# New Lizard found..(spiky lizard)



## BlindSnake (Jan 13, 2009)

I was cleaning and grabbed some substrate (news paper) when this story grabbed my attention.

Spiky lizard in dangerous roadside prank

A McLAREN Vale man believes he's fallen victim to a perverse payback against motorists who deliberately cause roadkill.
*Drew Smith* was pulling over to answer his mobile phone on Monday, December 29, when his tyre was punctured by a toy lizard with nails sticking out of its back, on the side of Main South Rd. "It was just on the side of the road in a spot your average person wouldn't run over it," he said. "I think it was aimed at people who would swerve to hit it."
Mr Smith said it cost about $20 to fix the tyre but he was more concerned about the potential risk the lizard might pose to other drivers.
"It was nailed into the ground so that it wouldn't blow away. I've removed this one but if they put another one down it could be dangerous. 
"the nails are the same colour as the road so you can't see them."

*Southern times, January 7, 2009.*

Im reserving comment on this one..


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## fatfrog (Jan 13, 2009)

That a good idea they put it on the side of the road so if you try to kill it thats when it gets you


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## gman78 (Jan 13, 2009)

wow i think i have bought pythons for this guy.


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## redbellybite (Jan 13, 2009)

more likely " I was swerving to run over it cause the only good reptile is a dead one " .....classic should of thought that one out myself ..wonder if it comes in snakes as well..............


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## Fuscus (Jan 13, 2009)

BlindSnake said:


> was pulling over to answer his mobile phone


yeh - right. At the very least he did not try and avoid the animal.

Actually it is not a new story, even when I was in SA, people were putting nails in dead sleepies and positioning them as described.


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## bfg23 (Jan 13, 2009)

i think that is a great idea. if you are going to swerve off the road simply to kill a lizard, then you get what you deserve.


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## Australis (Jan 13, 2009)

I hate seeing people swerve to kill wildlife as much as the next red blooded Aussie..
But i don't think this is a good idea at all.


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## cootiesami (Jan 13, 2009)

The weird thing i find about this is that it is on one of the busies$t arterial roads linking metro adelaide to the outer southern suburbs. Why would someone be so stupid to do a rediculous prank like that. it wouls cause terrible crashes. I would be suing the person who did it.


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## DanTheMan (Jan 13, 2009)

This is great!!!
I hope it happens more, then every one will swerve any reptile they see incase its covered in spikes!!
Why did I not think of this?
Lol, what a load of crap, he was pulling over to answer his phone..
good job!


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## Snake Catcher Victoria (Jan 13, 2009)

What a great story, and great that is gets the media publicity it deserves.
Should be more of this type of action in areas where lizards and snakes are the 
victims of redneck heroes.?


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## imalizard (Jan 13, 2009)

There is another storey about someone putting road spikes in a dead python. Ive always wanted to put a rubber snake on the road and see how many serve. Im not aloud to do it though incase someone rolls it lol.


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## Snake Catcher Victoria (Jan 13, 2009)

> Ive always wanted to put a rubber snake on the road and see how many serve.


 

Put a rubber snake on the side of the road, *not on the road*.
This will give a better indication when they swerve to hit it 
and you wont cause a compassionate driver to swerve to miss it.


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## imalizard (Jan 13, 2009)

Yeah thats what i meant, side of the road not the middle, sorry


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## megrim (Jan 13, 2009)

I can understand why someone would pull this prank, but they certainly don't have much going on upstairs. 

All I can think is "what if some idiot swerves to hit it, loses a tire and crashes horribly". I think most of us wouldn't be too upset.

However.

"What if some idiot swerves to hit it, loses a tire and crashes horribly killing himself, his three children and wife".

I couldn't live with myself.


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## Chris1 (Jan 13, 2009)

LOL, thats a great idea!

i'm gonna start putting them EVERYWHERE!!!


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## Australis (Jan 13, 2009)

megrim said:


> "What if some idiot swerves to hit it, loses a tire and crashes horribly killing himself, his three children and wife".
> 
> I couldn't live with myself.



Completely agree.


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## Snake Catcher Victoria (Jan 13, 2009)

You can "what if" till the cows come home.
The spiky lizard didnt kill anyone and the word is now out that 
running over lizards could cost you money.


