Common Lizard Identification & Sightings
Printed From: Reptiles and Amphibians of the UK
Category: Herpetofauna Native to the UK
Forum Name: Common Lizard
Forum Description: Forum for all issues concerning Lacerta vivipara
URL: http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=49
Printed Date: 24 Apr 2024 at 1:43pm
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Topic: Common Lizard Identification & Sightings
Posted By: INFORMATION
Subject: Common Lizard Identification & Sightings
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2003 at 4:42pm
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A description and images of the Common or Viviparous Lizard Lacerta vivipara/Zootoca vivipara may be found at:
http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/common_lizard.htm - http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/common_lizard.htm
® Gemma Fairchild
http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/Images/animals/Corenella%20austriaca5.jpg - |
Replies:
Posted By: INFORMATION
Date Posted: 05 Apr 2003 at 8:03am
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Common Lizard Distribution
Please add your Common Lizard sightings below so they may be added to the above table and the RAUK distribution map. If you are unsure of the forum policies regarding accuracy of site descriptions and sighting reports please review them before posting. http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/Forum Policies.htm
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Posted By: Wolfgang Wuster
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2003 at 10:52am
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April 18 - Bix, Oxfordshire, 1 subadult, 1 female Cheers, Wolfgang |
Posted By: Matt Harris
Date Posted: 03 Jun 2003 at 3:09pm
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Hi Wolfgang, Just to be nosey, when you say BIX did you see them at the Warburg Reserve? I did herp survey there for a year in 1998/9. Fantastic place not just for reptiles, but birds, orchids, butterflies etc. Matthew |
Posted By: Wolfgang Wuster
Date Posted: 03 Jun 2003 at 3:35pm
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Hi Matt, Yes, 'twas at the Warburg Reserve - and yes, it is definitely one of my favourite places for general naturalist excursions when I am down south. And it is also one of the few reserves I am familiar with where they actually seem to care about the requirements of reptiles as much as about those of other, "prettier" organisms. Cheers, Wolfgang |
Posted By: bardofely
Date Posted: 04 Jun 2003 at 9:28pm
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I have just been browsing around looking for info on the distribution of the common lizard and happened on this bb. I live in Cardiff and in my childhood and teens, back in the '60s, common lizards were indeed common around here on railway banks on roadside verges and hedgebanks, in allotments and in woodland clearings. They have been vanishing at a very alarming rate and I currently only know 2 sites where you might spot one or 2 on a good day. Other places in Wales where they were once common seem to tell the same sorry tale. I remember they were once to be seen all around Tenby but not any more! Personally, I think that the vast number of cats have helped this sad decline but this cannot be the case in more rural areas. Places where I would be able to see many lizards on a sunny day about 20-30 years ago I now see none. The slow-worm, however, seems to be holding its own in these places so whatever has killed the lizards hasn't killed them.
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Posted By: Trish
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2003 at 4:47pm
| I found a common lizard on my kitchen floor a couple of days ago! It's about 2 inches long. Not sure what to do with it - where should I release it? |
Posted By: Trish
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2003 at 5:40pm
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I do have a cat, but It appears to have come on of its own accord!! ------------- Trish |
Posted By: Trish
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2003 at 6:02pm
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By the way, it has on orange belly - is it male? ------------- Trish |
Posted By: Trish
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2003 at 7:23pm
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Hi Tony, It has no spots, just plain orange so I guess it's female. I'm now really interested in lizards - I have always liked snakes but my husband doesn't so maybe lizards are the way to go! I will look at Dave Bird's photo's. Thankyou!! ------------- Trish |
Posted By: Trish
Date Posted: 07 Jun 2003 at 7:14pm
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Hi Tony, We let the lizard go free, and are now the proud owners of a Leopard Gecko, about 6 weeks old. Our 2 sons have named her Lizzie. I think we may get her a friend! ------------- Trish |
Posted By: Alan Hyde
Date Posted: 07 Jun 2003 at 8:27pm
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Hi Trish, Congratulations on the new arrival! My son had a pair of leopard geckos , so if you need any tips just fire away. Carefull on feeding mealworms , as they find them hard to break down and will regurge. Good luck with her, Alan |
Posted By: Trish
Date Posted: 07 Jun 2003 at 8:48pm
