Common copperfish is a small snake that lives on the European and Asian territories of Russia. Unfortunately, recently the number of these reptiles has been declining everywhere. This is due to the destruction of natural habitats. Also, coppers are often exterminated, confusing them with poisonous snakes.
Common copperfish reaches no more than 70 centimeters in length, while the tail is 5-6 times shorter than the body.
The head of the reptile is flattened, the separation with the body is weakly expressed. The pupil of the eye is round, has a red color. The jaw flap stands out strongly in comparison with the interannal flap. The color of the copperfish ordinary varies depending on the habitat and can be copper with a red tint, yellow or almost red. On the back, along the entire length of the body, there are two rows of large faint spots. Dark stripes are laid from the nostrils to the mouth. The tail has a color different from the body color of the snake. The scales on the back are shiny, diamond-shaped or hexagonal. Males have a reddish body, and females have a brown. The habitual habitat for copperfish is the forests of
central Russia. They can be found at the edge of coniferous, mixed or deciduous forests.
Favorite places of the copperfish snake are well-sun-heated clearings and undergrowth grass. In the meadows and open areas, these snakes are extremely rare, since they avoid such places. In the mountainous regions of the Caucasus, you can also find this snake, where they live on rocky mountain slopes. As dwellings, coppers use burrows of rodents, lizards. They can be found in natural voids under stones and trees. Slots in stones and rocks can also serve as a great home for a snake. The reptile is especially widespread in the Caucasus, 5-6 individuals can be seen per kilometer in the forest, and in the middle lane you can not see a single representative of this species.
An active way of life of a snake under the name "ordinary copperfish" leads from early April to September. Sometimes a reptile can be found in early October. If a snake is a danger
renders, turns into a ball, hides his head in the middle of the ball. In this form, with aggressive actions against her, she reacts with even greater compression in a lump and hiss. Also, the snake can rush towards the enemy. Mating begins in early spring, very rarely in late autumn. Common copperfish is a viviparous reptile, that is, cubs hatch from eggs at the time they are laid by the female. The number of serpent born can be from two to fifteen pieces. Hatching young from late August to early September. The length of young snakes reaches about 14 centimeters.
The copperfish, the photo of which is given above, feeds mainly on lizards, small rodents, frogs, insects, and also does not disdain small mammals. The number of snakes is constantly declining. In Belarus, it is already listed in the Red Book. And the Berne Convention prescribes the protection of this endangered species of snake.