RAUK - Archived Forum - Importing captive sand lizards?

 Hi,

  Great forum by the way. I have a question, how would I go about importing captive bred sand lizards into the country to be kept as pets? There are several breeders of the L.a.agilis subspeceis located in Holland and Germany, and yet there are absolutely none in England! Since it is legal to keep captive bred sand lizards (of the second fillial generation), and I am an absolute fan of lacertids, any help would be very much appreciated.

Thank you and keep up the good work with the forum!

Rob

Thanks for replying so quickly Tony, but I'm afraid I don't understand you. So is it better to keep alien species with the chances that they will escape and possibly survive, than our native species?

  Lacerta agilis agilis is the subspecies found in the uk I believe, if so then how would that be a problem? surely if anything that would be beneficial?

Very sorry if there is something I have missed here; is this a conservation worry?

Thank you very much for your reply, but please expand in case I make a mistake!

Rob regardless of whether or not they are the same subspecies, they have been isolated for thousands of years genetically.

European a.agilis are not the same as those found in the UK. For evidence of the marked differences that occur between isolated populations, compare the Merseyside race of Lacerta agilis with those in Southern England. The aim is surely to conserve what we have in the wild and not risk watering it down with European stock.

Perhaps it would be worth enquiring with the HCT about their captive breeding programme of UK stock, I'm sure this would be a much more fulfilling project?

Of course, thank you. I just realised this after posting my reply. This after all is what has happened to many 'endemic' subspecies/races of animals across the world.

 I was never thinking of actually releasing them (the point did interest me though). I am just fascinated with them, and would like the privelege of monitoring their behaviour in captivity without jepardising the great efforts in this country already going towards preserving our native races. They seem to be one of the few lacertids that can become fully acclimatised to captivity (i.e. not running whenever one enters the room). Back to my original question though, are you aware of any certificate that would be required to keep the European races in captivity?

Just a point of interest though, at which point do the problems with inbreeding outweigh those of preserving isolated groups? Especially since these groups must be getting smaller as more habitat is destroyed. Surely the segregation is purely a result of human interference, and that sand lizards at one point were more genetically uniform? With captive reptiles that are bred for colour varieties, there already seem to be problems starting such as poor eyesight at early ages, especially in leopard geckos.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions, I wouldn't dream of releasing any European agilis into Britain, just like I am strongly against the relocation of wall lizards in Britain.

Thanks again,

Rob