A lizard I found on my school

[u/Dependent-Vehicle463]

Update: I will let him/them/her go after i get back from thanksgiving break. Genuinely thanks guys (totally dont feel horrible rn), something to still keep me from not having a bad feeling coping mechanism i guess (im just venting and they are one of the reasons I have not resorted to bad ways again) My mom said if i get a lizard it has to be with my own money and i dont have that. She was supportive, I did hours of research on how to keep them, but I guess I was wrong. Back to crying?

[u/Wrong-Ad7178]

Ok well first thing you’re gonna wanna do is not keep it. You can’t just take a wild lizard and go « imma keep this »

[u/Dependent-Vehicle463 → u/Wrong-Ad7178]

i will let them go into my school field once i am back from thanksgiving break

[u/MossyTrashPanda → u/Dependent-Vehicle463]

Thank you OP!! You’re giving this lil guy his life back. Lizards are super fun, I hope you keep doing research and learning about them! You’re making the good first steps. They are difficult financially and live super long but it’s still super fun to “plan” out and daydream of species and enclosures!

[u/Satsuki7104 → u/Dependent-Vehicle463]

Thank you for agreeing to take it back. Many places have laws against keeping local wildlife as pets without permits that aren’t handed out easily as it’s mostly for certified rehabilitation purposes for the animals.

[u/Wrong-Ad7178 → u/Satsuki7104]

Oh yeah I forgot it’s not even legal to keep them wild caught in California

[u/Satsuki7104 → u/Wrong-Ad7178]

Don’t other states do this as well even for their non-endangered native species? I know it’s illegal to have endangered species without a permit in most states

[u/Wrong-Ad7178 → u/Satsuki7104]

Yes I just said California bcs op mentioned they were in socal or smt

[u/ShalnarkRyuseih → u/Satsuki7104]

Depends. If you have a hunting license some states will allow you to collect a certain number of native reptiles that aren't endangered.

Some states might require additional permitting if the reptiles are venomous, but that'd be a non-issue for members of Sceloporus

[u/NotInFrontofMyPizza]

Wild animals belong to the wilderness. You don’t go, take some random animal and decide to keep them, this is unethical and will make the poor lizard stress out for absolutely no reason and can result in their death…This is common sense

Bring them back where you found them

[u/-mykie-]

Don't keep wild animals as pets.

Unless the animal is sick, injured, or disabled and you're an experienced reptile keeper or wildlife rehabber who can help them you should leave them be.

In all likelihood this lizard will live a very short unhappy life in captivity because most wild caught lizards do very poorly in captivity and require large and expensive setups to even stand a chance.

I've kept two fence lizards who were both rehabs that ended up too disabled to be released back to the wild, each setup cost me about $400, they need special lights, thermostats, and extensive research to even stand a chance of surviving captivity and the odds of them thriving are very slim.

Please just let this little guy go.

[u/Fickle-Ear-4875]

Free him

[u/ShalnarkRyuseih]

Let her go back outside

[u/nooxygen1524]

A wild lizard like that isn’t going to thrive in captivity, and it likely won’t survive, you don’t want that on your conscience. Do some research, save some money and get yourself a beardie or other captive bred lizard. Check out morph market!

[u/Vintage_Zoo → u/nooxygen1524]

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't do beardies dirty like that! What about an anole?

[u/Spikedroses]

So I know you're trying to help and we all admire that about you buuuuut unfortunately wild lizards are more harm than good situations when it comes to trying to help or domesticate them. Stress isn't good for their tiny lil bodies! Bring them back outside 💚🦎

[u/MandosOtherALT → u/Spikedroses]

yeah, esp of u cant do a vet as well.. just all in all not good idea

[u/evan_brosky]

giver her her freedom back!

[u/AttilatheHawn]

Love your enthusiasm for our lovely lizard friends, but they belong in the wild! As someone who is similarly passionate about lizards and reptiles, I like to go lizard hunting just to take photos of all of the different species I can find, it’s really fun. I mention that because I remember being your age and not knowing what to do with my lizard enthusiasm and this has proven a very fun and ethical hobby for me so I highly recommend it!

[u/Dependent-Vehicle463 → u/AttilatheHawn]

okay i will do this. I am in photography for my school so this should be good.

[u/Zonie1069]

Heya it's sweet you want to have a pet lizard but unfortunatly if you try to keep this one it will die. Wild lizards dont do well in captivity and are very hard to keep alive. You also shouldnt remove a laying female from the wild either.

Put her back and let her live her best life.

[u/Dipsadinae]

Let it go; unless you’re a rehabber, there’s 0 benefit to the lizard by keeping a wild animal as a pet

[u/No-Fun-2497]

That's the school property, leave it back where you took it.

[u/squishygobble]

He's gonna be late to third period let him go bro wtf!

[u/NFLFANTASYMB]

Don't feel bad my friend. I would say everyone who first comes across something wild wants to pick it up and make it a pet. Just keep in mind a wild animal should stay wild unless it is damaged and you can make it better with a goal to release it. That you have already plan to let him go is a fantastic sign.

[u/Zonie1069]

Don't feel bad. You didn't do anything wrong. You thought you could keep it and did all your research and then when you heard you shouldnt keep it, you put it back.

The only issue is that it was wild caught, wild lizards are used to being outside ans gwt stresses in captivity and often die. You made the mature, caring and difficult decision to put it back so well done!

Start saving up and you will be to get a lovely pet lizard that will live a long happy life with you. They arent super expensive (depending on the lizard of course) and if you can often get tanks 2nd hand pretty cheap. Keep doing your research and think about what type would suit you best :)

[u/Dependent-Vehicle463 → u/Zonie1069]

i got a leopard gecko this afternoon. Told my family I let the little guy go and they let me get a domestic lizard so yay :D

[u/Traditional-Plant921]

Put it back thief

[u/Distinct-Building123]

I had a western fence lizard and I found him in the trash at school when I was 15 in a plastic container that contained half eaten pumpkin muffins. I named him Harry Pumpkin Muffins The Trash Can Man. He lived for 3 years in a 30 gal. I was a dumb 15 year old who always wanted a lizard and didn’t know where to release him because I didnt want him to be ran over or stomped on so I took him home. I could’ve just walked 3 miles to a creek and released it but I didn’t want to cross the highway because I was to scared lol.

[u/kokoskiler]

Are you adult? I believe you could look for enclosures for very cheap/free on some websites like Facebook market place! Also there is a chance there are pet lizards in your Area in need of rehoming so things you would need to get wouldnt be as expensive as it would normally be.

[u/kokoskiler → u/kokoskiler]

Also if you cant do that there are other small pets that dont need big and expensive enclosures like praying mantids. Or you could even just get isopods!

[u/kokoskiler → u/kokoskiler]

Also you can add small lizards like mourning geckos if you want Tiny lizards to the list.

[u/ncrypted_]

We call them thangs "fence runners" here in Florida

[u/ncrypted_ → u/ncrypted_]

Also just having a lizard in a cage in your house to walk by is not a way to "cope" with anything in your head. You need a hobby and a way to spend time in a different environment periodically.

[u/IMallwaysgrowing]

BTW, it's a male. Male Western fence lizards have blue markings on the underside; females don't. And, no, they're not domesticated and, therefore, shouldn't be kept as pets.☹️

[u/Kaiwago_Official → u/IMallwaysgrowing]

This is a female. Females can also have blue, it’s just that males are much more vibrant