A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California

Feral Pet Herps Reported in California

Click on a picture for a larger view

Report an Invasive Species Sighting to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Be a Responsible Pet Owner

Don't Let it Loose, California! - CDFW

This page will list names and, if I have them, show pictures of herps common in the pet trade which I know have been found in the wild in California, but which are not on my list of Non-native Reptiles and Amphibians Established in California.

Most of these feral pets have been found in residential areas where herps are commonly kept in captivity. In most cases it is not possible to know if they were abandoned or if they escaped. Some have been found in public open space areas, which most likely indicates abandonment by irresponsible owners.

I cannot cover every species of reptile and amphibian that is commonly kept as a pet in California, because nearly any pet herp can escape or be abandoned, but if you think I am missing an important one, let me know. Many of those shown here were reported to me by users of this web site who found an animal in their yard and asked me to identify it for them, but some of them I have added because I have read about them being found in the state.

The pet trade in herps is booming and unless fewer herps are purchased by more responsible pet owners there will be many more abandoned and escaped herps found in the state. This could lead to more alien herp species established in the state. While it's fun to keep track of them as I am doing here, it is never good for our native wildlife when non-native species take hold in their habitat and compete with them, and it is usually fatal for the abandoned animals, which don't know how to survive in unfamiliar habitat.

Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of many of these animals, and some of the pictures I have been sent are of animals which were killed by humans or their cats and dogs and I don't like to show their mangled dead bodies (although it might be a good warning to pet owners showing what can happen to pets that escape or are abandoned.) If I do not have pictures, I will try to link to another page on the internet where you can see pictures of these herps. I will continue to add more names and pictures as I receive them.

If you find a pet herp in the wild in California, even if you identify it here or elsewhere, l'd like to hear about it and add it to this list if it's not already here, so please send me email about it.

If you capture an exotic herp in the wild and want to find out what you can do with it, try contacting a local pet organization, herp society or pet rescue organization to find out if they can find someone to adopt it. Some veterinarians who work with exotic pets may also be a good source of information.

Anapsid.org maintains a great list of herp societies and reptile and amphibian rescue organizations.

Preventing Invasive Species Introductions - California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Lizards

Bearded Dragon - genus Pogona

Several species of this lizard, originally from Australia, are common pets. They have been bred in a number of different color variations. I have received reports of them found in yards, usually after they were killed by the family dog.
Find more information at The Bearded Dragon.

This bearded dragon was found in a San Diego County yard after somebody cleared some brush. © Edith McGee

This bearded dragon was found outside a house in Redondo Beach.
© Leah Beebe

This bearded dragon was found
in a back yard in San Diego

Spiny-tailed Iguana - Ctenosaura hemilopha

Native to southern Baja California, Mexico. Sometimes found loose in the state.
In his 1972 guide to California's herps, Robert Stebbins reported that they were found in Fullerton where they might be reproducing.

Blue-tongued Skink - genus Tiliqua

I have received a report that this large Australian lizard sometimes available in pet stores was found in someone's yard.

Monitor Lizards - genus Varanus

I have received a few requests to identify various species of Monitor Lizards that were found in someone's yard. Monitor lizards are sometimes kept as pets. Some species growto a very large size that can be difficult to maintain in captivity, and for this reason they are probably dumped into the wild.

Some pet species include:
Savanna Monitor - Varanus exanthematicus,
Nile Monitor - Varanus niloticus,
Water Monitor - Varanus salvator.

Wild Bengal Monitor lizard in India

This monitor lizard was found abandoned and tied to a fence in Los Angeles County.
© Cassandra

Brown Anole - Anolis sagrei

I have received reports of these lizards seen running wild in yards in Southern California. They were reported as established in one area of California in 2014. The two photos on the top left are lizards found in California.
Brown Anoles are often purchased in pet stores not as pets, but to feed lizard-eating snakes. They are native to Cuba and the Bahamas and are established in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, South Carolina, Texas, and possibly California, in the Palm Springs area. Their appearance can vary considerably between animals, but unlike Green Anoles, they do not have a green phase, they are always some shade of brown. The color of the extended dewlap of males is orange with a yellow border.

