A new-to-me wildlife discovery!

When Ralph called me over to point out the turtle he’d found, I should have recognized it right away. Box turtles are not uncommon. In fact, these distinctly marked land turtles might be the most familiar terrapins in North America. And yet, my initial reaction was uncertainty.

“I’m not sure what kind of turtle it is,” I announced. “I’ll have to look it up.”

“I think it’s a box turtle,” Ralph suggested, but I smugly ignored his comment.

A box turtle? Really?

It didn’t take much research to realize he was right. The dome-shelled reptile Ralph discovered beneath the cover of a dense thicket at our New Smyrna Beach lot was indeed a box turtle. Terrapene carolina bauri is one of six box turtle subspecies found in the United States and Mexico. However, as it turned out, it was a box turtle with a difference. 

Hello there, Florida box turtle!

 

Like the Florida scrub-jay, an endemic bird that does not exist anywhere except Central Florida’s sandhill terrain, Terrapene carolina bauri is also a habitat-specific organism found only in certain parts of peninsular Florida. This 4 to 7-inch long land turtle spends most of its life slowly meandering across moist habitats like marshes, swamps and damp forests. Although it doesn’t swim, it occasionally spends time soaking in water.

 

The Florida scrub-jay is an endemic bird existing only
in certain parts of Central Florida

The Florida box turtle also differs from other box turtles by not hibernating. Instead of sleeping through winter, this subspecies continues to hunt for the slugs, earthworms, beetles, crickets, flies and spiders that make up about 60-percent of a diet that also consists of berries, moss, mushrooms, roots and flowers.

I was also surprised to learn that the sharp claws on its short, strong legs are good for climbing as well as digging. The ability to clamber over objects is an attribute I don’t usually associate with turtles but then again,Terrapene carolina bauri is special.

Another unique feature of this yellow striped, dark-shelled turtle is the way its shell is hinged so it can safely conceal soft, vulnerable body parts when endangered. Although my husband was focused on raking up debris when he noticed the turtle, he was careful not to disturb his discovery.

Later in the day when I came back to check on the progress of his project, I asked if the turtle was still there.

“It is,” he said explaining that it only moved a little deeper into the thicket from where it had been before.

That’s not surprising since the home range of a Florida box turtle is only around 750 feet. It may not travel far but what it lacks in miles covered, it gains in longevity. Terrapene carolina bauri can live 50 to 100 years!

I learned much from Ralph’s discovery of a turtle in the underbrush. Not only did his find lead me to look up and become aware of a new-to-me Florida endemic species, it also acted as a helpful reminder not to ignore my spouse. When it comes to plants and wildlife, my husband knows more than I give him credit for.

Which would you rather encounter? Dangerous snake or dangerous human?

My husband Ralph and I were walking across a stretch of unruly riverfront in New Smyrna Beach when the distinctive red-yellow-black bands of a coral snake caught my eye.

“Stop!” I shouted to my husband, whose steps would have taken him directly into the snake’s path. Fortunately, Ralph heeded the seriousness of my tone, stopped moving and directed his eyes to where I was pointing.

The snake, one of only four species of venomous snakes in Central Florida, also must have picked up on my warning because instead of attacking, it silently slithered under one of the many broken palmetto fronds covering the ground.

Can you find the coral snake?
The snake hopes you can't.
It's doing its best to avoid detection by hiding beneath decaying vegetation

Although common throughout Florida, the Eastern coral snake, Micrurus fulvius, is a secretive creature rarely seen by humans. Most of its life is spent under logs, leaf litter and decaying vegetation.

During the 30-plus years I’ve been romping through untamed parts of the Sunshine State, I can’t recall ever encountering a coral snake. I have, however, seen non-venomous coral snake lookalikes like the scarlet snake and scarlet king snake. Both of those species mimic coral snake colors to divert attention from potential predators.

The harmless king snake is often mistaken for the venomous coral snake.
Although its coloring is similar,
it's a coral snake lookalike posing no threat to people.

As Ralph and I stood watching the small, brightly-colored reptile, we tried to recall the rhyme used to differentiate a coral snake from its imitators. “Red touches black, friend to Jack. Red touches yellow, dangerous fellow.”

“Definitely a coral snake,” I said as it slithered deeper into the underbrush.

“Should I kill it?” Ralph asked.

