Keeping and feeding an Irish common lizard (Lacerta vivipara)

MichaelR

Hello,

My 11-yo son brought a very small/young Irish common lizard from school and wants to keep it as a pet. But I have questions.

• The big one: does it require feeding with live bugs? We're about a 20 minute drive from the nearest pet store and I'm worried about having to go a few times a week just to keep a constant source of live bugs.
• I understand we need an aquarium (to repurpose as a terrarium) and some kind of heating light/pad. But how much heating does this species actually require? Trying to understand if we can afford the power cost.

Thanks!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058265996/keeping-and-feeding-an-irish-common-lizard-lacerta-vivipara

This lizard is a protected species and cannot be kept as a pet. (https://iwt.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/WL42-Lizzards-eng.pdf)

Gloomtastic!

I've never seen an Irish lizard so yes, you should put it back very near where you found it. Maybe replace it with something else so your son isn't too disappointed. Stick insects are easy to keep and only eat Ivy so cost next to nothing to keep.

MichaelR

Al right, I'll tell him to release the lizard where it was found. He was not the one who caught it and children are not exactly privy to a 1976 law, which took me quite some time to find and seems to hinge on the exact definition of the word "hunt" - but I'm not spending a fortune on a lawyer over a baby lizard.

Demonique

If you want a lizard of this species the only options are captive bred animals from mainland Europe subspecies

If you want a lizard as a pet my recommendation would be a leopard gecko

ted1

did He catch it?

put it back, they are protected and very rare