OK, so there's a lizard under my sofa. What now?

Factual Questions
1

Yup, I live in Texas, sho’nuff.

I was cleaning the area behind the vertical blinds that cover my patio doorway when a small lizard, light green, about three inches long, apparently took exception to the disturbance, rushed into the living room, and dived under the sofa. I’m not afraid of the damn thing, I just would prefer it find another home. I spent much of the evening on that very sofa watching the 'Stros lose to the Cards and trying to figure out how I might get rid of it without major upheaval, but couldn’t come up with anything.

So, my general questions:

  1. Any health hazards from a lizard running about my apartment?

  2. Could I entice it out into the open with something tasty? If so, what?

  3. If I don’t take steps, am I likely to find a desiccated lizard corpse in some unexpected location later on, or worse, a train of fire ants trying to haul it off?

  4. I haven’t a clue how it got in, as there are no large gaps open to the outside that I know of. Is this a case of “where there’s one, there’s millions”, thus requiring intervention by an exterminator?

2

Cool.

I have absolutely no lizard expertise but I don’t think they come by the million like ants. I think they are pretty solitary creatures. Don’t they eat flies and stuff?

I think you should catch it and raise it to be your little lizard friend.

You could call it Larry.

3

They’re fast little buggers, but you might be able to corner it. I had one in my office once and managed to chase it into a corner a throw an empty box over it. Just try not to grab it by the tail.

4

If it is just green (no odd color patterns or displays of ridged scales) then it is very likely an anole (uh-NO-lee). They eat crickets and other small bugs, but I am not sure how you could bait a trap with crickets tht would not result in lots of crickets scurrying about your house.

You can leave out a small dish of water to help it stay hydrated. I’m not clear whether you are saying that it came in the doorwall while you were cleaning or whether you just discovered it already inside.
If it was already inside, don’t worry about it. It obviously has an entrance and it will only do nice things for you (eating bugs and all).
If it came in while you were cleaning, you might be able to chase it out if you open the doorwall and just herd it in that direction.

They are quite shy and not venemous. I would not mind having a couple roaming our house (which would sure beat having the eviscerating iguana we have now), but I’m sure our cats would kill any we let roam.

5

From a site on Texas lizards, the green anole.

6

Millions of folks in South America have these things darting about the ceilings of their homes every day – screens are not as common there as in the US.

It’s actually kind of cool to glance up at the ceiling while eating dinner and watch a lizard scoot across one of the upper walls.
About all they do is scare the resident females (at least the ones I know). Don’t worry about it. He’ll be fine and he won’t bother you.

7

What’s Larry doing now?

Damn, I’m so jealous. I want a lizard in my house.

I’ve been thinking, you could build a maze for him and see how intelligent he is. Or you could set him a series of tasks with food as a reward at the end of each one. Or you could put a small fly-shaped thing on the end of a thin stick and wave it about in front of him and see if he tries to catch it with his tongue.

Gah, wish I was there. The possibilities are endless.

8

We had them in the house all the time in Africa, although they were geckos. Completely harmless and helped keep the mosquito population at bay. The cat used to catch and kill one every so often, and leave it as a gift outside the bedroom door. You’ll play hell catching it, and if it’s that small, it may find its own way out.

9

I’m not an anole expert, so you know.

Well, the following is how to catch an escaped snake, but I hope it’ll go over to anoles, as well.

Needed:
AC
Heating pad
rigged-up capture box of some sort (preferably opaque, like a small shoe box with a small hole at the bottom)
Small bowl of water
Tasty treat (You can buy crickets at most petstores I know for about $.05-.10)

Turn the AC down, so your house gets chilly. Put the heating pad under the box, and put the water bowl and dead cricket in the box (do anoles eat dead crickets? Not sure. But he’ll hopefully be hungry enough to eat it). Put the heating pad/box near the couch, opening near the bottom of the couch.

Once the room gets chilly enough, he may seek out the warmth of the heating pad. Plus, if the box is small enough, he may see it as a secure place. Leave the room alone for a few hours. Don’t go in there.

Then, go check. Cover the little hole with your hand, take the box outside, and open it up. Hopefully, your little lizard buddy will be in there, and you can set him free.

