plesnercph🇩🇰

I kept them back in the day. A friend of mine bred them for 6 or 7 generations. Apart from being beautiful, I also think they were the only ones which didn't once try to bite me when handled. They always seemed calm.

A grey rat snake is curled up on some mostly light grey rocks. Along the back of the snake there are reddish brown blotches with black borders. The snake has black markings on its head. It is looking to the left in the picture.

🐸Leopard snake (Zamenis situla).

This is the more common blotched variant. One with the same colours but longitudinal stripes also exists.

Max. size 100 cm (39.4").

Found in Italy, the Balkans, parts of Turkey and Ukraine.

Considered Least Concern by the IUCN.

📷by wirestock on Freepik

I see them occasionally here in Denmark.

I like the scientific name. The 1st part is Greek for bee-eater and the 2nd part is Latin for bee-eater making this the bee-eater bee-eater.

Similar to the Eurasian brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) which is Latin and 2x Greek for bear. Thus the scientific name means bear bear bear.

Merops apiaster?

Two lizards are sitting on a rock. The female is light brown with dark brown markings. Inside the dark spots there are one or two tiny light spots. Two light stripes run along the back. The male is darker coloured and the sides of the head and body as well as the front legs are green. The female is pointing her head towards the male (and to the right in the picture) and the male is pointing its head towards something just below the camera.

🦎Male and female sand lizard (Lacerta agilis).

Max size 24 cm (9.4").

Found in most of mainland Europe (except for Spain and Portugal) and in England. Its distribution extends as far east as Mongolia.

Considered Least Concern by the IUCN.

📷by hansbenn on Pixabay

The picture shows a frog with yellow and black on its back and sides, light blue feet and hands. It also has yellow markings on top of its head. The frog is sitting on a piece of wood. It is looking up and to the left in the picture.

🐸Dyeing poison frog (Dendrobates tinctorius).

Some variants will grow to 7 cm (2.8"). Females tend to be larger than males.

Found in Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and in the northernmost part of Brazil.

Considered Least Concern by the IUCN.

📷by jonathanstegemann on Pixabay

Johann Sebastian Bach

A snake is curled up on the ground. It is light gray with Black blotches and orange markings along their backs. This snake is resting its head on part of its body and is looking to the right in the picture.

🐍Pygmy rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius).

Max size 78.8 cm (31").

Venomous.

Found in the southeastern USA.

Considered Least Concern by the IUCN.

📷from Pixnio

That guitar solo is out of this world.

A mostly brown and yellow lizard is sitting on a black, shiny surface. There is a white line behind its head which continues under the eye to the snout. There are also white markings on top of the tail. The legs are yellow/orange with white toes. The lizard is looking to the right in the picture.

🦎Young leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius).

Max size for males 28 cm (11"), for females 20 cm (7.9").

Eats mostly insects and other invertebrates.

Found in dry areas in Afghanistan, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan and India.

Considered Least Concern by the IUCN.

📷by kuritafsheen77 on Freepik

A mostly green frog is partly hidden among green plants. The frog has a line starting at the snout, going below the eye and along the lower side of its body and another one starting at the snout, going through the eye and along the body between the side and the back. Though not really visible in the picture, it's safe to assume that similar lines are found on the other side of the body. The frog is covered in large dark spots. It is looking to the left in the picture.

Northern leopard frog (Lithobates pipiens).

Max. size 11 cm (4.3").

Found in southern Canada and northern, central and southwestern United States.

Considered Least Concern by the IUCN.

🐸by Bernell on Pixabay

Ahhh... we're in the presence of royalty...

I'm not an expert when it comes to birds (freshwater fish and herps are my thing), but I checked the particular species you hinted at above. Without seeing the tip of its bill, I can't tell the difference between P. leucorodia and P. regia.

In Danish we call it 'skestork' (spoon stork) even though it's not actually a stork. Denmark happens to be the northernmost place in which this bird breeds.

The front half of a snake holding the front half of its body in an S-shape mid-air. The snake is grayish beige with large dark brown spots on its neck, back and sides. The snake is looking to the left in the picture.

🐍European cat snake (Telescopus fallax).

Max size 100 cm (39.4").

Venomous.

Found on some islands in the eastern half of the Mediterranean and from northeastern Italy in the west to Iran, Azerbaijan and Georgia in the east.

Considered Least Concern by the IUCN.

📷by Marino Linic on Unsplash

The head of a turtle on a black background. The turtle is mottled in black, dark grey and orangey brown. The one visible eye is red with a black pupil. The turtle is looking to the right in the picture.

🐢Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina).

Max carapace size x20 cm (~7.9").

Found from Maine in the northeast to Florida in the southeast and from Michigan and Illinois in the northwest to Mississippi in the southwest.