Green Anole - Anolis carolinensis

Green Anoles are now established in some areas in Southern California. They are commonly found in pet stores. They are native to the southeast USA and farther south where they are often called "chameleons" because they can change their color from bright green to brown. They are sometimes sold as food for lizard-eating snakes. The color of the extended dewlap of an adult male is pink.

Green Iguana - Iguana iguana

Native to Central and South America this lizard is a common pet. Adults growup to several feet in length. Juveniles are bright green.

Above are all adults from Florida. Top right is a juvenile from Florida.

This big adult male was found as seen here on a California country road, most likely abandoned by someone when he got too big and too difficult to deal with.

House Gecko - Hemidactylus spp.

Various species of House Geckos are often seen for sale in pet stores. Any of them may turn up anywhere. They are typically seen on walls under lights at night eating small invertebrates that are attracted to the light. They are often purchased not as pets, but to feed lizard-eating snakes. Some pet stores are known to have thriving populations of the geckos roaming freely inside and out. There are many species which are not easy to tell apart. The Common House Gecko and the Indo-Pacific House Gecko are both native to South and Southeast Asia and are known to be established in Florida, Texas, and Hawaii. There is also a species that has become established in Baja California, at least in the Cape Region, possibly elsewhere.

Texas Horned Lizard - Phrynosoma cornutum

This lizard is very similar in apparance to our native Blainville's (Coast) Horned Lizard. It is occasionally kept as a pet and released when unwanted, probably because they are very difficult to maintain. It has become established in the east, and could do so in California.

Wall Lizards - genus Podarcis

One species, Podarcis siculus, has been established in southern California, and it is likely that more of these popular pet lizards have escaped or have been released. Wall Lizards have become established in several other states in the U.S.A. and on Vancouver Island.
The lizards above are all from San Pedro in Los Angeles County.

Veiled Chameleon - Chamaeleo calyptratus

These chameleons are native to the southwestern Arabian Peninsula are are kept as pets. Sometimes they get loose or are set free The lizard above was found in San Diego County, where there may be an established population. © Dave Shaw

Captive adult.

Jackson's Chameleon - Trioceros jacksonii

Jackson's Chameleons are popular pets. There is at least one established population in Morro Bay, and they have been found in La Jolla, but they sometimes escape or are abandoned and are found in other areas.

Uromastyx or Spiny-Tailed Lizards (many species)

Uromastyx are popular pets that originate in North Africa, the Middle East, and Iran. They are mostly herbivorous.
The one shown above showed up in a southern California yard.

Beaded Lizard - Heloderma horridum

A very large rough-skinned venomous lizard with huge claws related to the Gila Monster. I have seen them in pet stores, though their sale may now be restricted. This male was found living in a hole next to some trash cans in the hills above Lake Elsinore and was removed by a reptile re-locator. © Jeff Mellinger

Blue Spiny Lizard - Sceloporus cyanogenys (= Sceloporus serrifer cyanogenys)

Native to southern Texas and northeastern Mexico and sold in pet shops. In his 1972 guide to California's herps, Robert Stebbins reported that they were found at the base of the Palms to Pines highway south of Palm Desert in Riverside County.
Wickipedia Entry

Snakes

Snakes are master escape artists and excellent climbers that can squeeze into small spaces. Anyone who has kept them will have an escape story. (A snake of mine once escaped into my garage in November. I found it in March after it returned to warm up next to the heating element on top of a lizard cage. Either that or it was trying to figure out how to get in the cage to eat the lizard.) So just about any species of snake kept as a pet could be found outside of its cage. Unfortunately, that includes exotic venomous snakes which are popular with some keepers.

Milk Snake - Lampropeltis triangulum

Milk snakes are common pets. I have received several reports of milksnakes found in yards, and one on a hiking trail. Unfortunately, this harmless snake is often mistaken for the venomous coral snake, which does not occur in California, and it is killed for no good reason.

Milksnakes are variable in appearance, but most have black, white, and red, or orange, bands. One common pet, the Sinaloan Milk Snake, has very wide orange bands.

