caught a lizard...what is it??

[Hoosier]

I caught this guy in my house. I live in socal...anyone know what it is? btw, this guy was fearless! I walked right up to it and it just sat there. it measures about 7-8 inches.

 

[bugmankeith]

Some sort of Skink.

Say that 5 times fast!

 

[tacoma0680]

i dont know but its really cool looking were do you live

 

[Scorp guy]

It's an alligatr lizard, they are very common in dry areas and mountains, i have them around here too.

 

[rattler_mt]

i second it being an alligator lizard

 

[Hoosier]

weird, is the alligator lizard some sort of skink? I thought it was a sp. of skink because it flicked its toungue and it was purple

 

[KennyGee]

Yes is called the alligator skink lol not lizard, one time i caught one and it bit me twice and left a heart shaped cookie cutter ;P :}

 

[Ganoderma]

alligator are actually in the family Anguidae, while skinks are Scincidae. they are only connected by order, and are in a different infraorder.

aliigators are distiguished easily by that "fold" along their sides where you see those fairly tiny scales seperating the top and bottom scales.

yours is probably multicarinata.

 

[MizM]

They are actually called alligator lizards. Super common here, I usually have at least 10 brought to me each summer for "rescue". (The kids catch them and come to me to see what to do with them.) They are the greatest attitudes and won't hesitate to bite. Luckily, they only leave deep indentations and rarely break the skin.

More info on these little toughies:
http://www.californiaherps.com/lizards/lizards.html

 

[crashergs]

i 4th that,

alligator lizard, he packs a nasty bite, note harmful but HURTS!!! and they wont let go :8o awesome lizards though... for being so large and not necessarily abundant but in civilized areas, is a good thought.

 

[Shelob]

5th vote for Alligator Liz, cool little lizards

 

[Scorp guy]

20th vote for alligator LIZARD, not skink

 

[~Abyss~]

Alligator lizard for sure i have one right here on my left hand. *ow* . Remeber these guys have one hell of a bite. You need any help with them i have like 3 months of experiance with him.