Another Whatzit?

(alt.binaries.schematics.electronic removed from To line) Someone's escaped pet. Iguanas are native to Central America, South America, and to tropical islands.

Not venomous....but (like those other scavengers, Komodo Dragons) their mouths can be full of salmonella and such.

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Closest I find so far is here.

Home page is here, look at Iguaninae (subfamily) Common Chuckwalla---Juvenile photo

Sounds about right: "Males on South Mountain in Phoenix have bright "carrot orange" tails."

I'm one ridge south of South Mountain, and I've seen orange-tailed ones up on the hillside.

This one had very faint stripes, but he may well have been trapped under the rug for awhile. We had one of our joyous "drive-out-the-leftist weenies" windstorms a few weeks ago, and all the patio furniture was dancing about ;-)

...Jim Thompson

Looks like a big toad with a tail. Those claws look dangerous !

Jim Thompson wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

chuckwalla.

Jim Thompson wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

chuckwalla. harmless.

I just saw this animal today on Animal Adventures on the local TV station.

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Lunch.

Tim

This week on TV I saw a program on Komodos - recently discovered that they ARE venemous and that the bacteria in the mouth thing has been found to be incorrect. They are supposed to have quite toxic venom but have poor means of delivering the venom.

That lizard doesnt look like a komodo IMHO.

Pretty neat though, finding that on your back porch!

It looks like a Gila monster.

They're venomous, but they have no fangs. They have to chew on you awhile to break the skin, so there aren't many cases of death or injury by Gila monster.

They're rare, and I believe they're protected in the US.

DB

Crockagator? Allidile?

My wife didn't think so ;-)

...Jim Thompson

Jim Thompson wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

These large, plump lizards have loose folds of skin around the neck and shoulders. They have a thick blunt tail and grow 11 to 18 inches long. These diurnal lizards emerge in the morning and, before seeking food, bask in the sun until its optimum body temperature of 100 - 105 degrees F. is reached.

Strictly herbivorous, it eats fruit, leaves, buds and flowers. When the Chuckwalla senses danger, it scurries between rocks and lodges itself tightly in crevices by inflating itself.In the Common Chuckwalla, depending upon the population, male coloration may include black head, forelegs and upper trunk, and reddish-yellow toward the rear or a showy bright red body. Females are usually a much less showy gray or brown with little pattern. The young, however, are usually quite striking with a dark background color and yellow bands around the body and down onto the tail."

Harumph. A lizard on the patio. Down here in Orlando, big bull gators crawl up under SUVs to wait for dogs. You need one of those mirrors on a stick that the Brits use to look for IRA bombs under their lorries. The police call Bubba The Trapper that lassos him and tapes his mouth shit and takes him to the Gator Fritter factory. (Tastes Like Chicken)

Just tell her to be thankful she didn't have to clean and cook it.

Still, its better than finding Sloman on your back porch.

Gators: Eat them, before they eat you.

Lake county was just as bad. I had a marsh behind my house, and you saw gators running through the yard from one water hole to another quite often. One was about 50 feet from my workshop, and they made a hell of a noise during mating season.