Northern Alligator Lizard

[Saille]

Here is my little buddy Tiny, just before I released him/her back into the wilds of Western Washington. They are Native to the area.
History:
This little lizard was found in someone's garage last winter and given to me. It was a small juvenile at the time and over winter at a huge variety of insects and grubs while waiting for release. Tiny grew about 2.5 inches in length with me and this past Sunday, I re-released Tiny back into the wild.

(Brian, I do have some shed from Tiny if you still want it!)
This little lizard grew so much he/she was in a constant state of shedding! It was crazy!
Anyway, I really hope Tiny finds a mate and has a really wonderful and happy life beign free and wild.







(sorry the last two images are turned! Photobucket apparently won't let you rotate even though it says you can! Jerks. . . )

[Dagan]

Ah man, I would have wanted to keep that, but I guess it's so large that it could live in the wild much better than in captivity. : P

[Saille]

Lol, the pics make it look HUGE, dont' they? He was really really small, actually. His/her head was about the size of the tip of my index finger and including tail, was was about 5.5-6 inches or so.

I kept it in a KK and fed everything I could, isopods, spiders, whatever native stuff I could scrounge (especially once spring hit) but during winter, phoenix, wax and mealworms, crickets, even a small roach or two.

When the weather was nice, I'd bring the KK outside for some real UVB.
My herp vet said July would be a good time to release up here because that would give it time to grow and get strong, and the weather will be nice long enough to establish itself.

It was hard to let it go, but I know in my heart it was the right thing to do.
And the little guy paused for a minute almost as if to say "thanks" before just taking off, but I know I'm probably anthropomorphizing.

[AneesasMuse]

Thanks for being such a responsible and caring "lizard mommy", Saille

If you think Tiny is going to have any difficulty finding food for the first few days, you can leave some bugs in his KK and he'll probably return to chow on those ..if times get hard. (I'm such a worry wart!)

[scrletbegonias]

i love alligator lizards cause they always look grumpy lol

[Deannacristine]

I want to release my Aligator Lizards but am worried about the temperature now. It is in the 60's mostly in Southern Oregon. My son captured a lizard this summer just to spend some time with one. We let him, however about a month later we discovered it was a pregnant mother lizard when she delivered 4 babies. One baby was clearly the runt and would have died in nature. I've been feeding him daily by hand, and he has no desire to hunt and never has. His tail was shriveling and he was dying without food. I'm afraid he is I'm commitment until such time that he hunts on his own or dies. He's much smaller than the others and has failed to grow at all.
The lizards have been with us since July and two of little ones are slowing way down with food and activity. I would love to let them be free, but am concerned about the weather and their safety. Is there a time of year that is better to let them go?
Any suggestions would be so appreciated.
Oh, and I learned my lesson about taking nature out of nature.