Now, I don’t know if they’re diurnal or nocturnal, but when I lived in TX, I only saw them at night. So, you might be more likely to find him in there at night, or in the morning.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with having a little anole running around the house. He’ll eat little bugs for you and stay out of the way, I think. I think you should name him and watch where your feet go at night. :smiley:

10

Eels.
Lots and lots of eels.

11

Yes. And make it a little plaid liesure suit. :cool:

You just reminded me. When I was moving out of my home in Georgia I found a dead anole. He’d crawled under the entertainment center and perished of some sort of anole malady. When I discovered him he was an anole mummy. Creepy, but not with all the bandages and curses & stuff.

12

I have no less than 3 Lizards living in my house. When the a/c is on one of them, bubbette, (used to be bubba till I noticed eggs) hangs out on the back of my monitor. The house lizards are all geckos they ingress/egress through a space in the threshold.

So far all the inole stay outside and there are hundreds of them. I’d bet if you cranked the a/c way up and left a crack in a window he’d just find his way out.

BTW inole bite, they wont break skin or anything but it might freak you out the first time Larry chomps down on your pinky and wont let go.

13

Learn from my experience. If you decide to release some snakes to keep the lizard population under control, apply to Fish and Game for your Mongoose permit right now. They take a while to process the application.

14

little lizards called “imori” sometimes get into the house. I have just grabbed one from the wall and put it out in the garden.

BTW, I hear they have a Texan lizard problem in the Oval Office, too. :eek:

15

I didn’t mean “have just grabbed” but have, in the past, just grabbed.

16

When I lived in Nawlins I captured a few and tossed them into my apartment.

They lived under the refrigerator during the day (motor and compressor where it’s warm) and came out at night to eat. I never had any flies, mozzies, cockroaches, spiders, etc., in my place the whole time I was there.

Then again, if I got up at night and went to the frig for a quite bite or sip, I kept forgetting the little critters where there. As I opened the frig door and the frig light came on, more often than not there was a family lizard gathering on the frig door or kitchen cabinets.

I’m not sure who was startled more.

Keep them!

:smiley:

17

OK, based on the comments so far, I say live and let live. As long as Larry doesn’t play the stereo too loud or leave cigarette butts lying around, I’m cool. Thanks to all for the help.

18

The only health hazard is that reptiles are capable of carrying salmonella. So if you manage to catch it, or you come in contact with its feces (which should look a lot like small bird droppings), wash your hands. Otherwise, let him eat the various and sundry insects you may have sharing your house.

Under the couch is not their normal habitat. They need light and water. Catching them, if it’s actually an anole, can be a pain. Don’t try to grab the tail. A chasing motion can work, or a cupping motion over the body, grasping firmly but gently between the neck and pelvis. Anoles don’t bite, so don’t worry about that.

I’m guessing that it’ll find its own way out, but if you’re really freaked you can try lifting the couch and chasing the poor bugger back outside.

19

Sorry, I thought I’d included this in the previous post.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/nature/wild/reptiles/anole/

20

GET POKER

I can’t see a poker.

GO EAST

I am in the kitchen.

GET POKER

I can’t see a poker.

GET ROLLING PIN

You pick up the rolling pin.

GO WEST

I am in the living room.

LIFT COUGH

I can’t see a cough.

LIFT COUCH

You lift the couch. A friendly little lizard smiles up at you.

HIT LIZARD WITH ROLLING PIN

I can’t hit the lizard with the rolling pin.

KILL LIZARD

I can’t kill the lizard.

DROP COUCH

You put down the couch.

PUSH COUCH

You push the couch into the corner. A friendly little lizard smiles up at you.

CLOBBER LIZARD

You clobber the lizard with the rolling pin.
The lizard is dead.

GET BEER

I can’t see a beer. The lizard’s mother is here now.

CLOBBER LIZARD’S MOTHER

You clobber the lizard’s mother with the rolling pin.
The lizard’s mother bites the rolling pin in half.

HIT LIZARD’S MOTHER

You hit the lizard’s mother.
The lizard’s mother bites your knees off.

GO EAST

You can’t go east. You don’t have any knees.
The lizard’s mother bites your chin off.

GO EAST

You can’t go east.

APOLOGISE

I don’t know what an apologise is.
The lizard’s mother bites your bottom off.
The lizard’s mother bites your shins off.
The lizard’s mother bites your shoulders off.
You are dead. There may be a moral to this story.
Play again? Y/N