Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with lizard

Is it because I joined Geico?

cestmoi15 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:36:46 -0800

Can anyone tell me what this (lizard?) is I found in the basement? We found this creature in the basement. Can anyone tell me what it is? Sorry about the photo quality its the best out of 4, he runs away.

We're wondering if it would make a good pet, I'm in the NY metro area and it is getting cold out, so I'd hate to put him outside, not sure he should live in the basement by himself either.

Monitor Cliff Scalers

tellurian — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:59:53 -0800

In the book I'm currently reading, City of Djinns, is this intriguing passage:

"Centuries earlier, one class of Marathars had perfected a technique for scaling the cilff faces that had protected the hill forts of Central India: they trained giant monitor lizards – which in the Deccan grow to over five feet long – to climb up sheer rock faces; and so firm and fast was the lizards' grip on the cliff's cracks and crevices, that the Maratha assault troops were able to tie ropes around the reptiles' bodies and clamber up behind them."

I know that the gap between myth and reality in Indian reality/history/mythology is often slim, so I ask, does anyone have some concrete (or similar) instances/or the likelihood of this story being real?

Is lizard brain consciousness real?

Not Supplied — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 12:38:03 -0800

Can human beings achieve a 'lizard brain consciousness? Is it scientifically documented? What techniques can one use to access this. I've have heard anecdotally in martial arts circles and from hippies about people achieving a lizard consciousness. They think that it's accessing the 'hindbrain' or reptilian parts of the human brain.

Is this documented in any way as some meditation stuff is - like scans showing that mainly this part of the brain is active or whatever?

Do any medications or psychoactive drugs have this effect? (for interest only, I don't eat that kind of thing)

Are there any techniques one can use to do it that I can try?

What's the little lizard from the lunchroom?

Gucky — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 22:58:34 -0800

What is this diminutive reptile? What do I feed him? He was found in the break room of my husband's office in San Francisco (which is the native habitat to no reptiles I know of). I was sure he was an anole given the picture and the description of him. Now that I see him in person however, he's SO tiny.

He changes color from green to brown like an anole (currently green). He hasn't eaten the tiny fruit fly we popped in his tank (a jar from the pantry with a lid with holes poked into it that still looks huge for him). He drank still water (which I thought anoles didn't do). He's got sticky feet that cling to the side of glass like nobody's business.

IANA herpatologist, but figuring he's a reptile no matter what, I'll get him a heat lamp, some bark for the bottom and a plant to climb on once the pet store opens tomorrow.

Any ideas what the heck he is? Anything I should do other than standard gecko care (mist, crickets, plants, heat)?

I am the hand of god...

eas98 — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 09:01:26 -0800

Should I move a lizard found in my bathroom to the outside world? Ok, so I've seen this lizard in my shower for a couple of days. He's actually the cool, pale-looking kind that has sticky feet so he can crawl up walls easily.

On one hand, I consider the possibility that he may be there by choice... But what if he just got lost and can't find his way out?

I don't see many (actually, any) ants or bugs in the bathroom area, so I'm worried that he may starve to death.

Do I leave him there and hope he knows what he's doing? Or do I take him outside where there are plenty of things for him to eat? I don't want to make (or fail to make) a decision that may affect his survival.

Thanks!

Do I need a separate grave for each lizard or can I just bury them all in one mass unmarked grave?

gaelenh — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 15:36:27 -0800

Do lizards have a deathwish? Is there an instictive reason they run toward certain doom? I can't use the sidewalk without ten lizards running under my shoe or crossing in front of my bike tire. Why don't they take a hint from their decaying dead brethren and run the other way or better yet, stay put?

Can I control roaches with a gecko?

TungstenChef — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 18:00:10 -0800

Gecko-based roach control was mentioned in another AskMe thread. There must be something wong with this idea, but I don't know what. In an earlier thread on roach control Jack Karaoke mentioned a friend who controlled his roaches by getting a gecko and letting it roam free in his kitchen. I love critters (who aren't roaches), so this idea really appeals to me. Has anyone tried this? Would a leopard gecko be the right kind? Am I setting myself up for having a dead, stinky lizard behind my fridge?