Category Archives: Lizard

Animal, Arizona, Insect, Lizard, Reptile, Spider

Phoenix Reptile Show Repticon 2015

20150307_112656(1)I went out to the Phoenix Repticon reptile show down at the Arizona Fair Grounds this weekend. The show was much smaller than I thought it would be, not nearly as large as the Tucson Reptile Show or the ARBA reptile breeders shows that they used to have 15-20 years ago here in Phoenix. I took two of my daughters to the show this time.

The show had plenty of Ball Pythons, Leopard Geckoes, and other common pet reptiles. I enjoyed viewing the Arizona Herpetological Associations (AHA) display of native Arizona reptiles. In particular, I enjoyed seeing these two speckled rattlesnakes from a few popular Arizona locales. 20150307_113513(1)

There was a table with some interesting insect art. I didn’t catch the name of the place, but they were selling insects that were encased in some sort of crystal clear resin of some sort. I would really like to have some of these on display in a future nature room when I get too old to travel into the field and I want to share some of my love for natures creations with others.

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And here are a few photos of some of the reptiles that I saw at the show. I only took two photos of these interesting geckoes. I am not up on my old world geckos so I don’t know what they are exactly.

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Animal, Arizona, Lizard, Reptile, Snake, State

Central Arizona Herping Trip from August 2009

We got a chance to head out for one night in August searching for reptiles. We headed into the deserts to the North and East of Phoenix and had some decent luck. It was a great outing! We tried some of the prickly pear that was ripe on all of the cactus in the area as well. I can’t wait to do it again next year!
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The first snake of the night was was this pretty little California Kingsnake:

California Kingsnake
California Kingsnake

As we climbed slightly in elevation, it began to get a little cooler and we then found this very cooperative Blacktailed Rattlesnake:

Blacktail Rattlesnake
Blacktail Rattlesnake

Here is a closer shot of this photogenic animal:

Blacktail Rattlesnake Close Up
Blacktail Rattlesnake Close Up

Shortly after finding the Blacktailed Rattlesnake, we started heading for lower ground where it was a bit warmer again and then we found this young Longnose Snake. When Longnose snakes are juveniles, they do not yet have any of their orange or red coloration. This is developed later in life. They look very similar to California Kingsnakes. Here is the one that we found. If you look very carefully, you can see the red beginning to creep in at the edge of some of the scales:

Longnose Snake
Longnose Snake

We eventually decided to take a side road that turned out to be a very long dirt road. We drove for many miles, not seeing any further animal life. After what seemed like an hour, we finally saw this large Gila monster waddling across the dirt road. Here is a picture of the beast:

Gila Monster
Gila Monster
Lizard

Greater Short Horned Lizard

I went up near Payson, AZ today to do a service project with the Boy Scouts. I was sure that someone would turn up a snake… I was wrong. No snakes, but we did find this Short Horned Lizard. I love these guys! :