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## slim6y (Jan 13, 2009)

megrim said:


> "What if some idiot swerves to hit it, loses a tire and crashes horribly killing himself, his three children and wife".
> 
> I couldn't live with myself.



But think of all the snakes and lizards you'd save! Especially with his three red necked children out of the way!

sssssnakeman is right - you can what if and even if the cows did come home and waited on the front porch for you to let them in - you probably would have to think if it really did or could happen.

Why not practise in quiet roads firstly


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## megrim (Jan 13, 2009)

slim6y said:


> But think of all the snakes and lizards you'd save! Especially with his three red necked children out of the way!
> 
> sssssnakeman is right - you can what if and even if the cows did come home and waited on the front porch for you to let them in - you probably would have to think if it really did or could happen.
> 
> Why not practise in quiet roads firstly



lol. I didn't mean to sound quite so prudish about it in my original reply.

I'm a nervous driver at the best of times, and the idea of fools out there trying to add to the road toll, be it through good intentions or not, still gives me the willies


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## slim6y (Jan 13, 2009)

but you're right, there's plenty of what ifs - and there's the element of unknown... but that's the risk you take as a wildlife killer too - there's a big unknown!


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## DanTheMan (Jan 13, 2009)

DanTheMan said:


> This is great!!!
> I hope it happens more, then every one will swerve any reptile they see incase its covered in spikes!!
> Why did I not think of this?
> Lol, what a load of crap, he was pulling over to answer his phone..
> good job!


 
I mean everyone WONT* swerve, lol, not will swerve.


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## Australis (Jan 13, 2009)

slim6y said:


> but you're right, there's plenty of what ifs - and there's the element of unknown... but that's the risk you take as a wildlife killer too - there's a big unknown!



The "wildlife" killer will become the victim, and the "wildlife saver" the criminal layer of a mantrap.
Do all the people wanting to lay traps also pursue people they see swerve to hit wildlife and give
them a good flogging?.. you know to get the word out and all... easier to cowardly lay a mantrap eh.

Imagine someone who loves Cane toads or Cats laying out the equivalent mantraps.. wouldn't the
tables turn then.


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## Kyro (Jan 13, 2009)

I really don't understand how anyone could deliberately cause an accident & then feel good about it. Thats just a low life act & doesn't make you any better than the person swerving to hit reptiles. These fools hitting wildlife need to be stopped,no doubt about that but surely any decent person can see that causing an accident is morally wrong.


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## ihaveherps (Jan 13, 2009)

indeed Australis..... would much better serve the public for these sort of rigs to be "found" occasionally in various states, the newspapers alerted and given links to other articles like this one. Let the media drum up the hype, rather cheap way of attaining advertising for the cause.... I bet the intention of my post goes over the heads of the majority.


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## Snake Catcher Victoria (Jan 13, 2009)

ihaveherps said:


> indeed Australis..... would much better serve the public for these sort of rigs to be "found" occasionally in various states, the newspapers alerted and given links to other articles like this one. Let the media drum up the hype, rather cheap way of attaining advertising for the cause.... I bet the intention of my post goes over the heads of the majority.


Now this, I like..


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## Australis (Jan 13, 2009)

Perfect point herpies.. no harm done.


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## DanTheMan (Jan 13, 2009)

ihaveherps said:


> indeed Australis..... would much better serve the public for these sort of rigs to be "found" occasionally in various states, the newspapers alerted and given links to other articles like this one. Let the media drum up the hype, rather cheap way of attaining advertising for the cause.... I bet the intention of my post goes over the heads of the majority.


 
What a great idea!


