# Lizards in cyprus ???



## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

HI

sooo im going to cyprus at the end of the month (wel...26th  WOOOPP ) 

just wondering if im likely to see any lizards  ...nd wat lizards will there be ??? ?


ooo and snakes ??? any snakes ??? lol 


im wanting to do abit of wildlife photography  lol


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## donia (Apr 15, 2009)

Definitely seen house geckos there (not sure on species - Mediterranean _Hemidactylus turcicus??_). I'm sure you'll be looking for something a bit more interesting though! In their defense, they are are very, very cute.


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## jasper1 (Apr 15, 2007)

Depends where you'll be in Cyprus. But you should see lizards aplenty, you'll mainly see skinks, geckos and agamas, even in urban areas. You'll probably have the geckos living in your house and may get the agamas & skinks in the garden. If you venture further afield, you could be lucky to see a chameleon.

There are snakes, but you'll have to go looking for these, although you my get lucky sometimes. Three of the species out there are venomous; one being dangerously so.

Check the following link to whet your appetite:

The Reptile Fauna of Cyprus and the Middle East


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

CHEEEERZ FOLKS  ... yeaa .. im stayin on an RAF base for most of it ... then one night in a hotel in pothos is it ??? lol 

but yea ... we are gunna hopefully spend a few days out just venturing on reptile search etc XD 

im sooooo excuited ... time to find out wat thes e venomous snakes look like  ... cheers for the link 

any more advice on how to find them very welcome XD


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## jasper1 (Apr 15, 2007)

In that case, make your way down to the beach area on camp, you will anyway as there is a club for every water sport you can name (apart from that one lol). You'll find most things in the bondoo on the opposite side of the beach road. Also go to the cliff area on camp, lots in the bondoo there also. And some nice spots to jump off into the sea also. Be careful though, some of the cliffs are high.

Will you be living in quarters or the singly accomadation? Most things can be found around the barrack accomodation also or in your garden.

Lots to be seen on the salt lake just outside Akrotiri village, on the approach to camp. As you're approaching camp, hang a right through the aerial farm and head straight down to the sea and then take a left as far as you can go and you will find a deserted beach called Turtle Beach where you can spot them laying. They do volunteer groups to help with the turtles. On the left part of the lake, approaching camp, is where the flamingos come, around October time after the rains have been. They stay till about March.

Just keep your eyes open and if you intend to go herping, ensure it's the right time of day; early morning/evening when it isn't too hot. Look forward to seeing the pics.

*EDIT:* Careful with the venomous snakes. The Fina can kill, although I don't think there has been a reported death for about 10 years. The Montpelier will give you a bad time also. The Cat snake you probably won't see. In fact the most common snake to be seen is the Black Whip, although harmless, it won't hesitate to bite if you attempt to pick it up.


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

jasper1 said:


> In that case, make your way down to the beach area on camp, you will anyway as there is a club for every water sport you can name (apart from that one lol). You'll find most things in the bondoo on the opposite side of the beach road. Also go to the cliff area on camp, lots in the bondoo there also. And some nice spots to jump off into the sea also. Be careful though, some of the cliffs are high.
> 
> Will you be living in quarters or the singly accomadation? Most things can be found around the barrack accomodation also or in your garden.
> 
> ...


 
YOU ... are VERY VERY HELPFUL  

lol i got no idea where it is tbh ... my friend has a RAF family ... and im goin weith her and another friend .. nd basically just "visiting " her friends who live on base ... but yea  ive never been there  so i cant wait XD.... OMG ... water polo ??? >.> lol ... poor horses (hope they get snorkels ) ... its gunna be a crazy water sports / herping holiday then  ... where abouts in cyprus is the base ??? 

im guessing youve been there quite abit XD lol


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## jasper1 (Apr 15, 2007)

It's in the South, on the pennisular. Zoom out on the following link and you will see where on the Island it is;

cyprus map - Google Maps

The horses don't need snorkels, they have long legs so can touch the bottom 

I used to live there '90 -'96, fell in love with the place and brought a girl home as a souvenir lol. Try to visit every year, although I haven't been since '07.

Buttons Bay on camp is worth a visit, if you like snorkelling. If you are lucky, you'll see Octopus, Moray Eel and a huge variety of fish. Take a bag of crisps in with you and release them into the water. Make sure you have your camera ready as you'll be swamped by fish eager for a free feed. There's also a dive club if you fancy going deeper.


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

jasper1 said:


> It's in the South, on the pennisular. Zoom out on the following link and you will see where on the Island it is;
> 
> cyprus map - Google Maps
> 
> ...


GO THERE between june 26th and july 10th and you can show me and my mates all the ryt places  lol 

AHHHH im well excited  ... do they have jet skis at the place ??? and can u just hire them out ??? lol  

AHHHHHHH its gunna be soooo coool ... im gunna be posting like 398573049875394857 photos lol ... OOO rando questiuon ... are the plug sockets the same there ??? lol


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## jasper1 (Apr 15, 2007)

She should know all the places I have mentioned if she lives there.

On camp, all plug sockets are normal UK 3 pin sockets and most hotels also. But it is worth taking a 2 (round) pin adapter just in case.

I can't remember about jet skis, but more than likely. There's a waterski club on the beach too. Most watersports are catered for. Definitely jet skis for hire on the beaches of Limassol (your nearest town).

Take your driving licence as it's worth hiring a car to visit the mountains/Nissi Beach and they drive on the left like in the UK. 

