Perhaps a juvenile Golden Tegu? These lizards can get big (3 foot long body alone) and like the monitor lizards, are invasive and established in Florida - especially around the Tampa and Miami areas. They cause the same type of destruction as monitor lizards, too. And you can still find them being sold as pets! I can't find a picture of a juvie, but maybe this picture will help you determine if this is what you saw, although it looks more yellow than orange to me. Here is a link that might be useful: Golden Tegu

Wow--You all have contributed to a great list that I have already copied and looked up. I've known for sure that I need Queen of the Sea but had forgotton it's name. I also bot Cutting Edge from NH last week. Buff I looked up your thread and envy your collection. I'm leaning toward Manhattan, but read it is a very slow grower. Spring Fling was on 3 posts as was QOS. And Clovey looks enchanting. Many of the others I've also read about on this forum. We had a thread on green Hosta just lately, and I remember Ken having some in his Giants post--I will re-look those threads up. Hey-J--I read all about your poor Journey's End. If you're worried about that spray killing your Hosta, what do you think it is doing to us?! And I for one soak myself in it every day in this mosquito country! Mary

I'd concur with the ID. These guys are established in many areas in the south and some isolated locales in the north (Kansas City, for example). Sandy - I'm an Ohio native and pretty up-to-date with the research going on in the state, so far as I know there aren't any H. turcicus in Cincinnati, but it certainly isn't outside the realm of possibilities. Do you have photographs? It would be great to know for certain if we have them. However, I've got a feeling you're seeing the introduced European Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis), which is very common in much of Cincinnati. Here is a link that might be useful:

Marilyn - sorry - just wanted to clarify that my previous post wasn't aimed at you in the very least. Again, you are doing the responsible thing by not releasing that animal. If you would like some more options as to care and whatnot - you've prooobably got a nearby or local herpetological society that might know of someone responsible who would take it off your hands. Now, while they can get quite aggressive, they are nonetheless interesting, impressive animals (rather personable and curious) and make good display animals at zoos. A local nature centers might also be interested if they have setups showing "Exotic Species". Then again, sometimes these unwanted rescues end up having silver linings to them - I've got a few animals that I took in as rescues and couldn't get rid of initially that I've become quite fond of (even if they are still a pain in the butt at times...haha). As for enclosures, you could possibly make a relatively cheap, large, outdoor enclosure for the animal which would solve many many problems and keep costs and maintenance down to a minimum. Since Ctenosaura are excellent diggers, I would recommend making what is basically a wood-framed (1"x1" pine wood beams work well) box that is enclosed on ALL sides with a lockable, hinged lid. I'd also probably use 0.5" x 0.5" heavy duty wire that is stapled to the wire frame. Dig a hole, sink the enclosure in there a bit and fill in with dirt - this way the animal can behave naturally and dig, but not escape. You could also landscape it with some boulders and plants...make yourself a neat little outdoor enclosure that I'm sure you'd end up enjoying. Here's an example of an enclosure that I made for my turtles if that helps you visualize what I'm talking about at all - I would just recommend making a wood frame and keeping the rest wire though. This cost about $100 to make and measures around 9x4 feet and 24" tall. It cost a little more than what you'd make because I used cedar (the moisture levels here would have rotted pine in a couple years). Here is another enclosure I used (for turtles) that is more suitable for a lizard. What you can't see is that the enclosure is totally enclosed - that enclosure is essentially a wire box that is sunken into the ground. Hope that helps and gives some encouragement. ~Mike