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Hi Tony, It's good to know you know about Leopard Gecko's. What is the correct temperature for day time? The Reptile Centre say 82 - 84 degrees F, we have it at 82 degrees F,, Two sites I looked at say 85-95, and 85-90 degrees F. Night time we have set at 84 Degree D like the Centre advised. We want to be sure we get it right. ------------- Trish |
Posted By: Trish
Date Posted: 07 Jun 2003 at 8:49pm
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I have just realised I adressed my last message to Tony, Sorry Alan!! And I meant degrees F, not D!! ------------- Trish |
Posted By: Alan Hyde
Date Posted: 07 Jun 2003 at 9:15pm
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Hello Trish, No worries on the name error, after all, it was me who jumped into the thread A good Idea would be to vary the tempretures betwwen 85 and 90 . That way it should feel more natural. I don't 95 in nessecery. It wouldn't harm the gecko at all , but it's not a comfortable heat for them. If you get the chance, why don't you post a pic of her on the off topic forum , I'd love to see her. All the best, Alan |
.Posted By: Trish
Date Posted: 07 Jun 2003 at 9:36pm
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Alan, Many thanks for the advice!! Will certainly post a pic, I'll let her settle in first though, then she might strike a pose!!
------------- Trish |
Posted By: Alan Hyde
Date Posted: 08 Jun 2003 at 10:33am
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Trish, I look forward to the pic This is where it all starts , geckos today, varanids the next Take care, Alan |
Posted By: administrator
Date Posted: 10 Jul 2003 at 11:57pm
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Mervyn and I sighted 5 heavily gravid Common Lizards at Dartford today; overgrown bracken site, around 7.00 PM after an extremely hot day. Mervyn also spotted many healthy rabbits and the warren nearby, all within 50ft of an M class road. So sometimes wildlife can live with development I guess. |
Posted By: Chris G-O
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2005 at 7:08pm
| An early sighting of an adult female common lizard today on Boscombe (Bournemouth) clifftops....and a baby wall lizard with it....photo to follow if i can work out how to do it; system seems to have changed. |
Posted By: administrator
Date Posted: 09 Jan 2005 at 12:05am
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Hi Chris, RAUK does not support picture uploads directly to the forum any more as it used too much bandwidth on the server. I can mount pictures on behalf of members, or members can use http://www.photobucket.com - http://www.photobucket.com to mount their own pictures on the forum. here are your early common lizards,
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Posted By: Russell
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2005 at 1:32pm
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Hi, I came across the forum when looking for ID on the lizards my cat keeps bringing me. I live on the cliffs overlooking the beach in Bude, Cornwall. My house backs on to clifftop dunes and I have a very bloodthirsty cat. During the height of the summer she can often bring back 4 or 5 lizards a day. Usually she just eats the dropped tail and I rescue the casualty and put them back in the grass. I've checked the IDs on the site and I'm pretty sure they're common lizards although several of them have been bright green/turqouise in colour. Does this suggest that they are sand lizards amongst them too? She presented the first lizard of the year this morning, minus a head. |
Posted By: Wolfgang Wuster
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2005 at 2:20pm
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Russell,
Those are almost certainly "Common" lizards, they are the only lizard with legs found in Cornwall. "Common" lizards can be greenish. Check the belly, common lizards are yellowish or orange nderneath, sand lizards are whitish. In the passage above, I put "Common" in quotation marks for a reason: they are nowhere near as common as they were in the past, and I'm afraid one reason for that is almost certainly "bloodthirsty" cats. Given the millions and millions of cats in the country, even a few lizards a year per cat can make quite a difference. Loss of tail does impact on the survival and reproduction of the lizards, and many that are released may have suffered internal injuries that will eventually cause slow, painful death. Now, I don't want to lecture you, but I would suggest that everyone has a responsibility towards their immediate environment and to other creatures, a responsibility that includes minimising one's negative impact. In my view, that includes the negative impact caused by pets. I personally could not live happily in the knowledge that an animal I am responsible for is killing large numbers of wild animals in the surrounding area, and I suspect most readers on this forum will share that view. For the sake of the wildlife around you, you should perhaps rethink the way you keep that cat and think of ways of restricting its hunting activities in a manner compatible with its quality of life. Cheers, WW ------------- Wolfgang Wüster School of Biological Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor http://pages.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/ |
Posted By: Alan Hyde
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2005 at 4:09pm
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Couldn't agree more Wolfgang .
