You won't get bitten by one unless you grab it. They don't run out and attack you or anything. No problem there, right? And it's the overall damage they are doing to the environment, just like Cuban treefrogs, but on a smaller scale. So far. South Florida is so full of exotics, it is really sad. So many beautiful animals that don't belong here are displacing beautiful animals that DO. Marcia

Well...I appreciate all your responses, and I'm going to assume it's a common garter snake...for my OWN peace of mind...LOL I believe he was so grumpy because of the flash from the camera...it probably scared the bejeezus out of'm. Plus...I'm wondering if it isn't the onset of hibernation time. I mean, afterall, he WAS way down under some pretty hard, clay covered by about 4" of mulch. He was probably sleeping...or getting his last full meal of night crawlers when I uncovered him. *I'm in SE PA, not Florida at the moment. He's gone now and I don't know where...hehehe...but I covered the hole back up with the mulch. BTW: When I let Picture it! automatically tweak the color and brightness levels, the colors of the snake were changed a bit. Here are two pics showing actual color...

Its an Eastern Newt in its terrestrial eft stage. It has toxic body slime secretions, don't touch your eyes after handling it, and some people might be more sensitive, so watch for skin irritations, too. The only thing I could find on the Missouri Department of Conservation site was regarding a subspecies, the central newt. I don't think that's a central newt. I used to sell Eastern (or red-spotted) Newts at my pet store, they're really interesting, for about two weeks. lol However, it WAS really cool to catch some larvae with gills from a pond at Girl Scout Camp, they were tiny. Here is a link that might be useful: Eastern Newt Wiki

I'm not really familiar with many of the TX lizards, but you're right; this does NOT look like a native US species. Although the pic is small, from what I can see this almost looks like a Frilled Dragon, a native of New Guinea and Australia. Those are the one what spread out the big neck frill if they feel cornered or threatened, though simply moving away is their first line of defense. The head definately has that shape like a member of the Agamid family, and a foot and a half would be too big for a Fence Lizard, which is also in that family. Frilled Dragons are commonly sold as pets, though they are quite expensive, so if that's what it is, it must have escaped from someone-someone who is VERY upset! Check with the local papers' "Lost and Found" section and see if anyone has lost such a pet in your area, and you should certainly try to catch it without hurting it. Sharon McKenzie