For the first time, I have had a family of chameleons living on my large back porch and surrounding gardens. They have kept these areas pest-free. what happens to these creatures during the winter? Do they survive? Can I help with their habitat.

Are you talking about these?

http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txher ... ensis.html

Growing up here in Dallas, I've always heard people call them "chameleons" even though they obviously aren't. They do shift color, so I suppose that's why people do. When I lived on the M Streets I had a huge herd of them that were there every spring, summer and fall. Just saw two of them here at our new house for the first time last week. Love the fence-line shows they put on during mating season.

~Dave

Down here in San Antonio, there everywhere. My wife hates them, my cat loves them I have a large number around my home . Over the past few years I have been doing some renovations to my home and found that they are living in my walls, lots of shells. They over winter in the attic and walls. I am sure that is one reason I do not have many roaches.

Yeah, can you say 'Crunchy Kitty Snack'?

When I lived in Florida, we had these and the grey-brown anoles everywhere.

Any chance these are house geckos? We have them by the hundreds around here and frankly I encourage them - i run a clothing business and moths, I am reasonably certain, are evil, Satanic little cashmere munching beasts.

My daughter brings them inside, names them and promptly loses them... but there ain't no moths in the house

If they hang out on your bricks at night they are probably house geckos. On a warm night when we have all the lights on in my office 8-10 will hang out on my window and converge from every direction when a moth lands.

I just found a teenie tiny baby Anole laying ontop of one of my mulched beds. After this cold snap passes I'll be letting him lose on my compost where he has a better chance of making it through the winter. Hopefully he'll be able to avoid the garter snakes that roam the area around the pile.

For those of you wanting to learn more about these little critters, check out Under the Leaves

~Dave

Last spring, while I was digging daylilies for dividing and transplanting, I uncovered three of these little darlings about 6 inches down in the dirt. I presume in a hibernating mode- because they didn't run off. In fact, it took one of them about an hour before it even moved at all. I've had them for 17 years out here in Rockwall, evn though Texas A&M Map doesn't show them as habitating this county. They are fun to watch. I tend to play hide and seek with them in the summer evenings- they hide in my bushes and plants, and I look for them!
MACaffarel