Considered Vulnerable by the IUCN.

📷by The Smithsonian Institution

A mostly grey lizard is sitting on a brown piece of wood. The lizard is mottled in brown across much of its head, body, limbs and tail. It has turned away from the camera and is looking to the right in the picture.

🦎Common flat-tail gecko (Uroplatus fimbriatus).

Max size ~32 cm (~12.6").

Found in Madagascar and on the islands of Nosy Bohara and Nosy Mangabe.

Threatened by habitat destruction.

Considered Least Concern by the IUCN.

📷by The Smithsonian Institution

An orange-brown salamander on a mossy surface. It is covered in tiny black markings in more or less irregular rows down the entire length of the body and tail. The salamander is long and slender. Its tail is longer than the head and body combined. It is heading to the left in the picture.

🐸Long-tailed salamander (Eurycea longicauda).

Max. size ~20 cm (7.9"), most of which is its tail.

Found in the Ozark Highlands, the Appalachian Highlands and the Ohio River Valley in the US.

Considered Least Concern by the IUCN.

📷by Ryan Hagerty, USFWS on Pixnio

A blue snake is partly curled up in a defensive position. It is looking directly at the camera. The colour is darker along its back and on the top of its head. It gets progressively lighter down the side of its body and the side of the head. The jaw and belly is a very light blue with some white in between the scales.

🐍Indonesian pit viper (Trimeresurus insularis).

Max. size 76 cm (2'6"). Females are larger than males.

Eats frogs, lizards and rodents.

Nocturnal.

Arboreal.

Found from Java in the west to East Timor in the east.

Considered Least Concern by the IUCN.

📷by kuritafsheen77 on Freepik

A cartoon showing a huge cup of coffee waiting for whoever ordered it in 'Le Coffee Shop'. The person working there shouts 'Who ordered the Monday Motivator?'. One customer looking on seems to be wondering what is going on.

The head and part of the back of a lizard is sticking out of the water. The throat is almost white. It is brown on top of the head. It has light and dark brown as well as black markings on its body. Around it can be seen a number of large water lily leaves and a couple of other green plants , The lizard is on its way towards somewhere to the left of the camera.

🦎Common blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua scincoides).

Max length 56 cm (22").

Eats snails, insects, reptiles, fruits and other plant matter.

May live for more than 20 years.

Found in Northern Australia.

Considered Least Concern by the IUCN.

📷by Storme22k on Pixabay

He's obviously really weighed down by guilt.

Thank you very much for those kind words!

Lovely alpine salamander (Salamandra atra). I remember posting a picture and some info about them a while ago. I especially remember it because I thought the salamander looked VERY determined.

bsky.app/profile/ples...

A golden brown frog is clinging on in a vertical position to an almost horizontal green stem of a plant. The frog has a lot of dark markings. The frog is looking slightly to the left of the camera.

🐸Spiny-headed treefrog (Triprion spinosus).

Max size 8 cm (3.1").

Eggs are laid in tiny temporary pools of water. The female feed the tadpoles unfertilized eggs.

Found in Costa Rica. Honduras, southern Mexico and Panama.

Considered Near Threatened by the IUCN.

📷by The Smithsonian Institution

A black snake with narrow white tripes is curled up on a light brown surface. The top of the head is black. The other parts of the head is white with thin black lines. The snake is looking at something below the camera.

🐍California kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae)

Max. size 200 cm (79"), but usually closer to half that size.

Nonvenomous.

Found in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah as well as parts of Colorado, New Mexico, and Mexico.

Considered Least Concern by the IUCN.

📷from Pixabay

Never tried anything bacon-related in my sous vide. I'd be interested in knowing how that turns out.

In Danish we say either 'det rager mig en papand' which means "that bothers me a cardboard duck" or 'det rager mig en høstblomst' which means "that bothers me a harvest flower".

A lizard on some moss. It is dark grey with some light-coloured markings on the jaw, the throat, the sides and the tail. It has orange rings around its eyes. The lizard is looking to the right in the picture.

🦎Red-eyed crocodile skink (Tribolonotus gracilis).

Grows to 20-25 cm (8-10").

Insectivorous.

As a pet, it generally doesn't like to be handled.

Endemic to New Guinea and the Admiralty Islands.

Considered Least Concern by the IUCN.

📷by kuritafsheen77 on Freepik

A bright yellow toad with is sitting among some very fine plant roots. The toad is looking towards the right of the picture.

🐸Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki).

Max. size: males 48 mm (1.9"), females 63 mm (2.5").

Belongs to Bufonidae, the true toads.

Threatened by habitat destruction and the fungal disease chytridiomycosis.

Considered Critically Endangered by the IUCN.

📷byYancabrera on Pixabay