How to Catch a Common House Lizard and Keep It As a Pet

Co-authored by Clint Bartley

Last Updated: July 8, 2024 Approved

Would you like to keep a house lizard as a pet? Lizards can make great pets because they are “low-maintenance.” They are quiet, not very messy, and do not need a lot of attention or space.^{[1]
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Research source} However, make sure that you do not try to catch a wild lizard and keep it as a pet. Capturing a wild lizard will cause the lizard to feel stressed and it may die as a result.^{[2]
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Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Preparing a Home for Your New Pet

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A 24 by 12 by 12 inches (61 by 30 by 30 cm) or larger tank is recommended. Make sure you seal any openings where your lizard could escape from.^{[3]
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Use a UVB light or a heating pad set on low to warm your pet’s new home to the appropriate temperatures. Lizards are cold-blooded creatures that rely on outside warmth to function. The tank should be a minimum of 80 °F (27 °C) at one end with a basking area with a temperature of about 95 °F (35 °C).^{[4]
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- Do not use heated rocks because they can cause your lizard to overheat.
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Paper towels and newspapers are inexpensive options that work well for smaller and medium-sized lizards and are easy to change. If you want to breed your lizard, add about half-inch soil mixed with sand. Maintain proper temperature. You should also know what sex is your gecko (male or female).
Your lizard likes to defend itself by hiding.^{[5]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Catching a Common House Lizard

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Lizards like warmth and sunlight, so look for sunny outdoor spots.
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Capture a lizard by either setting a trap or using a lizard fishing pole.
- Setting a trap: Find an odorless box, cover it with plastic wrap and cut a slit. Place the box in a location where you have seen lizards and add live insect bait. Check the trap two or three times a day. It may take several days to catch the lizard, so make sure replace the bait as necessary.
- Using a lizard fishing pole: Source a stick that is at least 3 feet (0.91 m) and a long piece of dental floss. Tie the dental floss to one end of the stick. Make a slip knot out of the other end with a loop large enough to fit around a lizard’s neck. Approach the lizard of your choice slowly and gently fit the loop around its neck. The best time to catch lizards is early in the day because they have not had a chance to warm up and will move more slowly.
Geckos, anoles, and skinks are common types of lizards that can make good pets.

Part 3

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Handling Your New Lizard

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Lizards, like any other animal, can feel pain. Some signs that your lizard is feeling uncomfortable include biting, thrashing around, clawing, and scrambling.^{[6]
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Scoop up your lizard in your hand and hold its head delicately between your thumb and forefinger.
- Alternatively, clasp it in your hand while grasping one of its front legs between your thumb and forefinger. With this method, your lizard is likely to struggle and may bite you.^{[7]
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Use your other hand to grasp your lizard around its sides with just enough pressure to hold it still.
Be calm and make smooth motions.^{[8]
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Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Caring For Your New Lizard

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Depending on the type of lizard, a shallow container of water, a bubbler bowl (for lizards who do not drink still water), or misting the walls of the cage daily will work (for arboreal and desert lizards) as water sources.^{[9]
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Purchase insects such as live crickets or super mealworms and wax mealworms larvae from the pet store to feed your lizard 5 to 7 times a week. Make sure to buy insects of the appropriate size for your lizard.^{[10]
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- Start with 6 insects to see how many your pet will eat. "Leftover" food can be dangerous to your lizard while it is asleep, so it is important to not put too many insects into the tank.
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Clean the tank whenever it smells musty or you see animal waste.
- Remove the flooring. If it is paper, discard the original and replace with new paper towels or newspaper. If it is gravel or carpet, wash the existing flooring and set back into the cage.
- Mist the cage with cleaner. A good cleaner is a mixture that is one part alcohol and two parts water with a drop or two of dishwashing liquid. Wipe the cage dry.^{[11]
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Expert Q&A

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Can I use sticky traps to catch lizards?

Clint Bartley
Herpetology Expert
Clint Bartley is a Herpetology Expert based in Chandler, Indiana. He has over 30 years of experience working with reptiles, and opened Metazotics in 2022, a large reptile breeding facility and specialty store where he oversees a breeding colony of nearly 500 reptiles. Metazotics specializes in reptiles such as colubrids, ball pythons, geckos, tortoises, and more, and serves a national audience with their state-of-the-art online merchandise platform. In particular, Clint is known as an industry leader in Asian rat snake and black rat snake mutations. Clint has successfully reproduced more than 60 species of reptiles in captivity. He was the second person in the United States to produce Archelaphe bella chapaensis (bell rat snakes), and the first person in the U.S. to produce them twice. Metazotics carries a comprehensive line of supplies and habitats, offers all bioactive enclosure needs, and works with local organizations to further their knowledge and understanding of reptiles.

Clint Bartley

Herpetology Expert

Expert Answer

To safely catch lizards using sticky glue traps, place them in areas where lizards are active and optionally bait them with insects or fruit. Check the traps regularly, and when a lizard is caught, use a non-toxic adhesive solvent or oil to free it from the glue. Carefully transfer the lizard to a suitable enclosure with proper habitat and diet, and monitor its health regularly. Consider alternative methods of catching lizards, such as live traps or hand-catching, to avoid harming them.

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Tips

For breeding: make sure you have enough space and only one male. The best breeding combination is one male and four females.

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Do not keep a Gecko with a baby lizard, for the gecko will eat the baby lizard.

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Do not keep more than one male lizard.

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The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

If you're breeding lizards, make sure you have enough space for several lizards but only one male. The ideal breeding combination is 4 females and 1 male.
If you're hand feeding, hold the lizard in one hand and gently cover its breathing holes so that it opens its mouth. Then you can feed it, but be careful!
Take your lizard outside to get natural sunlight every once in a while. This also allows you to socialize it a little at the same time.

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Warnings

Get your lizard's neck out of the strings of the pole as fast as possible or it could struggle and choke itself.

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Make sure you take proper precautions when handling your new pet. Your lizard, like all animals, may carry diseases and can cause infections.

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Keep in mind that by capturing a house lizard, you're isolating it from other lizards. If you're passionate about keeping a thriving lizard population in your area, hold off on catching it. Try taking a picture or pausing for a moment to admire it instead.^{[12]
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