Cat owners should be edjucated the same way that dog owners are being *Place Smilie with rolling eyes here*. The Cat/ conservation dillema is one which I have often pondered over , seeing as I love ALL wildlife and felines also. I did post my top tips for cat owners here before , but deleted the message, as at the time I really could not be fussed with long debates . If you do keep cats ,here are a few ideas that i've picked up from many years of keeping. 1- Make your garden enclosed with high fencing and high gates . Make your garden feline friendly with lots of nooks and crannys and trees . 2- Domestic cats are fussy feeders , feed them well , not with cheap supermarkets own brands. 3- I also feed our cats twice weekly on tinned tuna fish with the brine drained off. A well fed (Not Fat) cat is much more content and less likely to wander and hunt . I can honestly say I can't remember the last time any of our six cats killed anything , they just can't be fussed. 4- Find an area in your garden and turn the earth over at least once a week . Cats cannot resist fresh earth and will use your garden as their toilet , meaning once again they will not wander , pester gardeners , or hunt. 5-Have a cat flap . A cat that is shut out for hours on end wanders and trys to find stimulation (Hunting) 6-Get your cat neutered or spayed. 7- most of all , make sure everyone within the household wants a cat . All of the above help towards making a calmer more contented animal . Cats that are loved , fed well, and feel comfortable at home definitely hunt less , and are less likely to wander. 8-Have your cat wear a quick easy release collar with a bell . You may need to replace these reguarly as they do fall of easy , but they help to alert other animals to their presense. |
Posted By: Davew
Date Posted: 06 Mar 2005 at 3:36pm
| First Common Lizard of the year for me here in Mid Cheshire today with just a single sunning itself. Compares well with 17th March 2004, April 11th 2003 and 26th March 2002. How are you lot doing down south? |
Posted By: Peter Vaughan
Date Posted: 25 Mar 2005 at 7:00pm
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First Common Lizard sighting for me this year was on Saturday 19 March at my local nature reserve in north Hampshire - but that was just a fleeting glimpse of one making for cover. This afternoon I was able to watch a couple basking for several minutes. My first sighting of Grass Snakes in 2005 were on 16 March (the first warm day we'd had after the weeks of cold weather).
------------- Peter Vaughan |
Posted By: administrator
Date Posted: 25 Mar 2005 at 9:42pm
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Viviparous lizards were out in force on the Essex seawall today (25th March). Total of 42 in 1 kilometre transect (Seaward side). I'm now getting quite good at falling down the seawall. My first grass snakes and viviparous lizards in Essex this year were 23rd March when conditions were superb for visual survey, a bout of flu prevented me collecting data earlier in the month for comparison. |
Posted By: Alan Hyde
Date Posted: 21 Aug 2005 at 12:37pm
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Not Much moving this afternoon on Ash Ranges . I saw Two common Lizards (pics to come) and one vole . ------------- O-> O+> |
Posted By: johnc79
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2006 at 8:41am
| sorry i read that wrong! |
Posted By: Alan Hyde
Date Posted: 05 Nov 2007 at 3:00am
While out walking our dogs yesterday I noticed the common lizards are still out and about  ------------- O-> O+> |
Posted By: Ray999
Date Posted: 06 Nov 2007 at 7:51am
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Last sighting to present in the Blackpool area is 25/10/.
Ray ------------- ray999 |
Posted By: Suzi
Date Posted: 06 Nov 2007 at 12:32pm
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OK not common lizards but 10 of my slow worms were out on Saturday. This was under black plastic in the sunshine. This is very late in the year for them and must be because we have not had any frost here in East Devon for about 2 weeks and then we only had about 3 mild frosts. ------------- Suz |