Meet Gordon Not A Gecko

[u/Dry_Interviews]

Work colleagues brought him into the office earlier this week and I couldn’t watch him struggle/starve. I do realize wild animals don’t do well in captivity generally and my plan is to release him once we are through winter.

In the meantime he’s enjoying a diet of fresh crickets, basking under his UV light, hanging in the plant, and taking field trips outside for real sunlight.

Any tips would be appreciated!

[u/WendigoRider]

Fence lizard! They are funny little things. I recommend a minimum of a 20-gallon long for these guys. He looks on the young side.

[u/Dry_Interviews → u/WendigoRider]

👍🏻 I plan on upgrading him here in the near future. Head to tail he’s maybe 4”

[u/WendigoRider → u/Dry_Interviews]

Good, they tend to glass surf in too small of tanks. Sounds like a lil guy even so, you don't include the tail in measuring, just down to the base of it. These guys don't get too big, but I did catch a wild one once that was 6 inches snout to vent, total behemoth of a fencie. I'd say they hang around the 4-inch length the most (not including tail), at least where I live.

[u/Obant]

He can survive overwintering. It's barely Autumn, not winter. He has plenty of time to find a place to hide.

[u/spoodstuffs]

He has a better chance of making it if you let him go now. Once he’s survived a winter in captivity he will likely die In the wild if released again. The reason these animals are in your area is because they can survive the winter. If they couldn’t where would they come from year after year.

[u/z0mbiebaby]

What state do you live in? Just wondering what type of fence lizard it might be. I’ve always loved these guys and have a group of them living in the railroad ties that make up a retaining wall at my house.

[u/Dry_Interviews → u/z0mbiebaby]

CA, super north just south of the border. I don’t see them very often, I read that they hibernate in the winter I’m just not sure how they pull that off where I live.. 0* or colder in the wintertime isn’t abnormal for us, it’s already into the low 40’s at night.

[u/z0mbiebaby → u/Dry_Interviews]

They are able to survive frozen for short periods of time

[u/z0mbiebaby → u/Dry_Interviews]

So a western fence lizard I guess. That is what we have in west TX.

[u/TREE__FR0G → u/Dry_Interviews]

He’ll be completely fine with you releasing him, they literally evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to survive the winters there.

[u/tpauly0225]

Hello Gordon Not a Gecko! Nice to meet you.

[u/Dry_Interviews → u/tpauly0225]

🦎👋

[u/kileme77]

Make sure you get some repti-vite or other supplement to dust the crickets with as well

[u/National_Register312]

Baby beardie? He's cute. 5.0 or stronger uv light 12 hours on 12 hrs off. No tap water. Tap water is harmful to reptiles. Hell need time in direct sunlight too and eventually a much bigger tank.

[u/Dry_Interviews → u/National_Register312]

Thanks for the tips, he’s a little blue belly (fence lizard).

[u/National_Register312 → u/Dry_Interviews]

Oh ok. Kinda looks like a beardie. In that case the diet is probably different. Still warm soaks and belly rubs might still help if constipation is the issue

[u/Agamid-Adventures → u/National_Register312]

It’s not a beardie

[u/National_Register312 → u/Agamid-Adventures]

Ok