Last night I saw a little green lizard disappear behind my kitchen stove. I’m perfectly willing to live with him/her in peace, but since I don’t know when/where we’re going to run into each other again, I find I tend to have dreams about this situation all night long. Granted, I’m a wuss, but I’m wondering what a lizard’s life-span usually is, if they’re ever harmful, and if they’re like what I’ve heard about mice–if you see one, there are ten others you didn’t see.
I had that happen to me a couple weeks ago!
But get this: I live in Manhattan. On the 21st floor! I’ve never been more shocked in my life!
It was a teeny little thing, about two inches long from tip to tip. I caught it and put it in a cage for my daughter but the thing was too small to eat crickets or even the smallest of mealworms that I could buy. I resorted to catching (and slightly maiming) small ants for it.
We decided to let it go free while we were visiting friends in Massachusetts. I don’t know if it’ll survive, but anythings got to be better than slowly starving to death in a container with fake plants.
As for your critter, I wouldn’t worry about it…it’s probably a lot more beneficial (eating bugs and such) than harmful. I wouldn’t have thought twice about mine if I was in some tropical locale, but I just can’t see a NYC penthouse being a lizard’s natural habitat.
Only if you’re a mosquito or other bug 
Sounds like a baby anole. They are sold in pet stores as chameleons, and although they are not true chameleons, they do change color, they are either brown or green.
Totally harmless.
I thought Texas would be too dry for them, but it could be an escaped pet. Same for our NY doper.
They live a year or two, and are not as prolific as mice. A tropical or warm humid environment is best. Likely if the one released in Mass. gets inside before winter it might survive.
There are about a million of the little guys living around the house, though I’m not sure I’ve ever spotted one indoors. But if there are any little lizards in the house, they are my friends, seeing as they eat the bugs that feed off of me.
Lizards are our friends.
I just hope you don’t have a cat!
The worst a lizard ever freaked me out, I was sitting at the kitchen table reading a magazine (ok, it was an Archie Digest) when I noticed activity by my feet.
I look down and find a tailless lizard directly under my chair, with the cat in hot pursuit.
Cut to me standing on the chair, screaming bloody murder, waking up and scaring the crap out of my boyfriend who was asleep on the couch and having him rush the poor thing out the front door. 
I’m not scared of lizards, usually, but the whole tailless thing is what freaked me.
Poor lizard.
That sounds like the lizards we have here in Florida. I used to get them in my apartment all the time when I lived in Gainesville. It doesn’t happen as often now that I have a second-floor apartment, but one or two of them manage to sneak in occasionally. Just a few weeks ago I spotted one hanging out on the wall next to my window. They’re pretty harmless.
The only time I ever had a real problem with a lizard was when I got out of the shower one night and saw a huge one sitting on my bed. This thing was about six inches from head to tail, and was just resting itself on one of the pillows. I immediately grabbed a towel and tried to smack it away. Bad move. The lizard headed for the first safe place it could find – under my comforter. I had to rip the sheets off the bed to find the little critter, then chase it around my bedroom for 20 minutes before I finally caught it. By the time I was done I needed another shower.
Thanks for all the helpful info and good stories. I can’t imagine how Sue D’s got in either–maybe on your back or in a package? Ladybug, I totally sympathize, and would have reacted that way too. The only thing comparable, or worse to me, is seeing a mouse in the house. I don’t have a cat, but will be trying desperately to borrow one in a hurry if that happens. I haven’t seen Izzy again, but I doubt if s/he’s finding many bugs here, since they’re kept very much “under control” by exterminators in my complex.
I dunno, I’d prefer finding a lizard to finding a tarantula!
But lizards are fast - I’d probably flip out if I saw one race across a wall!
Lately, I’ve been living in sin with little pink geckos. They’re cute, they eat bugs, what’s not to like?
However, last Christmas, when I was staying with my parents, my mom asked me to help her move the couch in order to put up the Christmas tree. I did, looked over the back of the couch and semi-freaked. On the carpet, where the couch had been was a great, big orange and brown lizard at least a foot long. Both my mom and I went all girly with the squeals and the dancing about. I finally recovered my wits to summon my older brother, but by the time he got downstairs, my dad - annoyed and baffled by all the noise - had picked up a towel and escorted said monster lizard outdoors. Yeah, no more of those for me, please.
We had a green gecko who lived in our backyard at our first house in San Diego. Never seemed to cause a problem, and did for our yard what our cats and all the spiders did for our house (kept the bug populations down). Cute little thing, too. (Much like the cats and spiders!)
There are quite a few anoles living on my porch in the jasmine vines. I love to sit on the porch and watch them. They are like little dragons, stalking their prey and catching it, having little “battle dances” to establish territory among their neighbor lizards, and strutting around flashing their red throat flags to attract mates.
They eat tons of bugs, as others have said, but if one gets into the house I’ll try to catch it gently and place it outside because it needs water to survive.
Neat trick: If you pick one up and hold it’s snout close to your earlobe, it will clamp it’s jaws down on your earlobe (it doesn’t hurt) and will not let go, even if you let it dangle unsupported. If you attach one to the other ear, you will have a pair of most unusual earrings, guaranteed to cause any child to giggle hysterically.
Most excellent! Does it work with geckos? That’s what they are around here. I had two run into my office when I opened the door the other night, and I truly hope they stay as long as they eat their fill.
According to the Missus, Thais consider geckos (they call them jing jok) good luck. Probably because they eat the bugs. My kids love to chase them in the yard.
I’ve never tried it with any other kind of lizards - if you want to try it be sure and test the lizard’s jaw power before allowing it near your earlobe!
Now, THAT is cool. I’d have been admiring the lizard for awhile before I moved it outside.
And ladybug, I was once getting ready for bed when a WASP landed on my pillow. I’d much, much, much, much, MUCH rather find a lizard. Even if I had to chase it to get it outside.
I used to have a pet boa constrictor, so my perspective on reptiles might vary a bit from the usual.
I just walked into the bathroom and was confronted by a lizard on the toilet seat. :eek:
I hope he puts the lid down when he is finished.
I’d be freaked if I found a Biff or Muffy in my bed too.
I knew I should have bolded that…
Just be sure this lizard doesn’t hit you up with an insurance policy…