I said, “No. It’s not hurting or even threatening to harm us. We should just leave it alone.”

But seeing a potentially dangerous snake in an area similar to many wild areas we visit did make me realize how much more aware we need to be in the future.

There’s a fine line between being cognizant of potential danger and overreacting. When encountering a venomous snake, the initial reaction of many people — including my husband — is to destroy the threat.

Although the Eastern coral snake has the most deadly venom of any snake in North America, its relatively short fangs provide a poor delivery system to humans. It works better on lizards, skinks, frogs and other small snakes. A coral snake will do its best to avoid a human unless it’s stepped on or handled.

Since antivenin was released in 1967, only a few people have died from coral snake bites, including one man who didn’t seek treatment in 2009.

The University of Florida’s Department of Wildlife, Conservation and Ecology says, “The chance of dying from a venomous snakebite in the United States is nearly zero because we have available, high-quality medical care in the U.S. Fewer than one in 37,500 people are bitten by venomous snakes in the U.S. each year (7000-8,000 bites per year), and only one in 50 million people will die from snakebite (5-6 fatalities per year).”

Yet despite facts, the appearance of any snake, venomous or not, evokes an irrational dose of primal fear in many people. While I share a strong desire to be safe, I also understand the importance of respecting nature. For me, encountering a coral snake in the wild was both an exhilarating and sobering moment that heightened my awareness of the world at large.

Given the choice of confronting a brightly-colored venomous snake in the wild or a carefully-camouflaged human with poisonous intent, I’d choose the snake. A coral snake will instinctively slink into the underbrush to avoid interaction, but a person with malicious intent can, and often will, inflict harm on many with a single strike of virulent words or actions.

Hungry gopher tortoise gobbles up grass

If you think tortoises and turtles and slow moving critters, think again!   I watched this reptilian beauty munch its way across a weedy field at Cape Canaveral Seashore in New Smyrna Beach.

Fast?  You betcha!  I guess the greens-loving, pink-mouthed animal was in the mood for an eat-on-the-go meal proving that not all fast food is junk.

Watching a watersnake

Just as I was about to launch my rowboat, I noticed a water snake in shallow water by my boat.

It must have noticed me too because it stayed very still - still enough for the minnows to come over to check it out.  But after a while it had enough of being looked at and swam off into the weeds where it completely blended in with its environment and disappeared from sight.

A lizard that looks like a snake but breaks like glass

I was walking down the path from our beach house to the car when I saw a snake stretched out across the shells. At least I thought it was a snake.

When I squatted down for a closer look, something about its smooth, shiny body didn’t seem to fit any snake I recognized. I snapped several pictures of the foot-long, finger-thick fellow, who was completely unfazed by my presence, with the intention of doing some research later to learn exactly what kind of snake it was.

As it turned out, it wasn’t a snake at all. The slender bodied, legless animal I saw was a glass lizard, most likely an Island Glass lizard, one of four species of glass lizards in Florida.

Glass lizards belong to the scientific genus Ophisaurus, from the Greek meaning “snake-lizard.” Its common name, glass lizard, comes from the animal’s ability when being pursued to break off its tail into one or more pieces. After being severed, the appendage wriggles about, distracting enemies, which gives the lizard time to escape. As with many other types of lizards, glass lizards can regenerate severed tails. Doing so takes nine months or longer.

The critter I encountered didn’t have a severed tail. Its slender brown, black and tan, speckled body was completely intact. While its shape was almost wormlike — pointy at the tail, smooth and rounded at the head — it was far too long and colorful to be a worm. It was also the wrong size to be a skink, another type of lizard with a smooth, colorful and shimmery appearance but with four small legs. I simply assumed it was a snake.

A little research shed light on the subject.

Although they look alike, snakes and glass lizards have distinctive differences. Unlike snakes, glass lizards have moveable eyelids and external ear openings. Bones called osteoderms cause their bodies to be brittle, resulting in more rigid movement than snakes have when slithering effortlessly across the ground. A glass lizard also lacks a snake’s ability to unhinge its jawbones, which causes a diet restricted to invertebrates no larger than the size of its head.

I sensed a sudden interest from my husband Ralph when I told him what a glass lizard eats. To my vegetable-growing partner, any animal that helps control garden pests like grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars and snails is worthy of attention.

It may have taken a special hook to pique Ralph’s interest but the glass lizard fascinated me from the get-go, even before I knew what it was.

