Can I keep a lizard as a pet?

You can, but make sure you know how to care for it first. Owning a pet reptile is much more expensive and can take lots more effort than owning a small mammal, cat, or dog. For example:

-Your lizard will require calcium and vitamin supplements (made specifically for reptiles) added to its food.

-It will need a UVB light in order to prevent metabolic bone disease (the #1 problem in captive reptiles). Be prepared, these bulbs are expensive, but they do last for about six months.

-You will have to set up a temperature gradient in its cage. Lizards are cold-blooded animals and rely on their environment to adjust their body temperature. This means one side of the cage will have to be warm, and one side needs to be cooler. You'll have to do this with a basking light or a heat mat.

-Most lizards eat live bugs. This means you'll have to go on regular trips to the pet store to buy crickets and worms to feed it.

DISEASES: ALL reptiles and amphibians have the possibility of carrying the disease salmonella, even lizards bought from the pet store. Lizards caught from the wild will probably have a parasite or two as well, so it's suggested you take a fecal sample to the vet.

Like they said above, go to a petstore and identify it or do a little research on google and you can answer the questions that way. bearded dragons bred in captivity still carry salmonella naturally. So it could potentially carry disease but just be sanitary and you could still have it as a pet. keep the cage clean and wash your hands after handling and your good.

Definitely, as long as you research what species that you see before you go for it. If you do, be prepared. They may carry diseases that can be transferred to other animals that you put with it in its cage. All reptiles have a chance of carrying salmonella too, but that doen't stop most people as long as you wash your hands. I suggest doing at least two weeks of research before you do anything. Contrary to what you might think, reptiles/amphibians/fish can be much more costly to take care of than cats, dogs, or rodents.

I have a friend who caught a lizard and kept it for 4 years before it died, i would suggest if you catch one to take it to a local pet store so they can identify it and tell you its diet and if you should keep it from the wild.

Yeah; go to your local petstore!!