Geckos, Lizards, Agamas, Skinks and Chameleons

Tropical house gecko (Hemidactulus mabouia)
White-headed dwarf gecko (Lygodactylus mombasicus)
Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus)
Nile monitor, juvenile
White-throated monitor (Varanus albigularis)
White-throated monitor
Yellow-throated plated lizard (Gerrosaurus flavigularis)
Yellow-throated plated lizar	Yellow-throated plated lizard, juvenile
Great-plated lizard (Broadleysaurus major)
Great-plated lizard
Speke's sand lizard (Heliobolus spekii)
Blue-headed tree agama (Acanthocercus gregorii)
Blue-headed tree agama (female)	Blue-headed tree agama (male)
Tree skink (Trachylepis planifrons)
Tree skink
Sundevall's writhing skink (Mochlus sundevallii)	Sundevall's writhing skink, juvenile
Speckled-lip skink (Trachylepis maculilabris)	Speckled-lip skink, juvenile
Flap-necked chameleon
Flap-necked chameleon (Chamaeleo dilepis)
Kenya pygmy chameleon (Rieppeleon kerstenii)
Kenya pygmy chameleon

Nile monitors are also at home with us, because Lake Chem Chem and Sabaki River are nearby.

Male specimens roam up to 25,000 m² area with constantly water-bearing rivers, lakes or other water sources throughout the year. The females are confined to smaller areas.

Their active phase of hunting is during rainy season, then they capture everything they can overpower. Food, They track down their food with help of her forked tongue, which they use as olfactory organ. So they can find even feeding victims underground. In dry season they usually lurk for their prey and devour also carrion.

These diurnal animals enjoy sunbathing on termite mounds or other elevated surfaces. They can climb very well and are therefore also arborial. Nile monitors are very good swimmers and can remain under water more than twenty minutes.

They are known as margin nest robbers. During breeding seasons of birds and crocodiles is for nile monitor a real paradise.

One evening I was sitting on the terrace and looked around. I noticed at an opening at the roof a shadow that I had never seen there before.

In the spotlight of my torch I discovered the head of a large brown Savanna Monitor and the sharp claws of his right foreleg. The eyes were closed and he seemed asleep.

Next morning he was no longer there. Later I found him in the roof rafters, where he had made himmselve comfortable on a crossbeam.

He walked slowly back and forth and looked bored down on us. A few days later I served him water, fresh meat and raw eggs in the rafters.

After two weeks he probably had enough rafters holiday and walked across the gutter on the nearby tree in the front yard. He lay there for about 2 hours on a thick branch in the sun, climbed down and disappeared into the nearby undergrowth.

He is normally a diurnal ground dwellers, but it can be found on trees and rocks at dizzying heights. Its prey consists of all he can overwhelm, even snakes and turtles.

As the Nile Monitors with its blue forked tongue also Savanna Monitors can detect underground nests and then dig with its massive claws eggs or live prey.

Savannah monitors can reach a length of 140 centimeters. My tenant was 115 centimeters, but I still had great respect for him.

He has often visited my henhouse, but the chickens are not going harmed. The poultry has defended themself successfully against him with its beak. However, I have caught him then and released him to the forest.

On the very same day he came twice into the hen house and I caught him every time to remove.

Marlies one day wanted to get something out of the room. Just this Blue head Tree Agama sat on a shelf in the guest room and snapped to the "intruder". With lightning-fast hand movement Günther had seized the Agama.

However, it was very defensive until Guenther released the lizard on a tree. There it calmed down and looked down satisfied.

Another time I was called to a Blue-headed tree agama that lay lifeless in the driveway. At first we thought the reptile was dead. It was still early morning, this area was still in the shade and the temperatures were below 24° C degrees rather cool for African conditions.

I picked up the motionless body and put him in a tree that was touched by the first beams of sunshine. After about 15 minutes our little blue-headed friend slowly climbed higher and hid in the forest canopy.

Tree agamas are diurnal and arboreal and can be seen quite often in human settlements. If you come too close to them, they just climb on higher branches. They often disappear quickly behind a tree trunk and peeping out with one curious eye. Sometimes you see tree agama also on rock and termite mounds.

Although they eat a variety of beetles and other insects, their favorite dish is from ants.

Tree agama sleep at night on branches and hollow bark.

The ability to change color, made chameleons so famous. The interplay of colors depends on the emotional and hormonal status. But usually corresponds to the respective background, which they can adapt quickly.

Iin East Africa only there are 40 different species. Chameleons are very difficult to detect in the bushes and trees. They live from sea level in moist coastal forests and thickets and in dry savannah up to almost 1800 meters.

To these unique animals entwine also plenty of tales. An amusing story, when put chameleons on a tartan rug, they will explode of frustration. Hahaha. Unfortunately the other stories deal mostly of misfortune, which is taken very seriously by Africans.

The whole body and body parts of the chameleons are also used in witchcraft apply. That's why africans don't accept chameleons in the area of their homes.

The life of a chameleon takes place primarily on shrubs and trees, but occasionally on the ground. Is also observed frequently during the rainy season in the morning when crossing streets. As a diurnal animal it sleeps at night on the outer branches of bushes and trees.

Their eyes are in conical turrets and move independently. Their eyesight is very sharp and looks like a pair of binoculars. But they can not hear well. They are not able to drop its tail like many other lizards.

Intergrown with opposing toes with sharp claws chameleons are perfectly adapted for climbing. The larger species are found high up in trees and bushes. Their prey consists mostly of insects, small centipedes and spiders that shoot them literally with their sticky telescoping tongue.

Here we see the Flap-necked Chameleon with its distinctive ear lobes. A hatched chameleon is about 4 centimeters and can grow up to 40 centimeters long.

The only 6 to 8 centimeters wide dwarf chameleon lives in the coastal forests as well as in the grasslands and semi-deserts. It seeks its food mainly on the ground, though there to sleep then climbs into the bushes.

When hold in hands, it starts to vibrate and you might think to get a mild electric shock.

It lives in the Tsavo area as dusk active chameleon but at the coast it shows throughout the day.

His hiding places are holes and termite mounds. In open country and also in leafless thorn bushes, it can be impossible to be seen because of its camouflage.

With strong short legs moves this large lizard through the African landscape. They occur in the moist thickets of coastal forests as well as in the dry savannah to almost 1700 meters. They can grow up to 50 centimeters lenght.

They are found preferably in rocky crevices and rock piles but also in abandoned termite mounds. They can adapt very well to human settlements and even tame. As omnivores, they eat insects, fruits, flowers and even other small lizards.

One morning in the bathroom I discovered 8 tiny lizards. They were not shy and were just like that on the floor. I almost stepped on it. I immediately hung a sign on the door: "Do not step on small Lizard Babies". After about 3 weeks, I have never seen them in ther bathroom again. But later I saw them outside.

These skinks live at the coast area and also in the highlands. They can vary regionally in design and color.

These lizards, up to 65 cm long, are very shy and despite their size rarely seen. However, I had a few times luck to get these attractive lizards to face and could even catch a young animal.

They are well armored with hard body plates and head shields. The tail is almost two-thirds of the whole body. They are day active and dig their habitats mostly in loose soil.

These lizards mainly hunt insects, and when they are in danger, they flit quickly into their subterranean dwellings, preferably under bushes.