It all started in second grade during spring break when he got a fateful text from a friend that asked if he wanted their lizards.

“I was like, ‘Yeah,’” sophomore Sam Wilson said. “The previous owner had had them for a few years but lost interest and they got too stinky I guess.”

Wilson is an active member of the speech and debate team, the stage manager for the school productions, and an influential part of the robotics team. But there is more to Wilson than meets the eye. He is the founder and active manager of a daily text messaging service called “Daily Lizard Facts.” Daily Lizard Facts, or DLF for short, sends patrons who have signed up a fact about lizards every day, ranging from information about different species types to interactive searches.

“I like the one where it was ‘Find the Lizard,’” Senior Clare Jordan said. “No one actually thought there was a lizard, but there was.”

Wilson started DLF in seventh grade with a group of friends after showing them his lizards during science class. Since then the service has accumulated 56 members who receive texts daily. Fellow sophomore Katie Elbow, a subscriber to the service, has always found Wilson’s texts to be more than entertaining.

“It’s always been really fun to see what the fact of the day is because sometimes it’s as simple as the size of a certain lizard, but there’s also been some crazy ones, like one about how the Mexican blind lizard is leg-less, tailless and blind.” Elbow said.

Wilson has been volunteering at the OKC Zoo for over a year and a half now as a junior curator, allowing him to get up close to the animals he loves so much, and plans to continue such in the near future. He aspires to get a bachelor’s degree in Zoology and work in the field of conservation, as well as continuing his lizard collection.

If you would like to become a member of the herpetology community, text “@dailyliza” to 81010 to sign up for Daily Lizard Facts.