Granddad’s Camera
Common lizard, as it appears in the game

No.035 · Reptiles · Uncommon

Common lizard

Zootoca vivipara

A small, quick, brown lizard with dark flecks that basks on warm logs and vanishes at the first footstep. It gives birth to live young.

When to look

March to September, mostly at dawn and day.

Time of day

Best time
Sunny, mild mornings and late afternoons, April–October; most easily seen in spring when they bask to warm up.
Where in the game
the New Forest (heath and mire) and the Pembrokeshire coast (clifftop and island)
Size
About 15 cm nose to tail
Lifespan
Up to 8 years (New Forest National Park Authority)
Status
Widespread across Britain except the uplands; the most commonly seen reptile in the New Forest (New Forest National Park Authority)

Diet

Spiders and small insects.

Habitat

Heath, rough grassland, woodland clearings and sea cliffs.

Breeding

Mates in spring; females give birth to live, inch-long young in late summer, around August (ARC).

Field signs

  • A rustle and flash of brown as it darts from the path
  • Basking on warm logs, fence posts and boardwalks
  • Colour varies from brown to green and even black, often with spots and stripes
  • Tiny black newborns in August

Did you know?

  • Its Latin name vivipara means 'live-bearing': the female incubates her eggs inside her body and gives birth to live young (ARC).
  • Like other lizards, it can drop its tail to escape a predator.
  • Colour varies a lot, from yellow through greens to jet black (ARC).

Moments worth waiting for

  • Spring basking March to May, dawn and day
    A lizard flattens its ribs to soak up the sun on a warm log, tail curled, one eye on you.

Photo tip

Walk slowly to a sunny bank, log or boardwalk in early morning, settle 3–4 m away and wait for a lizard to emerge. Use a 300–400 mm lens, sit low and stay downwind of its escape route.

Be a good naturalist

Never pick lizards up or grab their tails; it is illegal to injure them and tail loss harms them. Do not lift refugia or move logs. Stay on paths and out of scrub in the breeding season.

The law

Protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Schedule 5): illegal to deliberately kill, injure or sell them (ARC).

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