Questions about the name of the steppe lizard are often found in crosswords and all kinds of quizzes. Its scientific name is the steppe agama. Our article will tell about the lifestyle, habitat, breeding, diet and the ability to contain these creatures at home.
External features
Some members of the family, for example, the fire agama, are naturally endowed with a very bright appearance. The Australian moloch, akin to the steppe lizard, looks like a little dragon. Zoologists attribute the lacquered lizard to the list of the most unusual reptiles of our planet.
Against the background of brothers, the steppe agama looks like a simpleton, but she, of course, is also beautiful in her own way.
The steppe agama can reach a length of about 30 cm, with half falling on the tail. The head is raised, there is no cervical bridge, the muzzle is small, rounded. Unlike many brothers, the steppe species does not have ridges on the back and head. The whole body is covered with scales.
Sexual dimorphism is pronounced, males are larger, heavier, brighter, and they have a throat sac.
The main color is not too distinguished from the background of the terrain. Calm lizards are usually grayish or greenish-olive. But nature gave them the outlandish ability to change color, like chameleons. Angry males become covered with blue spots, and their tails acquire an orange hue. Rusty-red spots appear on the backs of females at the moment of fright or irritation. Color can change not only from a change in the emotional background, but also from the ambient temperature: the higher it is, the brighter the paint.
Photos of the steppe lizards posted in our article allow us to evaluate the ability of these creatures to transform. Note that they are not closely related to chameleons (they belong to different families).
Area
The habitat includes two unequal parts, separated from each other by about 600 km. Scientists believe that the range was previously solid, but about 7 thousand years ago, during the transgression of the Caspian Sea, a gap formed.
Currently, most of the population lives in Central Asia, the northern parts of Afghanistan and Iran, in the north-west of China, in the southern part of Kazakhstan. The steppe lizards of the second group inhabit the semi-deserts of Dagestan, the Stavropol Territory of the Russian Federation and Chechnya. The Asian part of the range is much larger than the European one.
Steppe Lizard House
Oddly enough, but, despite the name, the steppe agamas do not live in the steppes. They prefer dry deserts and semi-deserts.
As shelters they can use not only the natural folds of the area, crevices in the rocks and pits under the stones, but also burrows of neighbors in the habitat (hedgehogs, turtles, jerboas, gerbils). Lizards dig their own burrows extremely rarely.
Agama lead a semi-woody lifestyle. They hide from the heat either in the shade of shelters, or between the branches of shrubs.
The steppe agamas are territorial. The male protects his site from intruders. Usually one female lives with him, less often 2-3.
Diet
Steppe agamas are active during daylight hours. They prey on insects, worms, arachnids, wood lice and millipedes. Plant food is also included in their diet and can range from 20 to 40%.
The steppe lizards themselves also often become prey for larger predators: monitor lizards, snakes, hedgehogs, foxes. Ornithologists note that mounds are very fond of hunting agamas: birds grab reptiles basking in the sun on the fly.
Steppe agamas are very common. They are an important link in the food chain.
Vivo behavior
At the end of October, steppe lizards leave for the winter. In the spring, males first get out of the shelters, and only after them do the females. In the off-season, peak activity occurs in the middle of the day, and in summer, agamas are mostly in the morning and evening.
Agamas jump beautifully. They can jump from branch to branch to a distance of 80 cm. They move quickly on the ground, almost on straight legs, without touching the ground with their tail. In the villages you can find how agamas move along vertical clay and stone walls.
Breeding
Steppe lizards reach maturity in the second year of life, when the body length is only 6-8 cm. Mating, as a rule, occurs in April, and takes several weeks to lay eggs (the period depends on the ambient temperature).
The female digs a cone-shaped depression in which she lays eggs. Most steppe agamas do one or two repeated masonry with a break of several weeks. Thus, during the season, the female brings from 4 to 18 eggs (the number depends on age).
The incubation period lasts about two months. Cubs are born very small, up to 4 cm in length and weighing up to 2.22 g.
Home Content
This is not to say that the steppe lizard is very popular among terrariums, but still there are people who want to settle such a pet at home. It is inferior in attractiveness to many exotics, but it is still very interesting to watch it.
Maintenance requires a horizontal terrarium. As a substrate, sand is well suited, which needs to be moistened from below. In the terrarium, it is imperative to install snags and branches along which the lizard could climb. Shaded shelters are also needed.
A desert inhabitant needs a special temperature regime. During the day, in the terrarium, you need to maintain the temperature up to 30 degrees, and reduce the degrees by 5 at night. At the heating point (directly near the heater) you need to maintain about 35 degrees. Like many reptiles, for the normal growth and development of the steppe agama, ultraviolet rays are necessary. To do this, it is advisable to install a special reptile lamp in the terrarium.
Agam is fed with finely grated apples, slices of orange and banana, sprouted oats and wheat, lettuce. There must be insects in the diet, which you can either capture by yourself or purchase in pet stores. If you decide to host a couple of agamas, you need to feed them with tweezers. Otherwise, there is a risk that a stronger pet will take food from a weaker one, as a result, one will overeat, and the second will starve. It is equally harmful to health.
It is impossible to keep two males in one terrarium, otherwise they will constantly fight until one of them dies.
The captive breeding season is in May. The female is preliminarily intensely fed. The eggs are heated in an incubator for about 52 days at a temperature of 28 ° C.
Some types of agamov are very sociable and friendly, they are happy to be given in hand, quickly get used to the owners. But the steppe lizard is not very pleased with the grip. Such a pet is perfect for the owner, who likes to watch rather than show intrusive attention. Another advantage of the steppe agam is the daily way of life. In a word, the owner and the animal can perfectly coexist without interfering with each other.
The health of the steppe agamas is quite strong; they cannot be called painful or too demanding. But still, before you settle such a lizard, you should get to know the local veterinarian and ask if he works with reptiles.
Danger to humans and protection
For people, the steppe lizard is not dangerous. These creatures are non-toxic, and in case of danger they prefer to flee as soon as possible. Fortunately, nothing threatens the agama herself: both populations are quite numerous. In the Red Book, the lizard is currently not marked.