Corn Snake - Elaphe guttata

Corn snakes have been very common in the pet trade for many years. Corn snake breeders have created many different color and pattern variations for the pet trade including albinos, which are pink or orange.

This Corn Snake was found unexpectedly on an Encinitas front porch. It turned out to be the escaped pet of the boy next door.
© Doug Gilmore

Wild Corn Snake found in the
Florida Keys.

Albino Corn Snakes are popular pets that come in a variety of colors and patterns. This one was found in San Mateo County © Bob Peterson

This normally colored and patterned escaped Corn Snake was a big surprise when it was found in a bathroom inside a house in Santa Clara County. © Erik

This is the less-common striped variety of albino Corn Snake. It was found under some back yard bricks in San Diego County. © Alberto Galindo

This adult Corn Snake, seen lounging by a pool, has inhabited a Sacramento backyard for more than a year.

This albino designer Corn Snake was found under a bush in Placer County.
© James Heirigs

Beauty Rat Snake - (Beauty Snake) - Orthriophis taeniurus

I have received several reports of this snake in the wild in California in Ventura County and in Contra Costa County and have heard that they were also in Santa Ana, along with Chinese Rat Snakes - Ptyas korro.

Both snakes shown to me were very large - probably 6 - 7 feet in length. The species may growup to 10 feet in length. This leads me to suspect that they are dumped into the wild after they grow too large to take care of, similar to the fate of many Burmese Pythons and Boa Constrictors.

© Gailene Nelson
The Lafayette, Contra Costa County snake shown above was photographed in the picture on the right about a year after it was photographed in the picture on the left, and I have had a report of a different one seen a year or two before that dead on a nearby road.
Three years later, I got another report and video from someone else of a similar snake from the same general location, including sightings of shed skins found in an attic. This snake seems to have found a niche and survived for at least 4 years.

Ball Python - Python regius

Ball Pythons are popular pet snakes that both captive bred and imported. It is a small python with a docile temperament that rolls itself into a ball when it is threatened or stressed.

Ball Python found abandoned in a Los Angeles County park © James Wang

Ball Python found abandoned in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County in February.
© David Van Valkenburgh

Boa Constrictor (Red-tailed Boa) - Boa constrictor

Native to South America north to Mexico, and a very popular pet snake, often used in celebrity photoshoots. Sometimes Boa Constrictors escape or are released when their owners tire of them. They have been found in backyards and even out in the country, where they were obviously released illegally.

This escaped or released Boa Constrictor was found on a driveway in Ventura County. © Thomas Miller

Rihanna with a Boa Constrictor.
© Mariano Vivanco/GQ's 25th Anniversary issue

GnR Guitarist Slash with a
Boa Constrictor

Burmese Python - Python molurus bivittatus

This popuar pet has not become established in California as it has been in south Florida, but escapees have been seen in California.
Some pictures I have taken of the Indian subspecies can be seen here.

Large adult Burmese Python in a zoo

A Burmese Python was used in the iconic photo of Nastassja Kinski and the Serpent © Richard Avedon 1981

Pro wrestler Jake "The Snake" Roberts
with one of the Burmese Pythons he used in the ring

Amethystine Python (Scrub Python) - Morelia kinghorni (or amethistina)

Another popular pet python.

Adult in the wild,
Queensland Australia

Juvenile in the wild,
Queensland Australia

Adult found at night in a rainforest
in Queensland Australia

Native California Snakes Kept as Pets Sometimes Show Up in the Wild Where They Shouldn't Be

This striped morph California Kingsnake was found in a park in Chico, Butte County, not far from where a non-native Corn Snake was found a month later. The striped pattern is not typically found in Butte County. It is more typical of snakes found near the coast in San Diego County. Therefore I assume that this, like the Corn Snake, was an abandoned pet, probably one bred in captivity. © Kurt Geiger

Watersnakes - Genus Nerodia

Florida Watersnake - Nerodia fasciata
Common Watersnake - Nerodia sipedon
Diamond-backed Watersnake - Nerodia rhombifer rhombifer

Not Native to California

It is unlawful to import, transport, or possess any Watersnakes of the genus Nerodia in
California except under permit issued by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
(California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Excerpts, Section 671)

The California Watersnakes Site reports on news, publications, and
sightings related to non-native watersnake species (Nerodia) in California.

