# Lizard (monster class)
In NetHack, the lizard monster class contains monsters represented by a colon glyph (:). It is not to be confused with the monster known as the lizard, which is a member of this class.
The lizard monster class consists of:

:&nbsp;newt
:&nbsp;gecko
:&nbsp;iguana
:&nbsp;lizard
:&nbsp;chameleon
:&nbsp;crocodile
:&nbsp;baby crocodile
:&nbsp;salamander
Contents

1 Strategy
2 Appearance
3 Variants

3.1 SLASH'EM
3.2 UnNetHack
3.3 xNetHack
3.4 SlashTHEM

4 References

Strategy
Most early lizards are unremarkable and easy to handle, including the lizard itself. Of the few that can actually trouble players, the chameleon's difficulty is entirely dependent on what it shapeshifts into, and it is fairly likely you may encounter it in an easy-to-dispatch form; conversely, the salamander does not even appear in a game normally until Gehennom. The crocodile is capable of inflicting severe damage unless fought with care, but has a lower speed that can be taken advantage of.

Appearance
"Lizard" is a category that includes all form of non-snake reptiles and amphibians, both mundane and fantastic. While the chameleon and salamander are named for real-world animals, the former is portrayed in a much more fantastic fashion, and the latter is based on a monster from Dungeons &amp; Dragons. With the exception of the salamander, all lizards are classified as animals.

Variants
SLASH'EM
SLASH'EM introduces new monsters to the lizard monster class:

:&nbsp;gila monster
:&nbsp;rhaumbusun
:&nbsp;basilisk
:&nbsp;komodo dragon
UnNetHack
UnNetHack introduces one new monster to the lizard monster class:

:&nbsp;giant turtle
xNetHack
In xNetHack, version 3.0 changed the glyph for this monster class to l (lowercase L) to avoid using a punctuation glyph; leprechauns were merged into the ​i imp or minor demon class. This was reverted in version 6.0.[1]

SlashTHEM
SlashTHEM retains the monsters added in SlashTHEM and adds new monsters to the lizard monster class:

: deminewt
: master newt
: giant turtle
References

↑ xNetHack commit 6f0e026: "Move lizards back to&nbsp;: and leprechauns back to l"