Jacqui

We get both of these all the time in our garden too. I think Bobtail or Blue Tongue Lizard are the same thing, different name depending on state? I ran one over last week with the ride-on, and felt really bad, poor thing. Had it been a snake, I would have aimed for it on purpose, but the bobtails don't bother us, I just didn't see it in time. If you want to get one out of your garden, shovel it up or poke a stick in front of its face and wait for it to latch on, then carry it out. With a bit of practise you can pick them up from behind, squeezing them firmly each side of the head, I haven't tried it myself though...... they are not venomous, only snakes are, but if one bites you their mouths clamp shut like a crocodile and it requires a trip to the hospital to extract it. Even if you only see a mouth, when it hisses you can tell if it's a snake or not by its tongue, lizards have tongues shaped like ours, but a snake's will be forked.

suzannepatricia

Nah! The one eyed trouser snake, get it right!!!

welshpom

First one looks like a "slow worm" - I used to play with them as a kid back in the UK (http://www.cheshire-biodiversity.org...ile-sworm.htm). I've seen them in the garden here in South Aus too.

The second looks like a stubtail or bluetounge. Harmless.

Re: use a shovel. I'm reliably told that more people get bitten by snakes after going to fetch the shovel. There's a popular Aussie phrase that should serve as a warning - "madder than a cut snake" (used to describe someone crazy).

Nice Guy

Don't have snakes over here in NZ.

Possibly Copperhead or Paul Hogan?

Just a thought.........

G'Day

Glad you found out what it was. A little off-topic, but about the books and their prices. I love buying books but have found the prices prohibiting. Many companies have a book-person that comes around and leaves books and an order form on a monthly basis. Their books are dirt-cheap compared to the book-shops. I recently bought a French cookbook for a friend's housewarming and it cost me $15 at work, I had a look at it in A&R for myself later and it cost $70!!!

If you don't have one of those coming around to you office find a friend who does, it's worth the savings and the range of books they stock is great.

Alternatively look around for those discount bookstores that you find in many malls where they sell books at discount prices. I often hunt around these and although it's a bit more work as you have to search for what you want, it's well worth the savings. They usually sell books that have been in print for at least 6 months or more or books that have gone out of print.