizard was there. It skedaddled. Then Beau chased it right back under the propane tank. I lifted this up a second time and Beau gave chase. The anole went right up my leg and into my shorts. I took off the shorts and tried to check out the rest of me and shook out the shorts. Saw and felt NOTHING. Put everything back on and hurried into the house to double check. Dumped the shorts in the bedroom and put on a new pair for good measure.

I left the room and went about my business but came back to check the phone charger to see if it had finished powering up the phone. I had wanted to tell a female friend about my adventure via a text as it had gotten me thinking of her. The cell phone was ready but I saw a creature between the blinds on my side of the window.

Grabbed a Publix plastic bag and nabbed the miniature Godzilla after a few tries and put it out on the lanai.

Beau would get his prize.

This is about the fourth time that one of these things has gone up my pants' leg while it was being chased by one of our pooches.

I still do not know where that lizard went while I was taking off various things by the grill and I had not wanted to streak my backyard neighbors by taking everything off.

I had taken my shirt off already as it had been all full of sweat from walking around a dog park, the neighborhood, a Villages' Square or the Polo Field a number of times. So, I had been shirtless when looking over the grill.

Plus, they are cute little devils.

That is NOTHING but a very funny story!

I hate when they ring my door bell & try & sell me auto insurance

When we first moved here, I was politely informed they were not geckos, but anoles. Curious, I looked it up and there are apparently 391 species of anoles. So, I generically call them anoles, and don’t try to identify the species. My yellow lab has learned to ignore them, as they are much faster than she is. ;-)

We don't have that many anymore since "Pat" our Black Racer snake moved in. Pat works in conjunction with "Sammy" our next door neighbors Racer. I just wish they could catch the frogs. Way too many frogs.

Tal, be very careful about what gets in those drawers! Better it be a Gecko than a LOBSTER. Sorry I couldn't help it. :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl: Snip Snip!

Our black racer keeps the neighborhood pretty clean--very little frog poop

Well, there are a lot of funny people on TOTV, which I enjoy. I’m not funny, so I usually have to go with facts.

Some interesting info
Are Brown Anoles in Florida Really Driving Green Anoles to Extinction? | Anole Annals

Our dog calls them geckos. But he's old and not in the chase.

They taste just like chicken

:confused: I thought is was snowbirds that taste like chicken????

Geckos In The Villages
 

Geckos in The Villages

Are they here again? They were great last year when they played the Savannah Center.

Need to move this thread to "Just for fun" very funny comments

Anoles and geckos are both lizards but from different families. Anoles are actually in the Iguana/Chameleon family while geckos have their own family, Gekhonidae. In Hawai'i, A gecko in the house is considered good luck since they go after the Hawaiian centipede- one nasty little buggah that grows up to 9 inches long. if it bites you, you'll know it for several weeks. One similarity between Hawaiian geckos and Florida anoles is that they both have no regard for where they go to the bathroom. Generally on your walls and cabinets.

I saw a bright, light green anole outside my front door recently. Made me happy.

My buddies are all over my CYV, they watch me water plants and run when the nozzle pointed where they're at. Occasionally Watch green one come down from my Palm trees and I watch him slowly change colors while he's on the trunk. They are harmless and actually do good by keeping the insect population down.

Occasionally I have to pursue one out of house and chase one out of my lanai. Don't mind them in the house cause the catch the stuff you can't see. But they can starve to death, so I remove them when I see one occasionally. Had one that set up shop by my wicker nightstand I would look over and he would be steering at me. Finely caught the little peeping tom in the bathroom and escorted him out of the house. They also get inside my grill but, I just enore them, when the heat come on the scurry out quickly.

Me too.

I had read that placing empty egg shells nearby scares them away. Seemed to work for me. Reason is it looks like a predator is nearby.

:1rotfl:

The same friend who told me they were anoles gave me a butterfly net so we could catch them when they got in the lanai and free them outside. Course, once I mostly caught one and chopped off its tail. Ick.

We just call them "lizards".

At one time the cat used to kill them, but now she has embraced a catch and release program. A broom and dustpan are now a part of our decor.

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My dog Beau keeps pawing at them so that they will play some more with him but that never works as they are already dead.

I do try to keep him away from the very small ones and the chameleons. The chameleons are actually green anoles. Carolina anole - Wikipedia

Growing up in Miami we called them Chameleons although probably wrong. They do have the ability to change to green when setting on a green leaf or brown when setting on a brown branch.

:evil6:

Can someone in the know tell us about the creature? Do they bite, can you pick them up, do they carry disease, do they lay eggs or live birth, if there are many hanging around outside can an exterminator treat the area, and anything else you can offer. Thanks.

My understanding is that they are wonderful to have around because they eat pests. They get into our birdcage from time to time and our cats catch them and bring them inside. I pick them up and put them outside. The larger ones can nip, but they have never broken my skin, and neither the cats nor I have ever suffered any reaction from handling them.

No need for an exterminator.

Geckoes are wonderful and awfully cute.
If they get in my birdcage, I simply grab them with a soft towel and put them outside.

No, no, no, they are HARMLESS. If you kill them off with poison you will have 10 times the insects/pests the feed on. The other insect you don't want to kill house cenepede, they virtually kill every insect pest that get in you house and works 24-7 don't lay eggs create webs just hunts 24 hours day.

There are several different types of small lizards in The Villages and pretty much everywhere in Florida.

I like to see them and they do eat a lot of insects. My only problem is that they poop all over my front porch.

I've tried spraying Pine Sol which was recommended on this forum but it's not working. I also tried Snake Away which is a commercial product made to keep snakes away. I was hoping that it would also work for lizards but that didn't work either.

Any other suggestions?

We find them cute and harmless and enjoy seeing them around because the eat lots of bugs. That are part of the food chain, they eat bugs and the birds eat them.

My dog used to catch them and usually bit off the tail, which does grow back. They are good for keeping the bugs at bay and really are cute. They can and do get in the house, but if you see them, try and catch and release .

The Anoles that we see everywhere are larger and more aggressive than the bright green Geickos that use to be so prevalent in Florida, just like those uglier brown Anoles. They either chased them away or killed them off because I have not seen a green Geicko in over 10 years. I understand, that Anoles are not native to Florida and they are dominate over Giekos, so now we have no more "pretty" lizards. I do believe they are still found in south Florida until they become extinct that is. Just like the Armadillo, when creatures enter a new place with similar temperatures from where they came from....they will disrupt both the enviroment and become a nusense or a burden.

The geckoes don't poop in my birdcage. Just limit the amount of bugs they eat. :p