Field Guide
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Common Lizard
Zootoca vivipara
Not yet photographed by the community
UK's most widespread reptile; gives birth to live young.
Species Profile
Least Concern; common and widespread across the UK, though locally declining due to habitat loss
- Lifespan
- 6–8 years in the wild, occasionally up to 10 years
- Size & Weight
- 16–24 cm total length (including tail); 2–6 g
- Habitat
- Open, sunny areas with good ground cover such as heathland, grassland, moorland, woodland edges, and rocky outcrops, typically on well-drained soils.
- UK Distribution
- Found throughout mainland Britain from southern England to northern Scotland, absent from Ireland. Resident year-round, though inactive during winter hibernation.
- Diet
- Primarily small invertebrates including insects, spiders, and other arthropods; occasionally eats smaller lizards.
- Prey
- Flies, beetles, ants, spiders, small caterpillars, woodlice
- Predators
- Grass snakes, slow worms, birds of prey (kestrels), crows, magpies, domestic cats, and occasionally larger lizards
- Mating Season
- April to June
- Breeding
- Viviparous (live-bearing); females produce 3–8 live young per year, typically born July to September. Gestation period approximately 2–3 months; single brood per year.
- Behaviour
- Highly active and alert during warm, sunny weather; basks openly to thermoregulate. Solitary and territorial, with males competing aggressively during breeding season. Hibernates from October to March, often communally in leaf litter or rocky crevices.
- •The Common Lizard is Britain's only native viviparous (live-bearing) reptile; all other UK reptiles are either oviparous or ovoviviparous
- •It is the most northerly-breeding lizard species in the world, naturally occurring as far north as mainland Scotland
- •When threatened, the Common Lizard can autotomise (shed) its tail, which writhes to distract predators while the lizard escapes
- •Colour and pattern vary greatly across populations; some individuals are brown, others brick-red or greyish, and females often have darker stripes than males
- •They are one of the few UK reptiles that thrive in relatively cool climates and can be active even in overcast conditions, unlike many reptile species
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