Hi Andy
Have posted it on my blog and my Flickr site.
My first thought is Sand Lizard but need more expert opinion. It could be an escapee from a private collector, not sure what a Sand Lizard would be doing in Findon, not much Heathland around there.
Illegally taken from the wild?

Ray
 

 

Hi Andy
 
I am pretty certain this is a pet lizard that's probably escaped. If it returns to the house they should take it to a pet shop and not return it to the garden as it is unlikely to survive outside. That is probably why it found warmth and shelter and ended up going to Tessa's house for help.
 
Hope there is more to this story and is is a happy outcome for the little chap!
 
Lynn

 

Tessa adds

 
My daughter wondered if it is a Sand Lizard, usually found in Dorset and Hampshire New Forest area, and had hitched a lift in a bag of builders sand - building work is taking place on near-by site.  However, when I checked for 'Sand Lizard' on Google the examples were certainly not so smooth and silky.  Either way its chances of survival are slim.
 
Thanks for your help.

 

Chris adds

I would say that this is a young, but mature male Lacerta viridis - the eastern form found in and east of East Germany, Eastern Italy etc and throughout most of the former USSR.

A fair number were imported for lizard keepers in 2004 and 2005. Given the apparent age of the animal it was almost certainly captive bred -
which might also explain it walking into someone's house!


All the best
Chris