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## ReptilianGuy (Jan 13, 2009)

imalizard said:


> There is another storey about someone putting road spikes in a dead python. Ive always wanted to put a rubber snake on the road and see how many serve. Im not aloud to do it though incase someone rolls it lol.


 
oh what a sweet idea..... iv'e seen many people swerve to hit them when it's just the head on the road...... i take my hat off to the person who nailed and spiked the toy lizard.
likely story to about pulling over to answer the phone. but like the papers as well to not put the whole story in, did it get his tyre on the left side or the right????? i generally pull over and avoid anything on the road thats there. but screw the fone if the was a lizard there lol.

i think there maybe a new species of spiky brown or black snakes on the road 1 day after this article.... don't think it would be a prank tho hehe..... but true the piont is mite get some [email protected] that can't handle a flat or blowout at high speed and cause a crash. wouldn't wish that on any1 even tosssa's that have bugger all brains. so i wouldn't do it as much as i'd love to


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## ReptilianGuy (Jan 13, 2009)

megrim said:


> lol. I didn't mean to sound quite so prudish about it in my original reply.
> 
> I'm a nervous driver at the best of times, and the idea of fools out there trying to add to the road toll, be it through good intentions or not, still gives me the willies


 
i agree with ya and got what ya ment mate


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## cooper123 (Jan 13, 2009)

someone make a step by step guide of how to make one lol maby add a solar powered motor to make it look like it is walking


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## LauraM (Jan 13, 2009)

megrim said:


> I can understand why someone would pull this prank, but they certainly don't have much going on upstairs.
> 
> All I can think is "what if some idiot swerves to hit it, loses a tire and crashes horribly". I think most of us wouldn't be too upset.
> 
> ...


 
I totally agree with that, what if they dont see the lizard and have to pull over for some reason etc someone is sick in car (bad example) ......
although it would bring a smile to my face if someone purposely tried to kill it and got a punctured tire for there time


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## ReptilianGuy (Jan 13, 2009)

Australis said:


> The "wildlife" killer will become the victim, and the "wildlife saver" the criminal layer of a mantrap.
> Do all the people wanting to lay traps also pursue people they see swerve to hit wildlife and give
> them a good flogging?.. you know to get the word out and all... easier to cowardly lay a mantrap eh.
> 
> ...


 
the initial swerve to kill the animal can become fatal?
i've often whanted to follow and belt the person for running over a retile that was an easy see and avoid, especially those that swerve and get a monitor or snake. sometimes because i'm there running up to get the poor bugger of the road... 5 times thats happened to me...
could set up a spikey snake and look like your trying to get it off the edge of the road, that way if it gets run over they are then there and pissed and so are you!!!! that way doesn't seem cowardly then.

as much as i hate to admit it there isn't much you can do if a reptiles in the middle of the road.

imagine if it became common how many reptiles could be saved if on the side of the road?


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## ReptilianGuy (Jan 13, 2009)

cooper123 said:


> someone make a step by step guide of how to make one lol maby add a solar powered motor to make it look like it is walking


 
lol thats getting more expensive, but probly still worth it.... unless it went bad, my luck is if i did it they would kill themselves ( eh) or some other innocent oncomer or some1 beside them.... it's the other road users i'd be more concerned about!


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## fatfrog (Jan 13, 2009)

Australis said:


> Imagine someone who loves Cane toads or Cats laying out the equivalent mantraps.. wouldn't the tables turn then.


what are people going to start making exploding cats cos its not like people try to run over cats and for the toads no one likes them i dont think theres going to be exploding toads any time soon


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## ReptilianGuy (Jan 13, 2009)

fatfrog said:


> what are people going to start making exploding cats cos its not like people try to run over cats and for the toads no one likes them i dont think theres going to be exploding toads any time soon


 

lol :lol::lol::lol::lol: yeah, cats move fast as well... i think it would be odd if it were standing there just to be run over???


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## herptrader (Jan 13, 2009)

Modern tyres don't tend to explode or fail catastrophically with a nail puncture. Most of the time they do not even go flat and certainly not straight away. I cannot imagine any more danger from running over a live lizard than over a plastic one albeit one with nails poking out of it.


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## spilota_variegata (Jan 13, 2009)

I'd like to see someone pack a plastic lizard full of C4. I bet Mr. Drew Smith drives a pick up truck with a shotgun rack in the back.


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## ReptilianGuy (Jan 13, 2009)

lol. but snakes are the main victims of deleberate road carnage, after all a good snake is a dead 1/ or in our case a fake 1 will be our good dead snake lol


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## Rocky (Jan 13, 2009)

I didn't even know people deliberately ran over animals.. what the hell is wrong with people?







Chris1 said:


> LOL, thats a great idea!
> 
> i'm gonna start putting them EVERYWHERE!!!



