Category: All Things Reptile

Sea turtles are amazing and magical animals to see in the wild. These majestic swimmers are, no doubt, some of the most tenacious turtles in the world. Though only an estimated 1 in 1,000 hatchlings makes it to adulthood, once full grown they are capable of defending against the most brutal of attacks, even from sharks.

Here on the Sea of Cortez, our most common sea turtle is the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) and this is the turtle we recently witnessed digging nests in the sand. Last week, at around 8:30pm, one of these beautiful reptiles crawled up the beach and started digging a hole. Clearly a female preparing to lay eggs, she dug a few test holes before deciding the conditions were not quite right; perhaps the sand was too dry or the wrong temperature. Then she headed back out to sea. We knew there were no eggs in the nest because the mother turtle left the nests as holes, rather than packing them down with her flippers and body.

Sea turtles are definitely being threatened as the world is changing, from their eggs getting squished by cars or dug up by dogs, to pollution and global warming. Since plastic sometimes looks like jellyfish, which is a favored food, it can be devastating when turtles mistakenly eat it.

When the mother turtle dug her holes on the beach last week, the six false nests were quickly covered by a protective fence and stakes by some caring beachgoers. Although pointless in this case, since the nests didn’t contain any eggs, their action demonstrates how much people care. Acts of kindness like this can make a big difference in helping these important and incredible creatures’ next generation.

Desert Iguanas (Dipsosaurus dorsalis) are fast, robust and very common lizards that like it hot! They will be out and everywhere above 40 degrees Celsius. These iguanas are, arguably, the most abundant lizards in La Ventana and the surrounding region. 

According to the book Reptiles and Amphibians of Baja California (by L. Lee Grismer), these reptiles are active from March through October in Northern Baja, and variable in Southern Baja. Since La Ventana is so windy in the winter, it may be too cold for these heat-loving iguanas, and I believe they hibernate through the winter here like they do in the north. I did not see a single Desert Iguana all winter.

As for their diet, they eat a lot of leafy vegetation and insect larvae.Now for the story of how I finally caught a Desert Iguana: It was a warm morning just a few days ago and I was determined to catch something. I had been on the trail of a large Zebra-Tailed Lizard when I noticed my cat sitting attentively next to a piece of hollow pipe. I went over and heard a scrabbling sound from inside the pipe. Suddenly very interested, I tried to see what was inside. After several failed attempts, I decided to bring the pipe inside my house so that whatever it was would not escape. The next ten minutes were spent chasing a large Desert Iguana around a small empty room and then, finally, I caught my first representative of this species.

The Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii) is one of several species of rattlesnakes that inhabits the area around La Ventana, living exclusively near rocky areas. They eat mostly rodents, and sometimes birds and lizards.

Rattlesnakes are ambush predators, meaning they will lie in place for days on end, waiting for prey to pass by. Most of the time, their ambush spots will be in rock crevasses or “hidey-holes.” They are semi-nocturnal in the winter, and fully nocturnal in the summer.

Rattlesnakes are one of the most feared and unjustly killed groups of snakes. Being venomous, people are scared of them and may act on those fears, which is the reason they are in decline. Yet, like many other venomous snakes, if you leave them alone you are extremely unlikely to be bitten. And it’s pretty easy to leave them alone if you just pay attention: they like to live hidden in rocks, so they are hard to find in the first place, and their rattle serves as a warning to be cautious. The majority of rattlesnake bites – over 90%! – happen because people either are not paying attention and accidentally step on them, or are trying to catch or kill them.

If you are bitten, the best thing to do is stay calm and find the nearest place with anti-venom, typically at a hospital. In La Ventana, the closest hospital with anti-venom is in La Paz. Being bitten hurts a lot but most snake bites are not fatal. Ideally, you should get anti-venom as quickly as possible; for rattlesnakes, you have at least three hours.

California King Snakes (Lampropeltis californiae) are some of the most powerful snakes in the world. In general, pound for pound, king snakes are the strongest constrictors.

Though they are famous for their ability to eat rattlesnakes and other snakes like Rosy Boas, their usual diet consists of rodents, young birds, lizards and anything else with a tail and a head.

King snakes live in almost every habitat on the Baja California Peninsula, including urban areas, salt flats and sand dunes, but they are extremely rare. My good friend who grew up in La Ventana has never seen one, and it has long been my dream to find one.

Last week, I heard my dad shout “SNAKE!” I was expecting a coachwhip or maybe a gopher snake but, when I got there, I saw my first king snake. I was in shock.

After holding her for a minute, she unfortunately regurgitated a Rosy Boa (regurgitating is a defense mechanism for many snakes, as it makes them lighter and faster, which they hope will help them escape). I was lucky to see a king snake at all, and this was something very special, but there was more to come.

The Black-Tailed Brush Lizard (Urosaurus nigricauda) is a camouflage, adaptive and sneaky reptile that likes to live in trees, rocky areas and, as its name suggests, brush. This is a relatively small lizard that always seems to assume you can’t see it, making it one of the easiest to catch and one of my personal favorites.