I only noticed the snake-like critter because I looked down while walking to the car. Some might say I wasted time by stopping, but I disagree. To me, little pauses in my routine often yield invaluable benefits like expanded empathy, knowledge and understanding of the world outside my door.

I never know what surprises will come my way on any given day. What I do know is that the best discoveries happen when I pay attention to my surroundings. If that means eyes to the ground when I take a walk, so be it. Exciting things are found when I take the time — make the time — to look around and enjoy the everyday wonders of simply living.

A cool creature no matter what it's called

It's small, somewhat furtive and green. Sometimes it’s brown. It has a voracious appetite for insects and spiders but is completely harmless to people. It clings to walls and screens and sometimes finds its way into a house, but its real home is outside on trees and plants.

What is it?

I call it a green anole but its proper name is Anolis carolinensis. As the only species of anole native to the United States, Anolis carolinenis is one-of-a-kind. However, it’s often misidentified as a chameleon, a brown lizard or a gecko.

It’s easy to understand why. Because our native lizard changes color, people think it’s a chameleon. 

A green anole that has changed color to a grayish-brown to blend in with its surroundings

It’s also confused with the invasive brown lizard from Cuba, Anolis sagrei, because both look similar, share the same territory and are active during daylight hours.

The invasive brown lizard, Anolis sagrei, from Cuba is often confused with our native green anole

Finally, the anole-gecko mix-up probably stems from an insurance company’s highly effective advertising campaign to depict a Cockney-accented cartoon character as a gecko even though it strongly resembles our native green anole.

The cartoon image of a Madagascar Day Gecko used as the insurance company's mascot can be easily confused with our native green anole

Despite what the anthropomorphic insurance mascot suggests, Anolis carolinensis is not a gecko. Geckos belong to the Gekkota family while green anoles are members of the Iguanidae family. Anoles are diurnal reptiles, active during daylight hours, but most geckos are nocturnal creatures who go about their business in the dark.

Unlike green anoles, whose eyelids can open and close, the eyelids of geckos are fused open and immobile. To keep them clean, geckos wash them frequently with their long tongues. 

Another difference between geckos and anoles is the vocalizations geckos make. Green anoles are silent, but geckos emit a range of noises that sound like barks, chirps and even duck-like quacks.

A madagascar day gecko - video by koshplappit

Green anoles and brown anoles are often considered one and the same. They live and are active in the same places and look similar in body shape and size. One thing they don’t share, however, is skin patterns. Dark stripes, bars or spots mark the brown skin of Anolis sagrei and their backs — especially those of the males — often sport a raised ridge crest. None of these characteristics is present on the bodies of green anoles.

Note the raised ridge crest and patterned body on the brown anole, Anolis sagrei

The confusion between green anoles and chameleons is due mainly to the ability of our native green anole to change color from green to brown.

A pair of green anoles mating.  One anole is in its green form while the other has changed into a grayish-brown coloring

However, true chameleons, which are native to Africa, Madagascar and parts of Asia, belong to a completely different family of lizards. While green anoles can change only from green to brown, a chameleon’s skin can exhibit a broad spectrum of rainbow colors.

Video from ChamalotChameleons

The two types of reptiles also differ physically. Instead of having slender bodies, chameleon bodies are thick and stubby. They have short, tightly coiled tails and extremely long curled tongues that they use to catch prey. Another distinguishing characteristic is that chameleons have two large bulging eyes that can open and close independent of each other, something green anoles cannot do.

Note the chamelion's curled tail and bulging eyes (Photo credit: Michel Milinkovitch)

Despite all the confusion, Anolis carolinenis — the little green anole — remains a fixture in the Florida landscape. But it is not without challenges. In recent years, populations of our only native lizard have declined primarily because of the increase in brown anoles. Brown anoles have taken over green anole territories, and adult males occasionally prey upon green anoles. Pesticide use has contributed to population loss as well.

As far as I know, no geckos or chameleons live on our property near Groveland, but we have a healthy population of both green and brown anoles. They frequent our gardens, woods and fields. One little green lizard even lives in my rowboat and accompanies me when I go rowing.

My rowing companion in the process of changing colors from green to brown

It’s important to know your neighbors — even green ones that occasionally turn brown — but even more important is to care for the environment, so the insect-eating little green lizards of the world will continue to exist.