If you see a watersnake in the wild in California at a location not mentioned on the
California Watersnakes Site, please report it to California Nerodia Watch at iNaturalist.

(Don't confuse Watersnakes (Nerodia) with native California gartersnakes. Most gartersnakes
have stripes on the sides and sometimes on the back. Watersnakes have no stripes.)

Adult Common Watersnake,
Placer County.

Adult Diamond-backed Watersnake, in water, Travis County, Texas

Adult Florida Watersnake,
Sacramento County

Juvenile Common Watersnake,
Lumpkin County, Georgia

Adult Diamond-backed Watersnake, Hidalgo County, Texas

Turtles and Tortoises

Box Turtle - Genus Terrapene

Wild illegally-released or escaped individual box turtles are sometimes found in California, usually in someone's yard. Several species are found in the pet trade.

Red-eared Sliders - Trachemys scripta elegans

These are so common that they are probably the turtle you are most likely to see in California waters. They are established and breeding, but they are also still available in the pet trade, and certainly, more and more of them are released every year when they get too big for their owners to take care of them. I have also received reports of escaped pets wandering in suburban areas.

There are many other species of pet turtles that have been released in the state, including a number of Asian species, but turtles are difficult to approach to correctly identify and photograph. I will add more as I discover them.

Adults from California and Texas

Mohave Desert Tortoise - Gopherus agassizii

Desert Tortoises were once very common pets, back when you could go out to the desert, pick one up, and take it home. I've talked to people who kept them and let them roam around inside the house. Some of these tortoises were released when they were no longer wanted, probably because they live so long - 50 to 80 years, according to one source. There is even an established population of Desert Tortoises living in Anza-Borrego State Park, outside of their native range. They became establised as the result of the intentional release of tortoises in the late 1960s, according to an unverified source.

Adults from California

Texas Tortoise - Gopherus berlandieri

Native to southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. Once sold in pet shops, maybe they still are. Owners sometimes released them into the desert when they no longer wanted them.

Adults from Texas.

African Spurred Tortoise - Centrochelys sulcata
(also called African Spur Thigh Tortoise or Sulcata Tortoise)

Kept as pets, sometimes found in the wild. The one shown above was found in a yard in Santa Cruz.

Leopard Tortoise - Geochelone pardalis

Kept as pets and sometimes found in the wild. Once reported to be established at Mission Trails park in San Diego County.

Juvenile, Africa

Alligator Snapping Turtle - Macrochelys temmincki

This species of snapping turtle is different from the Snapping Turtle - Chelydra serpentina, which has been established in California.

Map Turtles - genus Graptemys

Several species are common in the pet trade. Sometimes found released into the wild. Map turtles are small turtles with a raised ridge or keel on the middle of the top of the shell.

Map turtles photographed in Alabama.

Frogs and Toads

Fire-bellied Toad - genus Bombina

I have received a few requests from people who have found this Asian toad in their yard to identify the species for them. This toad is commonly sold in pet stores, and is a popular pet.

Salamanders

Fire-bellied Newt - genus Cynops

A couple of species are common in the pet trade:
Cynops orientalis - Chinese Fire-bellied Newt
Cynops pyrrhogaster - Japanese Fire-bellied Newt

I have seen a report that this species has been released into the wild in southern California where it has been established, but could get no confirmation. It has also been found in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and in a regional park in Contra Costa County in the East Bay, but I don't know if the newts found in those places represent part of a breeding population or individual waifs.

Crocodilians

American Alligator - Alligator mississipiensis

Every once in a while the media gets excited about an alligator found in a local pond or lake as if they were some kind of dangerous monsters. Juveniles were once kept as pets, but as they grew large, they were often dumped into a local lake. Some of them survive for a while until they are removed.

Reggie, an alligator that once inhabited Lake Machado in Harbor City, L.A. County, before it was finally captured and sent to the L.A. Zoo in 2007, even has his own Wickipedia Page.

Adult, Florida

Adult, Texas

Juveniles, Florida

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