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Connecticut Lizards: Identification Guide With Pictures

Last checked November 3, 2026 against official sources.

On this page
  1. All 2 lizards
  2. How to report
  3. What official sources say
  4. About this list
  5. Sources

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), Wildlife Division: The state-threatened common five-lined skink is the only lizard native to Connecticut.

This page lists 2 lizards: 1 from Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), Wildlife Division's DEEP Common Five-lined Skink fact sheet; Yale Peabody Museum Online Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Connecticut for the introduced species and 1 named in other official sources. 1 is nonnative. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), Wildlife Division gives a total of 1; the 2 here are the lizards official sources name one by one.

All 2 lizards

From A to Z.

No confirmed photo of Common Five-lined Skink

Common Five-lined Skink

Plestiodon fasciatus

Not stated

Venom
No official source we use states whether this animal is venomous. That does not mean it is harmless: do not handle it.
Size
5 to 8.5 inches
How to recognize it
  • Smooth, shiny scales
  • Enlarged middle row of scales under the tail (separates it from the southeastern five-lined skink)
  • Tail breaks off easily and twitches to distract predators; it grows back shorter
Where in Connecticut
Skink populations are found in four widely separated areas in western Connecticut. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), Wildlife Division
Conservation
State Threatened (2015 list)

Full Common Five-lined Skink guide

Italian Wall Lizard
Photo: Sandy Wolkenberg · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Italian Wall Lizard

Podarcis siculus

Not stated Nonnative

Venom
No official source we use states whether this animal is venomous. That does not mean it is harmless: do not handle it.

How to report

Bear-related emergencies: DEEP 24-hour Dispatch Center 860-424-3333. Wildlife sightings (bear, bobcat, moose, fisher, bats, endangered species and others) via the DEEP Report a Wildlife Sighting page; DEEP Wildlife Division 860-424-3011. Spotted lanternfly: CAES SLF Reporting Form. Timber rattlesnake violations: TIP hotline 800-842-HELP. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), Wildlife Division

What official sources say

Are there lizards in Connecticut?

Yes. The state-threatened common five-lined skink is the only native lizard; the Yale Peabody Museum also reports the non-native Italian wall lizard as established. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), Wildlife Division

“The state-threatened common five-lined skink is the only lizard native to Connecticut.”

About this list

The species list comes from DEEP Common Five-lined Skink fact sheet ("the only lizard native to Connecticut"); Yale Peabody Museum Online Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Connecticut for the introduced species (Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), Wildlife Division, undated web page; retrieved 2026-11-03). 1 more entry comes from other official sources named on each card.

Venom labels come only from official sources and link to them; "Not stated" never means harmless. How labels work.

"Nonnative" and "Invasive" follow the wording of the source list. See invasive species in Connecticut.

Sources

  1. Report a Wildlife Sighting. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), Wildlife Division. Content last updated September 22, 2026; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (1)
    “For bear-related emergencies, please call DEEP's 24-hour Dispatch Center at 860-424-3333.”
  2. Common Five-lined Skink (Wildlife Fact Sheet). Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), Wildlife Division. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (1)
    “The state-threatened common five-lined skink is the only lizard native to Connecticut.”
  3. Online Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Connecticut (G. J. Watkins-Colwell, editor). Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Division of Vertebrate Zoology (Herpetology). archived copy, captured June 16, 2021; checked November 3, 2026.