Bboy I think it might very well be ligustrum lucidum. I looked thru more pics and saw some that looked like trees as opposed to large shrubs. SF Rhino had it to begin with. I just didn't look through enough pics. Thanks. I was getting ready to email Disney. lol

Can you borrow a camera?? A picture is worth a thousand words!!! JMO kathi

This appears to be a copperhead. Dont let the dull colors fool you as I have killed many that looked just like that and at first I was confused but it was confirmed. They are abundant in Brazoria county and when I lived at Demi John I had the misfortune of dealing with many of them. Rarely will you find one over 2' lg and if it had a triangular head then that would confirm it. Nasty little snake can crawl under short grass and you will never see them. Keep you yard mowed short as the shorter the grass the less they like it.

Carol, thanks for your input! When my BF saw the pics, he said the same thing - salamander. I don't know how I didn't see the legs while I was watching it "slither" around the dirt but he saw them in the picture, like you did. (Well, yes I do know how - my sunglasses aren't bifocals!) But I insisted it had scales and its' tail didn't taper so dramatically. He said maybe it's a skink and we went to the link you posted, actually. Sure enough, we found him, in the lizard section. He's a ground skink. What a cute little thing! I thought skinks were like snipes - make-believe animals to tease people with, but now I know they are real and happily living in my yard.