Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello to all,

A situation arose today and i am in need of an answer, hopefully someone can help. I live in a hilly area in southern california that has more than its share of lizards and rattle snakes. This past month in my small community a boy on his way to school was bitten by an 18'' baby rattler and the following day another rattle snake, 5 ft. long, was found in someone else's garage.

My situation arose while I was outside today and saw a snake at the front of our hose. It was long, thin (no belly section) and had a flattened head, it was a snake. I asked my mom to come outside to see and she agreed that yes, it was a snake (she and I also caught a baby rattle snake inside of our house, but that was ten years ago). So, as she and I were debating what to do, it crawled off on its tiny legs and went under our house. I'm confused, a snake with legs?

What the heck is going on? What was it? A snake or a lizard or what? Can someone please help!

Thank You,
Mekiki

What colour was it? If it was black and tan striped (and very shiny) it was a western skink. If it was brown and rough scaled it was an alligator lizard. Both are very common in your neck of the woods.

Cheers
Bryan
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Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry
Deputy Director
Australian Venom Research Unit
University of Melbourne

www.venomdoc.com

Thank you for taking time to reply, it is appreciated. What I saw was black and very shiny, and its legs looked underdeveloped, they were almost non-existent. Should of included this before hand but didn't think, when it went under the front steps, it did so with a straight body.

If they are not a danger to us then I will consider it a welcome addition. If there is any cause for concern though then it will need to be relocated, either way I wouldn't want to harm the little guy.

Cheers (very nice)

mekiki

should read, "as it walked to the front steps, it did so with its body straight or inline"

Certainly sounds like a skink. Cute little guys Do a google search and you'll no doubt gets lots of hits. Any US reptile field guide would also be useful in helping work out exactly which species.

Cheers
Bryan
-----
Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry
Deputy Director
Australian Venom Research Unit
University of Melbourne

www.venomdoc.com

I haven't found any skinks or any other lizards with triangles that start in the middle of the head and continue to run the full body length, the triangles appeared to be overlapping one another. Also all the skinks I have seen have much larger legs then this does and it "played dead" until my mom and I moved away.

Guess I'll keep checking, but thank you for your interest.

mekiki

Could it be a salamander? The Garden Salamander (Batrachoseps major) and the Black-bellied Salamander (B. nigriventris) are both native to Southern CA. They're both very long, slender animals with tiny little legs that look almost like an after-thought. I've never seen one in person, but it looks like the Garden variety could have some pattern to it, as well.

Hope that helps some. Certainly not dangerous!!
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--Judy

1.0 red cape gopher (Caesar)
1.0 bearded dragon (Shaggy)

ball-pythons.net
(It's NOT just ball pythons!)

>>Hello to all,
>>
>>A situation arose today and i am in need of an answer, hopefully someone can help. I live in a hilly area in southern california that has more than its share of lizards and rattle snakes. This past month in my small community a boy on his way to school was bitten by an 18'' baby rattler and the following day another rattle snake, 5 ft. long, was found in someone else's garage.
>>
>>My situation arose while I was outside today and saw a snake at the front of our hose. It was long, thin (no belly section) and had a flattened head, it was a snake. I asked my mom to come outside to see and she agreed that yes, it was a snake (she and I also caught a baby rattle snake inside of our house, but that was ten years ago). So, as she and I were debating what to do, it crawled off on its tiny legs and went under our house. I'm confused, a snake with legs?
>>
>>What the heck is going on? What was it? A snake or a lizard or what? Can someone please help!
>>
>>
>>Thank You,
>>Mekiki
-----
Martin Whalin
My Email

Quotes from guys named Carl:

"Science stops at the frontier of logic. Nature does not, she thrives on ground as yet untrodden by theory."
-Carl Jung

"It is foolish to let singleness of purpose deprive one of the joy and delectation of the many wonderful sights and sounds incidental to the quest."
-Carl Kauffeld