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Can you identify this lizard?

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2018 12:01 pm
by Suzle87
Saw this in Ios in Greece and wondered what type of lizard he is? Any ideas? Thanks
BD6B5C6A-8FFD-4B04-BC86-7D8620584EBB.jpeg

Re: Can you identify this lizard?

Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2018 5:41 am
by splashy07
Appears to be one of the smaller lacertids, similar if not the same as Lacerta Muralis, an Italian wall lizard that is very adaptive and has actually colonized here on Long Island. Of course everyone has seen one but me.

Re: Can you identify this lizard?

Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2018 7:04 am
by Suzle87
Thanks for that splashy! He was a very quick little guy, would never had got the pic of my big wasn’t messing about with his camera at the time, I can understand them being hard to spot!

Re: Can you identify this lizard?

Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2018 1:42 pm
by smosroka
Yup, definitely a lacerta or something very closely related, they are speedy, versatile little buggers

these guys are very common in my garden, males get the green coloration during mating season
Image

Re: Can you identify this lizard?

Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 5:55 am
by splashy07
Aww, lucky you! What an adorable couple!

Re: Can you identify this lizard?

Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2018 3:30 am
by Suzle87
smosroka wrote:Yup, definitely a lacerta or something very closely related, they are speedy, versatile little buggers

these guys are very common in my garden, males get the green coloration during mating season
Image


that's an ace picture!!! yes he was fast!

Re: Can you identify this lizard?

Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 1:10 am
by kingofnobbys
They are beautiful little lizards.

Do you give them occasional wormy treats to keep them hanging about, and maybe befriend them) …. I'm betting they can do with some left overs from the pet skinks/dragon/ what have you , so what doesn't go to gutload /feed the feeder insects will be greatly appreciated by the resident wild lizards (and frogs if you have any around), and you might find they will become tame enough to come out to meet you when you go outside rather than dashing away to hide.
At the very least
> you will be helping protect your local wild reptile population
> you will be encouraging reptiles into your yard who will be beneficial in controlling unwanted insects and spiders
> you will get better photo opportunities with them (they will learn to trust you).

Is taking specimens from the wild permitted where you live, if this is allowed, you could keep a few as a breeding colony perhaps.

Re: Can you identify this lizard?

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2018 1:03 pm
by smosroka
I don't live there for the entire duration of the year and they have a tendency to be extremely skittish and prone to tail dropping, but yeah, on occasion back when I was rearing baby birds there and one would happen to be basking I'd successfully offer a nice, juicy worm :) Now that I have a baby northern (spoilers, hah. I will make a proper introduction when it's a bit more accustomed to its new home) there will probably be suitable leftovers more often.
There was a big, chill(...ish) male I used to see particularly often on a rock near the front door (they key word here being 'see' as opposed to 'hear panicked skittering of a lizard no longer there'), unfortunately he wasn't present at all this summer so he probably passed already, they sadly don't really live longer than 4-5 years as far as I know.

From what i've observed they have a sedentary lifestyle, they will move around a bit as juvies then pick a big rock/flowerbed/log as main residence and sort of roam around that as their central hub. The territories can overlap. The babies are extremely cute and somewhat more docile.

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Taking reptiles from the wild unless maybe it's for rehabilitation purposes is illegal in Poland and highly frowned upon in terraristic circles, even if this one happens to be a very common species. So yeah, no, not really. My main reptile conservation contribution is picking up slowworms (adorable legless lizard) off forest roads before they become regrettable pancakes :')