We don't get people that do that around here Chris, so we should be fine


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## Australis (Jan 13, 2009)

shnakeyguy said:


> the initial swerve to kill the animal can become fatal?



Either you've misinterpreted my post, or im not understanding your reply.. either way
laying a mantrap is a shabby idea, if caught you'll be in the $***.
I think Ihaveherps advice is ace, go and make your "mantrap" photograph it show some
local rag.. doing so would surely prevent more people swerving to kill native critters than
one or two isolated incidents of flat tyres.



fatfrog said:


> what are people going to start making exploding cats cos *its not like people try to run over cats* and for the toads no one likes them i dont think theres going to be exploding toads any time soon



People definately do try, and even succeed in running over cats.  so ive heard


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## fatfrog (Jan 13, 2009)

This is an interesting post good one blindsnake


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## jessb (Jan 13, 2009)

Rocky said:


> I didn't even know people deliberately ran over animals.. what the hell is wrong with people?


 
That was actually my first thought too - what kind of a sicko does that?

As much as the theory behind it is valid - prevent people deliberately killing wildlife - if you actually got caught you could be up for prosecution, especially if it resulted in a fatal accident. And judging by the initial comments of most people in this thread, I doubt all the spiky lizards would be responsibly placed on the side of the road... 

I have always had it drummed into me - don't swerve to avoid animals on the road. As awful as it might be to hit a possum at night, when you are travelling at 90km/hr and you swerve suddenly, you should be primarily concerned about the safety of yourself, the passengers in your car and the oncoming traffic.


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## cris (Jan 13, 2009)

I would have hit it for sure, it looks like a feral to me.


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## fatfrog (Jan 13, 2009)

jessb said:


> That was actually my first thought too - what kind of a sicko does that?
> 
> As much as the theory behind it is valid - prevent people deliberately killing wildlife - if you actually got caught you could be up for prosecution, especially if it resulted in a fatal accident. And judging by the initial comments of most people in this thread, I doubt all the spiky lizards would be responsibly placed on the side of the road...
> 
> I have always had it drummed into me - don't swerve to avoid animals on the road. As awful as it might be to hit a possum at night, when you are travelling at 90km/hr and you swerve suddenly, you should be primarily concerned about the safety of yourself, the passengers in your car and the oncoming traffic.


 
Where not all going to go around puting spiky lizerds everywhere its just a joke and where not talking about people that hit wildlife by mistake where talking about the ones that like killing animals that go out of there way to hit them


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## Kirby (Jan 14, 2009)

herptrader said:


> Modern tyres don't tend to explode or fail catastrophically with a nail puncture. Most of the time they do not even go flat and certainly not straight away. I cannot imagine any more danger from running over a live lizard than over a plastic one albeit one with nails poking out of it.



finally some sense. 2" bolts barely effect a 4wd. lolololol


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## Danni (Jan 14, 2009)

I would just like to add that the person that probably layed the trap may not have thought he/she may have caused a serious accident, i think their intentions were to teach the drivers who go out of their way to hit an animal a lesson.
I think most members like myself wouldnt care so much if the driver received a punctured tyre, and i would probably lay a few traps myself if i was guaranteed that a punctured tyre is all they will get, however there is a chance that something serious could happen, and i wouldnt be able to live with myself if it did.

Its a shame that people feel the need to go out of their way to hit an animal, reptiles seem to be a favourite target and i put it down to folks being uneducated regarding snakes etc (look at how many pythons are being killed because people think they are vens).

anyways my point is, its a shame there is no "safe" way to stop these drivers from purposely hitting these poor animals.


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## Jay84 (Jan 14, 2009)

Driving to the beach today there was a squashed bluetongue, CLEARLY done purposely. Last week i went to the same beach and on the same road i picked up one that had been hit but was still alive.

i understand why someone would do this with the nails in a fake lizard. it infuriates me how ppl can be so callous to intentionally swerve to HIT an animal. If the perpetrator got injured by this 'prank' i couldnt care less. But, its the others on the road who could be inadvertently injured or killed. for this reason i dont agree with it.


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## LauraM (Jan 14, 2009)

cris said:


> I would have hit it for sure, it looks like a feral to me.


 
....


