Reptile Weather!
The daytime temperatures have been in the 70's lately, and reptiles have become very active and visible. However, I'm not a herpetologist and find it pretty difficult to identify lizards, as they vary so much in coloration within a genus. To make it even more confusing most of my field guides have different common names and/or scientific names than internet sources. So I use californiaherps.com as my main source of information. Their information is up-to-date, and the range maps they have for each species are a great help. So please don't take my identification of these lizards as absolutely correct! If I have misidentified any reptiles on this blog, please let me know!
We saw this beautiful California Whiptail down at the South Yuba River State Park last week! I've never seen one before! They are long, slender lizards, measuring 13" in total length. Usually the tail is much longer than the body, sometimes even 2x the body length! The average size is a 5" body and an 8" tail. They prefer to live in dry open areas with shrubs to hide in, such as chaparral, but also live in forests, woodlands, and riparian areas from sea level to 7,000'. They eat small invertebrates including spiders, scorpions, centipedes, termites, and small lizards. They often dig in the ground to find their prey! Unlike some whiptail species that are entirely female, there are male and female California Whiptails. They usually mate sometime in May and the females lay the eggs shortly thereafter. The eggs will hatch sometime between May and August! This one kept running ahead of us on the trail, and eventually dove off into the bushes.
Common Garter Snake (juvenile, last Fall) - Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi
Three Garter Snakes checked me out one afternoon, as I was working in our garden! They have probably just emerged from their underground hibernacleum (winter den). Brumation is a cold-blooded form of hibernation, or condition of sluggishness/torpor. They often overwinter in groups of 20 or more, and mate as soon as they emerge in the spring. The young are born in August. Garter Snakes are ovoviviparous, and carry their eggs (20-50!!!) internally! The young emerge from their mother after hatching, and spend their first year preying mainly on earthworms! Adult Garter Snakes feed on frogs, toads, fish, salamanders, slugs, leeches, lizards, other snakes, and birds. Snakes don't have eyelids or ears, and communicate through movements!
Sharp-tailed Snake (top - bottom) - Contia tenuis
A few weeks ago I saw a Sharp-tailed Snake for the first time ever! Unfortunately it was dead, but I was able to really look at it. It was only about 8" long and slender as a pencil! It was a warm gray/beige in color, with a faint dusty orange stripe along the length of each side. The belly was strikingly colored with alternating black and white bands! It turns out that these tiny snakes have long teeth for their size, which they use to nab slippery slugs! Slugs are just about all they eat! They commonly live in the damp areas of a forest or meadow edge, often near a creek, underneath a log or rock. They will lay eggs in June or July, which will hatch in mid-autumn. The young snakes are only 3" long when they hatch!
Northwestern Fence Lizard (light phase) - Sceloperus occidentalis occidentalis
I also saw lots of lizards this week down in Canyon Creek. Mainly they were patterned in brown, rust, and beige zigzags. Others were an overall solid dusty black in color. It turns out that they might be the same kind of lizard, the Northwestern Fence Lizard! When fence lizards are cold they don't display patterns or colors, and appear mainly black! Males have distinctive blue patches on the sides of their belly and throat. These blue patches are faint or absent on females.
The following information is from californiaherps.com, a great website for information on reptiles and amphibians, and lots of good photos.
"These lizards are diurnal. Active when temperatures are warm, becomes inactive during periods of extreme heat or cold, when they shelter in crevices and burrows, or under rocks, boards, tree bark, etc. Found in a wide variety of open, sunny habitats, including woodlands, grasslands, scrub, chaparral, forests, along waterways, suburban dwellings, where there are suitable basking and perching sites, including fences, walls, woodpiles, piles of rocks and rocky outcrops, dead and downed trees, wood rat nests, road berms, and open trail edges. Common and easily encountered in the right habitat. This is probably the species of lizard most often seen in the state due to its abundance in and near populated areas and its conspicuous behavior.
Sierra Alligator Lizard - Elgaria coerulea palmeri
I saw this Sierra Alligator Lizard in my neighborhood this week. It kept perfectly still once it saw me, and was so camouflaged it was difficult to see! The following information about this lizard is again from californiaherps.com.
"Sierra Alligator Lizards have large scales, a long alligator-like snout, light-colored eyes, and a longitudinal fold on the lower sides of the body. They can be fairly large in size. Active during daylight, they are frequently seen moving on the ground, and occasionally up in bushes. Alligator lizards do not typically bask in the sun out in the open or on top of a rock like many other lizard species."
Forest Alligator Lizard - Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata
"There's not much difference in appearance between the male and female Alligator Lizards. Eggs are usually laid between May and June, and hatch during late summer and early fall. Females lay two clutches of eggs per year, often in decaying wood or plant matter to keep them warm. Females will guard the eggs until they hatch. They eat small arthropods, slugs, lizards, small mammals, and occasionally young birds and eggs."
I saw this Forest Alligator Lizard down in the foothills. It was a lot more colorful than the one I saw in my neighborhood.