Near Pafos, there's a guy called Snake George who has a snake farm of all the endemic herps. It's worth a visit to see what species there are on the island. He's a knowledgable guy and willing to answer any questions:

Snake George Reptile Center

I also found this the other day whislt doing a random search. I don't know anything about it, never been. But it is in Limassol, just opposite the Amathus Hotel:

C.H.C Cyprus Herpetological Center

Enjoy your time there and try not to drink too many brandy sours


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

jasper1 said:


> She should know all the places I have mentioned if she lives there.
> 
> On camp, all plug sockets are normal UK 3 pin sockets and most hotels also. But it is worth taking a 2 (round) pin adapter just in case.
> 
> ...


hahhaha omg ... u make me more and more excited everytime u talk about it  lol
bad news is i dont drive ... and neither do any of my mates goin  lol ... they gots bus'es ryt ???? 

well we say were visiting them ... were pretty much doing are own thing ... the friend is more a friend of her parents lol 
bike hiking it cant be tht hard ryt ???  lol ....AHHHH gunna be freeeking AMAZING ¬!!!!!
lol


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## jasper1 (Apr 15, 2007)

spikemu said:


> hahhaha omg ... u make me more and more excited everytime


It's normally the girls that say that to me, not the fellas 


spikemu said:


> bad news is i dont drive ... and neither do any of my mates goin :sad: lol


You used to be able to hire mopeds without a licence, not sure if you still can. This will give you a little more freedom. Helmets weren't compulsory on the Island, that may be different now. But on the Sovereign Base Areas you will come under British Law, so they are required to be worn.


spikemu said:


> they gots bus'es ryt ????


They do have buses, but taxis are cheap. Although I haven't been since they've had the euro, so don't know if that has affected the prices.


spikemu said:


> bike hiking it cant be tht hard ryt ???  lol ....


If you have access to bikes then the roads are pretty safe and plenty of off roading to be done also. Bear in mind that it's about 2 miles from the accomodation area to the camp gates, about 4 miles just to get to the aerial farm. Although Limassol is only around 10 miles away. Much better to go by taxi to Limassol, especially as you'll be shopping so have lots to carry home or you'll be there on the piss and not capable of riding home  

Just ask for the tourist strip when going out at night and the taxi will drop you off in the bar/club area. It will be worth at least a weekend in Nappa just for the experience. If you do go, then head to Nissi Beach in the day time, loads to do on Nissi.

Forgot to mention, there's plenty on inverts to be seen too, if you look hard enough. Check out the large Bondoo (storm) drains that run along the sides of the road on camp. You'll find, scorpions, wolf spiders, false widows, large millipedes, beetles, etc. Oh! and plenty of mosquitos


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## jasper1 (Apr 15, 2007)

spikemu said:


> GO THERE between june 26th and july 10th


Did you see anything? Pics?


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

jasper1 said:


> Did you see anything? Pics?


i saw ALOT of lil blue tailed lizards .... .pics shall follow sooon  

according to someone my friend knew over there the cyprians have taken a liking to shooting most things that move now >.< lol


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## Kiel (Aug 20, 2009)

spikemu said:


> CHEEEERZ FOLKS  ... yeaa .. im stayin on an RAF base for most of it ... then one night in a hotel in pothos is it ??? lol
> 
> but yea ... we are gunna hopefully spend a few days out just venturing on reptile search etc XD
> 
> ...


akrotiri or episkopi?

the locals call the geckos "chit chats", no idea of the proper name, but they're cool small geckos.

EDIT: i should read the date on threads before replying 
there are plenty of skinks around too, though those guys drop their tails at the smallest prod...

saw maybe 3 chams in my whole time there too, they were cool.


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

Kiel said:


> akrotiri or episkopi?
> 
> the locals call the geckos "chit chats", no idea of the proper name, but they're cool small geckos.
> 
> ...


we stayed in episkopi .... but snorkeled down in akrotiri  

yeaaa wat are the lil blue tailed lizard things called ??? i can swear they are jus called bluetailed lizards ... but nuffin looks like them when i type it in google lol XD ...... i saw a few chit chats... well so called chit chatsthey didnt look very geckoy ..... not as geckoy as the geckos i found ... i alsofound a scorpion ... but had the wrong lens on my cam and couldnt change it in time before it ran under a bush xD lol ... heres a few pics  lol 

heres where we stayed ... our so called "love shack" lol










sun set from our lil fenced off garden (slightlyenhanced i must say xD ) 









CLIFF JUMPING CLIFF/big rock >.>









ok and ON to the wilder life of it ... in which i mean the wildlife 
BIRDY :









ANOTHER few birdys xD 









BIRDY with thing in his mouth ID .... tht thing in his mouth ... only thought atm is SEA SPOUNGE : D 









FLYING/ CRASH LANDING birdy/ DUCKY xD










ok its lizardy time : P

SPOT THE LIL DOOOOD : P









feeling clever find this one ...









ok easy one ... sat on a rock  (my fav) 









chit chat ????










another few ... ID anyone??

















hardest last ... find this lil guy : P


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## Kiel (Aug 20, 2009)

that's not a chit chat =p

not sure what it is, only ever saw them on the turk side. the chitchats were quite small and properly gecko looking.

EDIT:

found them: 








Cyrtopodion kotschyi

they were everywhere at Aki, never spent much time at Epi except for school so didn't really look.


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

Kiel said:


> that's not a chit chat =p
> 
> not sure what it is, only ever saw them on the turk side. the chitchats were quite small and properly gecko looking.
> 
> ...


 

seee i didnt think it was a chit chat ... i think i saw a few of them aswelll ... i found other geckos .. but there far less impressive photos xD lol


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