Interestingly, at the Sol de Mayo waterfall, I have seen a Black-Tailed Brush Lizard living on a rock next to the river. As I approached, it jumped into the water and swam to the nearest rock. That was the first lizard I have ever witnessed swimming, and willingly, no less! I find this very impressive.

Apr 6, 2022 – Usually I would have an article all about one specific reptile but, this time, I have a topic that is far more important.

Earlier this week, a friend contacted me saying that there was a snake on his cousin’s farm and they were going to kill it. I got there as soon as possible and, luckily, they had waited for me. It was a harmless and beneficial Cape Gopher Snake that eats mice and keeps the farm from getting rodent-infested. (I have an entire column on Cape Gopher Snakes in the archive.)

This is a real lesson.

Many of the 16-ish non-venomous snake species around La Ventana somewhat resemble venomous rattlesnakes and will do their best to act like rattlesnakes to ward off predators. Unfortunately, since people are so afraid of rattlesnakes, this defensive mimicry has the opposite effect on humans. In other words, rather than warding off human predators, acting like a rattlesnake actually makes people more likely to hurt or kill a snake.

However, there are ways to help. For example, our neighbors are having a house built and I have befriended the workers. They know that I love reptiles so, every time they find one, they let me take it instead of possibly killing it. In this way, I have assisted three sand snakes, two whiptail lizards and many scorpions.

If you find a snake or lizard and don’t know what to do with it, I am more than happy to identify and/or relocate it, which is not ideal but sometimes necessary.

Zebra-Tailed Lizards (Callisaurus draconoides) are fast, harmless, camouflage reptiles with an accurate name, since the underside of their tails displays a striking black and white-striped design. The males have beautiful belly patterns with blue, orange, black, white and even red colorations.

They are most commonly found on sandy arroyo bottoms and on beaches at the edge where the plants stop, but they will live in many habitats. Around La Ventana, I have witnessed about 10 Zebra-Tailed Lizards in one bush.

They are so incredibly fast that they seem to fly to the nearest safe place and, if there is no cover nearby, they will quickly burrow themselves into the sand and disappear. The only reason I was able to catch the one in the photo was because, when it burrowed itself into the sand, its tail was sticking out.

As for their diet, they eat a lot of butterfly and moth larvae as well as ants, termites and beetles.

On the 15th of March, as we were driving home from Hot Springs Beach, I saw what looked like a large shadow stretching across the road. But wait, there was nothing casting the shadow and it was 12:30pm, a time when the sun is high and there are few shadows. How could this be possible?

Well, that is a bit of a trick question. If you know what my columns are about, you can probably guess the answer.

Cape Gopher Snakes (Pituophis vertebralis) are beautiful, big and, in my experience, friendly serpents. They are completely harmless, though they can hiss and shake their tail when threatened, which can be intimidating.

Their coloration is striking. Starting at the head, they have orange-ish bands that fade to black at the tail. The picture below will help to identify them. Gopher snakes can get quite large; the individual in the photo is an impressive 5 feet in length.

As for their diet, they will eat rodents, birds, bird eggs and sometimes even lizards, but I think they prefer rodents. This makes them great for pest control! If you see one of these awesome snakes near your house, I’d say let it stay, as they are harmless. Around here, they are active year round and, interestingly, will be out during the day in both winter and spring, and at night in the summer and fall.

Western Banded Geckos (Coleonyx variegatus) are crafty, quick and adorable lizards with a striking pattern of yellow, white and black. They are nocturnal and not too common, so you don’t see them very often.
The photo below was taken in March in El Sargento. I found this little guy under an old tarp in a roadside trash heap.
Here in the Cape Region, these geckos don’t really hibernate so you can still see them throughout the winter. During the colder months, they spend most of their time under rocks and trash, and rarely come out, similar to many local snake species.
Western Banded Geckos are generalists, meaning they will take any food opportunities they can get, and will eat most moving things that they can fit in their mouths.

The Cape Spiny-Tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura hemilopha) is a large, fast and semi-common lizard living in trees, walls, atop cacti and really anything that can offer a quick escape. These diurnal reptiles disappear at even the hint of danger, from both predators and herpetologists alike, making them a nightmare to catch and, for that reason, I don’t have any pictures of this lizard from the mainland.

Fortunately, these iguanas also live on our neighboring island, Isla Cerralvo. As they have far less predators there, they bask happily right on the ground and seem less offended by the Paparazzi, including me last week when I had the opportunity to visit.

Their diet is mostly plant-based but they will eat insects and even carrion on occasion. Their teeth are meant for ripping leaves but are quite good at ripping skin, too. Iguanas also have a small amount of venom, so avoiding bites is a good idea. And those are not their only defenses! After retreating into a rock crevasse, they will orient their spiny tails at the entrance of the hole and, if you try to extract them… well, let’s just say that a spine under the fingernail can be very painful.