A bunch of useless crap
Published on April 2, 2006 By MasonM In Blogging
Living in Florida means living with lizards. For some people they are a pest and for some people they are a fright. For me, they are like friends.

When I ride into the driveway on my bike there is usually a few of them that run alongside of me into the carport like they enjoy racing me. Inside the house there are always a few here and there. I don't bother them because living in Florida also means living with insects and the lizards keep that indoor population to a minimum. I can't recall the last time I saw a bug in my house.

Last night while I was on the computer one little green fellow crawled up onto my shoulder as if he wanted a closer look at what I was doing. He sat there a while observing, and then eventually went about his lizard business after I gave him a piece of a Frito.

Today while I was eating mac n cheese for lunch four of them came up on the sofa and just stared at me. I eventually gave each one a piece of macaroni and they happily scampered off to eat their lunch.

There are times when they seem to be quite intelligent and times when they seem pretty stupid. Like the time one of the little browns fell off the lamp shade and right into a hot cup of coffee. Ouch. I have caught them trying to snitch my food and even caught one stealing a drink out of a glass of beer.

Most of the time you would never know they are here, but once in a while they make their presence known and those times can be quite funny. If nothing else they can be a great source of entertainment.

Comments
on Apr 02, 2006

ROFL...

unreal!  what characters they are! 

we used to have a pet rat that would eat toast with peanutbutter,  out of our hands and he didn't get some of that he'd "pout" all day.

on Apr 02, 2006
They really do have their own little personalities. A friend of mine is currently mounring the death of a wild mouse that has lived in his house for a few years and would join him at his computer to share snacks. It's amazing the attachments we can develop for the little creatures that choose to share our homes with us.
on Apr 02, 2006
except for iquanas, i've never seen lizards eat anything that wasn't moving so the mac & cheese thing just floors me.

watch out for any green ones that play a lil guitar and offer you free pie n chips; they just wanna get you to ask for an insurance quote.
on Apr 02, 2006
on Apr 03, 2006

watch out for any green ones that play a lil guitar and offer you free pie n chips; they just wanna get you to ask for an insurance quote.

It sounds like they sense that you are not a threat, and like you said, they like bugs!  Although geckos are very common in California, where my wife grew up, I just somehow know that she would not be that acceptable to having them around the house.

on Apr 03, 2006
A lot of people dislike them or are afraid of them but they really are harmless and surprising clean. They pretty much come and go as they please and yes they seem to understand I am not going to harm them.

When I first bought this place it had been empty for some time and I guess they just took it over as their home. When I moved in they disappeared for a while but gradually began making little forays into the place to see what was going on. Over time they became more comfortable with my being here and now they interact with me daily when I am here.

Most of the time they are outside so it's not like they are overrunning the place. They come in for visits and then return outside again. They're amusing a lot cheaper than an exterminator.
on Apr 03, 2006
Sounds like my thing with scorpions. While I certainly wouldn't play with the scorpions that invade our house, we have a "catch and release" policy. The ones in our house are VERY nonaggressive, but just to be sure, we put 'em in a mason jar and set 'em free across the street when we see 'em. But I won't try to exterminate them for one main reason:

Scorpions LOVE to eat cockroaches.
on Apr 03, 2006
So far I haven't had any visits from scorpions here. The ones we have here in Florida are pretty small sand colored ones. They aren't really dangerous but the sting feels about like a wasp. Won't harm you but really smarts.
on Apr 03, 2006
I've raised my kids to understand the only valid reasons to kill are for food or for defense. So we try not to kill critters that are just a "nuisance". Heck, if we didn't have the wee'uns to worry about, I wouldn't even relocate the scorpions.
on Apr 03, 2006
That's honorable Gid. I feel the same although I will kill insects that pose a health risk due to diseases they carry. Is one reason I like have the lizards around as they dispatch the offending insects without my having to get involved.
on Apr 03, 2006
I feel the same although I will kill insects that pose a health risk due to diseases they carry. Is one reason I like have the lizards around as they dispatch the offending insects without my having to get involved.


Ditto me with the scorpions. The scorpions really don't bother us, and the fact is, they keep other insects down (although I DID have to dispatch the black widow in the storage closet...too much risk for pest control).