Roger O

Yes, I know this particular article has nothing to do with France, but it would interest any serious herpetologist (hobby like me or professional).
So, is anyone else interested in things like this?
http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketsci..._never_saw.php
If so, I would be happy to know - especially if you live anywhere near Carcassonne where I am wondering whether there are any Tarentola Mauretanica (having seen a dead one on a pavement in town, to my astonishment!) as I didn't think they occured so far inland.

Anyone interested in reptiles/amphibians in general in this area??
Need a soul mate to talk to and some likely habitats to visit!!

val50

Very interesting - having lived in Namibia for a few years, we got very well aquainted with the different species of reptiles that lived there
Have moved the thread to Le Rendez-Vous though, as it is more appropriate for here

Collioure_Bee

What's a tarant what's it called? I just love wildlife be it reptile mammal or especially bird.

I remembe there was a bit of a mystery on the Isle of Wight a few years ago, when someone found the tail of what would have been an oversize iguana. Nobody claimed to lose one and the rest of the body was never found.

Andrea50

Well, having been married to various types of low-life reptilian hybrids for most of my adult life, you'd think I could spot one at 50 paces by now.

I did see two grass snakes in some reeds opposite a house we were going to buy in Cazals (NW Lot) doing the mating dance - it was totally awesome, they were upright and sort of dancing and weaving round each other like Spanish dancers do - very erotic but not touching - I was spellbound.

Afraid I have no interest in stuff that bites, stings or slithers anymore, and one of the reasons I chose Canada when I was looking to emigrate (apart from the wonderful people of course!) was their lack of such stuff. I know they have some snakes and mosquitoes are a pain, and there are bears, but you can stay in in May if you have to, avoid snake ridden areas and a bear will run like crap if you fire a gun over it's head, so was not put off.

You might find a lot of subjects to study in the House of Commons ............

Roger O

Yes CB - Know you from another forum too!! the Tarentola mauretanica is the local "common" gecko you will see around Collioure in the summer on wallls near lights catching insects

The tail on the Isle of Wight was probably of some tropical reptile which had escaped from a private hobbyist's terrarium (or just thrown out because it got too big - some people do that!!) There may be a few green lizards
http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:...rtaviridis.jpg on the island, but if so they would be max 40cm long including the tail of 20-25cm

G-J-B

We have terrapins and coypu in one of the local parks of Paris - it is interesting what sort of non-indigenous animals people release into the wild. Back in Leicestershire, my folks who are sceptical about everything were driving to pick up my sister and a giant black cat flew past them. They woudn't elborate on what they thought they saw, but it wasn't your usual cat variety.

I was wondering if you'd any more thoughts about my snake encounter - http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=563163 - I tried the link you gave me and tried a couple of emails, but no-one seems to be entirely sure.

Gecko's are cute. I saw a mosaic one in Barcelona once!