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## redbellybite (Jan 14, 2009)

My husband and myself witnessed a bunch of REDNECKS go out of their way to hit a redbelly ...they were on the same side as us , we saw the rbb as we were driving past , I was admiring its beauty ( and thinking hurry up and get off the road ,but as it was on the other side and no traffic THOUGHT IT WOULD BE SAFE)then these tosspots drove on the otherside of the road AND KILLED IT ..........I was so fricken mad , I made my husband slow down ,which made there car slow down after the incident and I let them have it ...their comeback was you guessed it ...AHHH ITS ONLY A F"ING SNAKE !only good one is a dead one and they drove off ....if I had a lizard full of spikes I WOULDVE BELTED IT AROUND HIS HEAD!....


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## malika (Jan 14, 2009)

So what about those people who are allowed to use the emergency lane or side of the road to get to an emergency situation like ambulances, police, firefighters emergency services? 

How the #%^* are they to swerve to miss a critter on the side of the road if we have traffic bank up in the normal lanes (ie in the case of a traffic accident)? If I am in the back of an ambulance heaven forbid dying or trying to rescue a life I would be livid if I was unable to get to the scene of accident or be able to take patients to the hospital due to some thoughtless idiot puncturing my tyers with a toy snake or lizard full of nails. 

People you really need to think this through. You may be 'trying to save critters lives' but you may also potentially be putting your own life and others at risk.


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## fatfrog (Jan 14, 2009)

redbellybite said:


> ....if I had a lizard full of spikes I WOULDVE BELTED IT AROUND HIS HEAD!....


 :lol::lol: well thats a good way too :lol::lol:


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## megrim (Jan 14, 2009)

fatfrog said:


> :lol::lol: well thats a good way too :lol::lol:



I agree, at least that way no-one innocent has any chance of being hindered or injured! ^_^


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## BlindSnake (Jan 14, 2009)

Its been interesting to hear everyones views on the story..

We can only hope that the publicity around the spikey lizard will have some effect on locals who think it is fun to squash reptiles.

If the story could be made bigger, by having a few more "found" (and reported) around the country, it might have a more signifigant impact.

It would be awesome if "the spikey reptile" could reach the status of an urban myth...


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## wiz-fiz (Jan 14, 2009)

thanks for the idea!


Will


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## Rocky (Jan 18, 2009)

jessb said:


> I have always had it drummed into me - don't swerve to avoid animals on the road. As awful as it might be to hit a possum at night, when you are travelling at 90km/hr and you swerve suddenly, you should be primarily concerned about the safety of yourself, the passengers in your car and the oncoming traffic.




Agreed, I have always been told not to swerve for an animal in most situations. Still, given the situation, reflexes take control. Just not worth risking your life, and others in the car for an animal.


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## ShnakeyGirl (Jan 19, 2009)

Rocky said:


> Agreed, I have always been told not to swerve for an animal in most situations. Still, given the situation, reflexes take control. Just not worth risking your life, and others in the car for an animal.


 
The last person I knew that didn't swerve for an animal died because it was a horse.


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## jessb (Jan 19, 2009)

ShnakeyGirl said:


> The last person I knew that didn't swerve for an animal died because it was a horse.


 
Yep, I see your point, there is a diff btw a horse and a bandicoot though...


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## ReptilianGuy (Jan 19, 2009)

jessb said:


> Yep, I see your point, there is a diff btw a horse and a bandicoot though...


 

yeah a fatal 1... thats why cats an rabbits an indian minors an pigeons an toads and whatever feral animal that wont damage my car.... is the only thing i wont swerve to miss, but swerve to hit,,,, well  yeah
the only time i collect with a native is if it's unavoidable or to avoid injuring anyone else in an unfavourable road condition.


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## HoffOff (Jan 19, 2009)

Australis said:


> I hate seeing people swerve to kill wildlife as much as the next red blooded Aussie..
> But i don't think this is a good idea at all.


Agreed.


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## Squish (Jan 19, 2009)

There are plenty of perfectly valid reasons for people to need to pull over, including answering phones. Frankly, I don't like how this site jumps to conclusions; it's quite probable this guy *was* answering his phone, and he's lucky it didn't cost him much. Considering how little damage he took, i think there's a good chance he *was* pulling over to answer his phone, as he'd've been going faster over the spikes if he'd swerved. whether there's a what-if for killing people or not, that's deliberately damaging other people's cars and you can't guarantee you're getting the people you intend.

