[![](http://i.imgur.com/xSmcKWO.jpg)](https://500px.com/photo/172423165/little-dragon-ii-by-mark-weich)
The Japanese Five Lined Skink is not a dragon; in reality, it is a very charismatic little lizard.  Five bright bands of yellow on black start at the snout and just at the start of the tail, change to a brilliant blue!

They are very quick and easily startled.  In my experience, I often hear them racing away among the dry leaves on the forest floor rather than see them.  However, on this day fortune smiled!  I heard a rustling on the ground as I was looking for macro subjects in a tree.

I spotted a flash of bright blue and decided to wait while mosquitoes drank my blood.  I slowly crouched near the little lizard and was able to get quite close!

I love its perfect little dragon's claws in this frame!
[![](http://i.imgur.com/pVqwYZV.jpg)](https://500px.com/photo/172244279/little-dragon-by-mark-weich)

As this post would have been quite sparse with only two pictures, I did a bit of diving into the archives:
These were originally posted to my old blogspot blog.  I still update it every now and then though with Steemit, that will likely taper off.  You can enjoy my old(er) posts at [In Front of the SLR](http://infrontoftheslr.blogspot.jp/)!

Japanese Grass Lizard:
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DFj-GT4fpdM/SkIfV-uRpQI/AAAAAAAAAb4/i_AXbwOgGzc/s1600/IMG_4225.JPG)
Managed a quick shot of this one as it paused before running off into the surrounding vines.
A little more information at [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takydromus_tachydromoides) if you can read Japanese, that page has a good deal more information.

Geckos are also fairly common, though it's a bit awkward to try to photograph them on someone's house as they hunt moths and the like near lamps.  "Why yes officer, I was taking pictures of little geckos...."
As such this one I found early in the morning:
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DFj-GT4fpdM/SkIfVGdwCJI/AAAAAAAAAbo/jpmAXFltpgM/s1600/IMG_4635.JPG)
She appears rather chubby for a lizard that can hang from the ceiling effortlessly.  This gecko is nearly about to lay a clutch of eggs!  Probably slowed her down enough that freezing in place was the best option.  I was able to get one more shot of the expectant lizard before she scampered down the wall and into a crack between some bricks.
![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_DFj-GT4fpdM/SkIfVSiE1GI/AAAAAAAAAbw/DlpqCwuyyE8/s1600/IMG_4654.JPG)

This page was helpful for identifying the exact species. [Insects.jp](http://www.insects.jp/konbuntokage.htm)

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[Little Monsters - Part I: Wolf Spiders](https://steemit.com/photography/@mweich/little-monsters-part-i-wolf-spiders)
[Little Monsters - Part II: Golden Orb Weaver](https://steemit.com/photography/@mweich/little-monsters-part-ii-golden-orb-weaver)
[Little Monsters - Part III: Lynx Spiders!](https://steemit.com/photography/@mweich/little-monsters-part-iii-lynx-spider)
[Little Monsters - Part IV: Decorator Orb Weaver](https://steemit.com/photography/@mweich/little-monsters-part-iv-decorator-orb-weaver)
[Little Monsters - Part V: Black Back Paper Wasp](https://steemit.com/photography/@mweich/little-monsters-part-v-black-backed-paper-wasp)
[Little Monsters - Part VI: Dragonfly](https://steemit.com/photography/@mweich/little-monsters-part-vi-dragonfly)
[Little Monsters - Part VII: Indian Fritallary](https://steemit.com/photography/@mweich/little-monsters-part-vii-indian-fritallary)
[Little Monsters - Part VIII: Giant Japanese Hornet](https://steemit.com/photography/@mweich/little-monsters-part-viii-giant-japanese-hornet)
[Little Monsters - Part IX: Praying Mantis!](https://steemit.com/photography/@mweich/little-monsters-part-ix-praying-mantis)
[Little Monsters - Part X: Harlequin Ladybird!](https://steemit.com/photography/@mweich/little-monsters-part-x-harlequin-ladybird)

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