It often feels like another country. I might enjoy it more if I think of it as another planet, though. I'll try that!
We have four different species of lizards just in our yard: geckos, anoles, amievas aka jungle-runners (VERY pretty), and an occasional passing iguana. We also have curlytail lizards in the area. Of these, only the geckos are native, but only the iguanas are an actual damaging invasive species. The other non-natives all eat bugs, and the bugs don't appear to be endangered on any kind of large scale.
And I adore them all. (Well, I don't adore the iguanas, but at least they aren't icky.)
We actually have more lizards than cats in this neighbourhood, which is quite the opposite from what I'm used to.
ETA: I hope that your cat doesn't eat the anoles. I've just been reminded that, at least in this area, all lizards tend to carry salmonella and should not be eaten raw (except by owls or other natural predators).
I feed my cat raw poultry. (Cats have a natural immunity to salmonella unless their health is compromised.) She seems content to break off their tails or trap them under the mat (she's an indoor kitty) so that I discover their mummified remains months later. :P
Cool, I didn't know cats are immune to salmonella! I guess it's just dogs that have to be kept from eating lizards, then. (I've never been able to own a cat, so I've missed a lot of basic info there.)
The geckos turn up in the carport and on (and in) the shed, and occasionally come inside. We sometimes look up and see one on the living room wall.
The amievas mostly hang out under the bushes in the front yard, or on the patio in the back. They never climb, but dig with Great Enthusiasm.
The iguana occasionally marches across the back yard, in a solemn and dignified procession of one. If startled, it bolts up the tree. (We have only one tree in our yard, the sole survivor of Hurricane Wilma.)
The curlytails can be seen in the planted strips next to parking lots and restaurants, or darting across sidewalks.
And the anoles scurry across the front porch and sneak into the mailbox. They also like to pose outside the window and demonstrate the mightiness of their machismo, by inflating their throat pouches and bobbing up and down.
If that happened here (it could, as we have geckos all over), the hitchhiker would be dead in short order, due to the strong ninja presence in the house.
We don't have lizards in our letterbox, but the cats (mainly Ashley) bring little ones in to play with. They don't hurt them, but we have the same problem: catching them so they won't die in here. The best method we've found is a cardboard tube with a hand blocking one end so there's a nice dark tunnel for them to rush into, then block the other end, take them outside, and release them out of sight of cats. :-P
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We have four different species of lizards just in our yard: geckos, anoles, amievas aka jungle-runners (VERY pretty), and an occasional passing iguana. We also have curlytail lizards in the area. Of these, only the geckos are native, but only the iguanas are an actual damaging invasive species. The other non-natives all eat bugs, and the bugs don't appear to be endangered on any kind of large scale.
And I adore them all. (Well, I don't adore the iguanas, but at least they aren't icky.)
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ETA: I hope that your cat doesn't eat the anoles. I've just been reminded that, at least in this area, all lizards tend to carry salmonella and should not be eaten raw (except by owls or other natural predators).
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The geckos turn up in the carport and on (and in) the shed, and occasionally come inside. We sometimes look up and see one on the living room wall.
The amievas mostly hang out under the bushes in the front yard, or on the patio in the back. They never climb, but dig with Great Enthusiasm.
The iguana occasionally marches across the back yard, in a solemn and dignified procession of one. If startled, it bolts up the tree. (We have only one tree in our yard, the sole survivor of Hurricane Wilma.)
The curlytails can be seen in the planted strips next to parking lots and restaurants, or darting across sidewalks.
And the anoles scurry across the front porch and sneak into the mailbox. They also like to pose outside the window and demonstrate the mightiness of their machismo, by inflating their throat pouches and bobbing up and down.
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