little lizards

Question
im new in sw ga and there are lizards scurrying around..the anole kind, i saw pics, green and brown, are they poisonous? i have a 4 yr old grandson and dont want him harmed when playing on the back deck

Answer
No, the only dangerous venomous lizards in the world are the beaded lizard, the gila monster, and the Komodo dragon.  Other species of lizards have been found to have mild venoms, including the common pet bearded dragon, but their venom is too weak to produce any effect in humans.

The small fence lizards and anoles that live in the US are non-venomous and are completely harmless.  They are also not poisonous, so he isn't going to be harmed if he eats one, either--not that this is recommended, since most wild animals do carry parasites.  ;)

In southwest Georgia, the only creatures you want to watch out for are copperheads, cottonmouths, rattlesnakes, coral snakes (red touches black, venom lack--red touches yellow, kill a fellow), black widow spiders, and brown recluse spiders.  And, of course, alligators.

Apart from the coral snake, venomous snakes are easily identified in the US by their broad, triangular heads.  Colubrids have narrow heads, and little in the way of a neck, in most cases.  There are a few look-alikes--the harmless but highly pugnacious banded water snake, for example, and the hognose snake, which is the ham of the reptile world.  (It flattens its neck like a cobra, hisses, rattles its tail, and strikes...with its mouth closed.  If that fails, it rolls over onto its back, writhes around horribly, releases a musk, and then plays dead with its tongue hanging out).

It's a good idea to learn to identify harmless and dangerous snake species, because harmless species can be incredibly beneficial to have around--most species eat rodents.  Rodents carry dangerous diseases.  Some snakes, such as kingsnakes, specialize in eating other snakes--including venomous species!