Both JoAnn Hoffman from the Hillsborough County Extension Office and my brother’s nephew, a professional herpetologist, think that I am not seeing black racer snakes. (see snakes or legless lizards) I am most likely seeing legless lizards, probably the Eastern Glass Lizard, (Ophisaurus ventralis). Cool. According to UF IFAS:

Unlike snakes, it [the legless lizard] has eyelids and ear openings on the side of the head.  If attacked, the tail breaks off with ease, and this is the basis of its common name.  During the day it forages for insects and other small invertebrates.

We lived in SouthEast Asia for many years, so we are used to having lizards around, even in the house. In fact, my son’s first word was “cicak“, the Indonesian word for the small lizards on the walls and ceilings. Although the cicak lizards had legs, it was common to see lizard tails around the house, especially after an encounter with one of our cats. After the tail breaks off, it continues to twitch attracting the predator, and allowing the lizard to escape. (view Wikipedia Gecko link to see image of cicak feet with pads allowing them to cling to walls and ceilings.)

We don’t have a cat here in Florida, but there are many in the neighborhood, so with cats and other wildlife in the yard, maybe I’ll run across a twitching tail some day.