As for not avoiding the reptile, native animals are designed to camouflage. Sometimes it's hard to see a dirt-coloured lizard on a dirt road. sometimes a lizard might look like a piece of bark. sometimes someone might be distracted by, say, a mobile phone (hence pulling over), and not see something really small on the side of the road. or how many animals are nocturnal? a lot of people pull over more at night, but how're they meant to see your pranks? how many frogs are more likely to come out in the rain when visibility is bad? Reptiles are small, ne? I think this is stupid and dangerous and just as likely to harm innocent people as 'deliberate' swervers.



jessb said:


> Yep, I see your point, there is a diff btw a horse and a bandicoot though...


Kangaroos can be fatal going through windscreens, too. But legally, sometime like a cat or reptile, you're meant to hit the animal because swerving is dangerous.


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## angel (Jan 23, 2009)

I have never known any one to purposely swerve to kill a lizard - and this is a disgusting idea - plain stupidity - going right down to the same level of the idiots the are trying to stop


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## gman78 (Jan 25, 2009)

Any A hole that is wanting to run over a lizard needs his tyres punctured to teach them a lesson.
I always pull over and move reptiles off the road. 
It's not their fault, it's nice and warm.


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## reptilegirl_jordan (Jan 25, 2009)

It's a great idea but what happerns if the silly person wanting to kill the reptile blows a tyer then hits someone else? or that person trying to hit the reptile gets hurt? i know they were being cruel to reptiles but there must be a better way to teach people then there life or someone elses.
cheers


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## aussie.snakes (Jan 25, 2009)

Hmmm, maybe a nice bumpersticker expressing your view on these swerving idiots would be a better idea.
Laying mantraps is likely to just give the herp world a worse name.


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## N0MAD (Jan 27, 2009)

I have read about this kind of thing before in a book by Richard Shine. I don't think they used dolls tho...already dead snakes...


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## dougie210 (Jan 28, 2009)

.....


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## Vixen (Jan 28, 2009)

reptilegirl_jordan said:


> It's a great idea but what happerns if the silly person wanting to kill the reptile blows a tyer then hits someone else? or that person trying to hit the reptile gets hurt? i know they were being cruel to reptiles but there must be a better way to teach people then there life or someone elses.
> cheers


 
And the same person would have probably taken countless lives of other animals, so its really they're own damn fault. Id have no sympathy if I found out someone was hurt from it, just a trade off for all the lives they've taken in the past for no good reason other than theyre own pathetic uneducated / uncaring self. 



spilota_variegata said:


> I'd like to see someone pack a plastic lizard full of C4.


 
:lol: *click*


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## BlindSnake (Feb 4, 2009)

I think ppl may have missed what I was trying to get across in my last post..These spikey repliles dont really need to be left on the sides of roads to be effective.
If even a small percentage of herpers 'found' these things across the country, and reported it to the media.. well the spikety reptiles and surrounding publicity, may actually create an urban myth that is able to penetrate the tiny minds of the ppl who do deliberatly swerve to kiill snakes/lizards..
They might not care about wildlife, but Im sure they care about their cars and wallets!!
-If vthey believe they may hit a tyre puncturing reptile, they may just think twice..


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## mrillusion (Feb 4, 2009)

i swear it wasnt me


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## m.punja (Feb 4, 2009)

fatfrog said:


> what are people going to start making exploding cats cos its not like people try to run over cats and for the toads no one likes them i dont think theres going to be exploding toads any time soon


 
I'd be happy to make a cat explode :lol::lol: 

I think it's a brilliant idea and would feel absolutely terrible if the f*&^tards killed an innocent in the process of crashing and burning after hitting one of these bad boys. But if they were good little turds and only killed themselves, well, probably sleep easy that night. Just like I'd be more then happy to give someone a good beating if I witnessed them swerving to hit a reptile. I'd do it myself but if these contraptions started popping up around my area everyone would know it was me, besdies there aren't many reptiles around here. I like IHH's idea of making one then taking it to the papers and claiming i found it.


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