11 Slender Glass Lizard Facts – The Unique Lizard With No Legs

If you look at the slender glass lizard, you may think it is a snake, as they have no legs. However, they are actually fascinating lizards! Found throughout the United States, they have many interesting characteristics to them. If you want to learn all about these long, legless lizards, then keep reading to find out some interesting facts.

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Quick Facts

Scientific Name: Ophisaurus Attenuatus

Common Names: Slender Glass Lizard 

Geographic Range: South-Eastern US

Lifespan: Anywhere from 10-30 years

Conservation Status: Least Concern

Top 10 List – Slender Glass Lizard

1. They Don’t Have Any Legs

Slender glass lizards are long, slender lizards that are often mistaken for snakes because they have no legs. Their body has smooth scales, and their heads are narrow, with slightly pointed snouts. Both subspecies have different markings that are made up of tan, brown, black, and yellow-ish colors. Underneath, their bellies range in color from yellow to pale white. The eastern slender glass lizard has a longer tail than the western subspecies, and both subspecies range in length from 56-106cm (22-42 inches).

2. Slender Glass Lizards Are Very Skittish And Will Run Away When Possible

Slender glass lizards mainly use odor to interact with the world and hunt for prey. They do this by using their Jacobson’s Organ, which helps them use chemical clues and prey odors to find their next meal. These lizards are skittish and will run away given the chance. As fossorial lizards, they spend a large chunk of time underground under logs, in burrows that are theirs, or in burrows that they have taken from other animals such as moles and voles. Slender glass lizards are mainly diurnal, meaning that they are mainly active during the day, especially in warmer weather. In colder months they may hibernate underground in order to avoid the colder temperatures.

3. Slender Glass Lizards Eat A Large Variety Of Food

Slender glass lizards eat a variety of different food, mainly anything that will fit in their mouths. This includes insects such as beetles, cockroaches, grasshoppers, ants, cicadas, crickets, and caterpillars. They also will eat spiders, snails, other smaller snakes and lizards, and eggs from their own nests that are unhealthy. Occasionally it is thought that they may eat small mice and birds that nest on the ground.

4. They Prefer Areas With Lots Of Woody Debris To Hide In

Slender glass lizards are terrestrial, which means that within their habitat they live on the ground. They are found in temperate regions and are most often found in dryer areas when compared to other glass lizards, such as Eastern glass lizards. They also seek out areas that have less canopy cover, but more woody debris for them to hide in and under. Areas they can be found in include various dry, open woodlands, prairies, grasslands, old fields, and sometimes near small creeks and ponds.

5. Unlike Many Other Reptile Species, Female Slender Glass Lizards Will Stay With Their Eggs Until They Hatch

Slender glass lizards are polygynous lizards, where males will mate with multiple females during the breeding season. Breeding season is usually between the months of April and June. Males and females are usually considered sexually mature at around 2 – 3 years of age. Like many other reptiles, these lizards are oviparous, meaning they lay eggs. Once the two lizards have mated, females will lay one clutch of around 5-16 eggs per season. She will often lay them under things such as logs, boards, or any other cover that will help hide the eggs. Unlike many other reptiles, the female will often stay with her eggs, curling around them and covering them with her body until they hatch.

Around 50-60 days after the eggs were laid, the eggs will hatch and the mother leaves. The baby lizards are now on their own, completely independent from the moment they hatch. They resemble adult slender glass lizards, they are just smaller in size, around 10-13cm (4-6 inches), and usually have more prominent patterns than adults

6. They Have To Deal With Many Predators In The Wild

The slender glass lizard has many predators that live around them. These can include various mammals, birds, and even snakes. Smaller mammals such as moles and mice have been known to prey upon the lizards’ eggs. While they are preyed upon by many different animals, the slender glass lizard only makes up a small part of these animals’ diets.

In order to avoid these predators, the slender glass lizard uses many different strategies. One of the main ways these skittish lizards protect themselves is by breaking off their tails to distract predators while they run away. They are also fossorial lizards, spending a good chunk of time sleeping, hibernating, and hiding in burrows under the ground, away from any predators. If necessary, they are able to swim up to 15 – 20m (49 – 66ft) to escape. The patterns on their bodies, as well as their coloring, help them camouflage in the mainly grassy habitats that they live in. And finally, they are even able to jump in order to escape predators. Because so many of their ways of protecting themselves include hiding, fires that destroy their habitat put them at a huge risk as they have nowhere to escape to.

7. Both Their Scientific Name and Common Name Describe The Slender Glass Lizard Perfectly

The common name of “slender glass lizard” comes from two different parts. The glass part of the name refers to their ability to easily “shatter” their tail like glass, without even being touched. It is uncommon to find a slender glass lizard out in the wild without tail damage. The slender part of their name refers to their slender body and tail.

For their scientific name, the genus Ophisaurus is derived from two Greek words. Ophio, meaning snake, and saurus, meaning lizard. When put together you roughly get “snake-lizard”. This is in reference to the fact that the lizards in the genus Ophisaurus resemble snakes, but are actually lizards. The specific name attenuatus is taken from the Latin word attenuare with translates to make thin. This is in reference to the slender glass lizard’s long slender body and tail.

8. Overall, They Are Not Considered Endangered

Overall, throughout most of its range in the United States, the slender glass lizard is not considered endangered. However, in the state of Wisconsin, they are considered endangered. In Iowa, they are considered vulnerable. In fact, in Iowa, it is illegal to even capture them. The main threats to their population include loss of their habitat and fragmentation of that habitat, as well as the use of insecticides. Insecticides not only kill the insects that the lizard eats as food, but if they consume these insects it can also poison the glass lizard itself. In order to stop the population decline of these lizards, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources recommends that people avoid burning grasslands from April to October, remove trees mechanically instead of using chemicals, and limit the use of insecticides where these lizards live.

9. The Slender Glass Lizard Has 2 Subspecies

The Slender Glass Lizard Has Two Subspecies:

• Western Slender Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus attenuatus attenuatus) – 1880
• Eastern Slender Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus attenuatus longicaudus) – 1952

The eastern subspecies can be found from Virginia to Florida, and then west to the Mississippi River. The western ones are found from Louisiana to Central Texas, and north to Illinois and Wisconsin.

10. There Are A Few Reasons They Aren’t Considered Snakes

Because of their long bodies and tails, and lack of legs, it is not uncommon for people to think that the slender glass lizard is a snake. However, we promise they really are a lizard, not a snake! The main characteristics that distinguish them from snakes are their moveable eyelids, as well as their external ear openings. Glass lizards also do not have large belly plates and muscles that help snakes to easily move around, and their bodies are not as flexible as snakes’ bodies. They also do not have flexible jaws that allow them to open their mouths extremely wide, as snakes are able to.

11. Slender Glass Lizards Are Sometimes Mistaken For Eastern Glass Lizards

The Slender glass lizard is sometimes mistaken for the Eastern glass lizard. While the slender glass lizard is found throughout a lot of the eastern United States, the eastern glass lizard is found more in the southeast United States. This means that their range does overlap. Adding on the fact that they also have a similar appearance (long, slim bodies and tails, no legs, same face shape) it is easy to see how people can confuse the two. They are also around the same size, with the slender ranging in length from 56 – 91cm (22 – 36 inches) and the Eastern ranges between 46 – 109cm (18 – 43 inches). The slender glass lizard is most often found in woodlands and grassy plains, while the Eastern prefers wetland and sandy areas.

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