A big year for reptiles

Of course, this year is a momentous time for cicadas in south-central Missouri, but those loud insects aren’t the only critters that are more common than usual in the forested piece of real estate my wife Wendy and I live on.

I’ve noticed a whole bunch of lizards and a significant number of snakes this spring – especially in May.

And what’s most interesting about the lizards is I’m seeing bigger ones than usual on a pretty regular basis.

Two of them are your standard prairie lizards. But there’s nothing standard about their size, because they’re each a good six or seven inches long and have an extremely wide girth. They’re also not very fearful, because I’ve come across each of them multiple times, and while they might move a bit to be where they feel confident about not being in my way, they don’t run away and just stand there looking at me, as if to say “hi, good to see you again.”

Whether they’re really addressing me in that way is surely debatable, but I have definitely greeted them by saying out loud, “well hello again; how are you doing today?”

Another lizard I recently had an encounter with was a very stout and long broadhead skink (a.k.a. broad-headed). But this meeting was highly abnormal, because it took place inside our house.

Yep, I was on auto-pilot walking from one room to another, and I did a major double-take when I saw a big lizard on the rug in front of the fireplace. When I got over the initial shock, I said (out loud again), “wow, what are you doing here?”

I retrieved a plastic container from a cupboard and when I bent over to catch it, it was complete compliant, as if it was apologetic for the intrusion and/or glad to know it was about to be back outside where it belonged.

Since I didn’t know the big, slick skink wasn’t going to try to escape, I didn’t try taking a photo of it while it was chilling on the rug (and I really wish I had that evidence, because having a big lizard sitting there looked pretty wild). But like its prairie lizard cousins, the hefty visitor didn’t seem the least bit intimidated by my presence or by being apprehended and relocated, so I was able to take several pictures of it while it was in the container and on the ground where I set it free.

I almost felt like it was saying, “I don’t know what possessed me to enter your space like that, but thanks for helping me. Would you like to get a shot of me from another angle?”

As far as snakes, I saw a very large western rat snake crossing the road a few weeks ago. Actually, it was parked near one side of the road and did a U-turn when my truck approached. It, too, didn’t seem at all scared and stayed put when it felt like it was out of the perceived danger zone. It was like, “I’ll cross when you’ve passed by, thank you.”

The other day, we saw a juvenile prairie ring-necked snake cruising on the ground in the back yard. It was so small that it kind of looked like a big worm at first glance.

And of course, no reptilian exposition would be complete without a cameo or two by garter snakes, and not surprisingly, I’ve also noticed a couple of orange-striped ribbon snakes, which is a common member of the garter family.

Anyway, the reptilian rise I’ve noticed may well be related to the appearance of about a zillion “13-year cicadas,” because while most snakes don’t eat hard-bodied insects, many types of lizards do, and obviously, the cicada hoard presents a rare opportunity for them to take advantage of.

And even the snakes might be benefiting, because the creatures they like to consume are probably in some way benefiting from the cicada bonanza.

Yep, you can almost hear the reptiles: “It’s great to see you again, and we’ll be here for you in 2037!”

Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.

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