Large Scale Central

Giant reptilian nesting cavern found on In-ko-pah RR!

General Discussion
#1

Several nights ago I was going over the railroad with a flashlight, checking for black widow spiders. I looked into this small cave just above the Cliffside Mine, and discovered it’s inhabited by an alligator lizard – and she’s filled it with eggs! I’ve been keeping on eye on it ever since. She’s gone during the day but always in there guarding the eggs at night. Here’s a shot of the eggs, which are about the size of marbles:

I’ve started feeding her some mealworms and got her to take some from my hand already. I’ve posted some more pics on my website, and also a brief video of her taking a mealworm from my hand: http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/Wildlife_At_Home.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8iuvzPQ1cg …

#2

When you built that railroad you never thought you were creating a habitat! Now you’ll have to get her used to the sounds of trains!

#3

Ray,
I think that’s cool.
I’m glad you’re not killing your wildlife, especially reptiles, like other morons would do.
There must be a male somewhere in the area, as well.
Reptiles are quite a business up here. There are special pet shops just for them.
You could go into business as well as enjoying wildlife. :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

#4

Ray,

Being, I guess, one of John’s “Morons”, I’ve just got to ask why would you be out with a flashlight looking for Black Widow Spiders?

Not high on my list of entertainment choices. But your railroad, your rules.

#5

Did you find any Black Widows, or had the lizards already taken care of them?

#6
Ric Golding said:
Ray,

Being, I guess, one of John’s “Morons”, I’ve just got to ask why would you be out with a flashlight looking for Black Widow Spiders?

Not high on my list of entertainment choices. But your railroad, your rules.


widows can be very entertaining.
but if they are spiders, the entertainment could include a visit at the local hospital…

#7

Doug – When I built the layout, I intentionally created some nooks and crannies that might be used for lizards. We already had quite a few of the smaller Western fence lizards in the yard and I’ve been hand-feeding them for the past 20 years or so. I also knew we had some alligator lizards around too, they’re just more shy and secretive. What was a surprise to me was the eggs being in the cave, and the fact that she guards them.

The fence lizards always bury their eggs in the dirt. One day last week I went out and there were lots of tiny baby fence lizards all over the layout. When I came back in the house, my wife pointed at me and said, “Look!” One of the babies was clinging to my jeans!

As for the spiders – We get a lot of black widows (and brown widows, which are about twice as venomous). Unfortunately they like all the nooks and crannies too. They hide during the day and come out at night and it can be really disturbing to walk into one of their webs in the dark! I can’t stand even the sight of them. So for the past couple years I’ve been doing periodic “spider patrols” in the evenings, with a flashlight and a can of Raid, just to keep them down to a minimum.

#8

Ric,
Spiders, wasps and other insects sometimes need killin’.
It’s the guy who purposely hunts down snakes, lizards and such. There’s no need for that. Relocate them instead if you don’t want them in the layout.
I meant no offense to you.

#9

That is great with the lizards. The funniest one we ever had was a Chuckawalla that ran up my arm and sat on my shoulder. I haven’t seen horned lizards in a number of years but my wife saw one in our yard a couple years ago.

#10

John,

No offense taken. Critters don’t get bothered by me, unless they bother me. And I easily leave them alone and then we both enjoy life. I have a ten year, ongoing battle with local, parasitic, university, snake lovers that create panic and misrepresent data to support their efforts to get government grants, instead of honestly working for a living. Its a career for them, but its just a hobby for me and would take a number of beers to explain, but it is entertaining. :wink:

#11

The eggs have hatched!! Saturday the mother lizard left the nest and didn’t return. Sunday night, the eggs started hatching. Here are a couple of shots…

(http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/Wildlife_At_Home_files/Media/IMG_8387c/IMG_8387c.jpg)

(http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/Wildlife_At_Home_files/Media/IMG_8391c/IMG_8391c.jpg)

Sorry about the poor quality of the images. It’s hard to get a decent shot through the narrow opening of the cave, while holding the camera in one hand, a flashlight in the other, and trying not to crush any of the Cliffside Mine structures. Also, as soon as they were free of the eggs, the baby lizards would quickly scurry into the farthest reaches of the cave when I’d try to get pictures. Monday morning only a couple eggs were left. The one closest to the mouth of the cave was hatching. The little guy just got his head out, then lay there for a couple hours. I had to leave, and when I came back later in the day he was gone. I never saw any of the babies after that…

(http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/Wildlife_At_Home_files/Media/IMG_8403c/IMG_8403c.jpg)

…

#12

Congratulations, Papa!

Not only do you have a large scale layout, you have a Mini Jurassic Park. :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

#13

This so cool!