A baby Mexican beaded lizard, one of only two species of venomous lizards in North America, hatched on January 16, 2011 at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Sure, he may look cute, but beaded lizards have venom glands in their lower jaws that allow them to chew venom directly into their prey.
There is no anti-venom to counteract a beaded lizard bite. Yikes!
Zoo staff named the new beaded lizard "Gaspar" to honor Tampa’s annual winter pirate festival Gasparilla, during which beads are tossed out from parade floats. Get it? Beads...beaded lizard? (Try to work with me, people!)
The hatchling can be viewed at Jambo Junction until it reaches adult maturity, and then it will join the adventure park’s four other beaded lizards in Curiosity Caverns.
Photos by Matt Marriott, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.
