Do you know what class the fragile spindle belongs to? This animal is a reptile. It is very easy to confuse it with a snake. However, the fragile spindle (the Reptile class) is a small lizard that looks like a snake. The length of her body reaches 45 cm. Of these, 2/3 are her flexible tail.
Body structure
The fragile spindle is an example of the most complete limb reduction. She does not have a sternum at all, only one sacral vertebra with widened short ribs is preserved. As for the belts of the hind and forelimbs, only a small bone is left from them on each side. There is no noticeable transition between the tail and the body of this lizard. If you look at it from above, it is difficult to determine where the body ends and the tail begins.
Coloring
Smooth scales cover the body of this lizard. It is located in longitudinal even rows. In gray or brown colors, having a characteristic bronze tint, the upper side of the scales is painted. Thanks to this, the spindle was called the "copperpick." However, do not confuse it with a snake, which has a similar name. The copperfish and the spindle are fragile - these are different species.
The ventral side and sides of the lizard that interests us are light. On the back, adult males have 2 rows of spots. They are usually bluish, but can sometimes be dark brown. These spots are more noticeable in the median on the front of her back. It is very difficult to distinguish a female from a male by other external features.
Young spindles, barely born, are painted completely different. These lizards are very beautiful. They have a golden cream or silver white back. A narrow longitudinal strip passes along it (there may be two). This color contrasts with the underside of the body. It is also brilliant, it can be either almost black or dark chocolate. Two contrasting colors on the sides are clearly delineated. Cubs of the spindle brittle are so different from adults that in the 19th century they were considered an independent species.
Albinos and melanists
Complete albinos are more common among spindles than among other representatives of scaly reptiles. Obviously, the hidden lifestyle of these lizards contributes to their survival. The body color of albinos is grayish-white, with a pink tint, and the eyes are red. Sometimes there are melanists. So called black spindle.
Lizards
Almost throughout Europe, this lizard is common. It is found in Asia Minor, Algeria, the Caucasus and Northern Iran. The spindle-tree and viviparous lizard together constitute the "outpost" of reptiles living in northern Europe. In our country, it is found mainly in the regions of the European part. The border of the range of this lizard in the east is West Siberian Tobol. In the north, it occurs in Karelia, and in the south lives in the Ciscaucasia.
Favorite Habitats
This lizard prefers to settle in the forests. It is found in both mixed and deciduous forests. In addition, it can be seen in the meadows and edges. The fragile spindle comes into gardens and fields. In the Caucasus, this lizard lives in mountain forests, on slopes with low vegetation, in forest meadows, and also in the open steppe, where a bush grows. It can climb mountains to a height of 2.3 km. The fragile spindle loves moist, shaded places. However, it sometimes creeps out into a dry place or in the sun. Nevertheless, this lizard does not go far from the shelter.
Activity
The activity time of the spindle brittle is morning and evening twilight. She spends the rest of the hours under the stones. The lizard climbs into the loose soil that surrounds the roots of plants. She can also choose with her cover densely interwoven grass, deadwood, rotten stumps, burrows of small mammals. The spindle itself is able to make a move for itself in loose soil. To this end, she “drills” and pushes his head.
Like most lizards, she prefers a settled lifestyle. The individual sections of the spindle are fragile. Their radius is only a few meters. Young individuals that are born also settle over short distances.
Features of movement and hunting
The spindles, despite the serpentine appearance, are a bit clumsy and rather slow. They move in the following way - bend their tail and body in waves. However, the movement of lizards complicates the bone shell. It serves to protect animals from damage if they climb in piles of dead wood or among stones. In an open and level place, their crawling because of it is difficult. Like snakes, the spindle is able to swim. But she does not like to do this, she quickly gets tired, therefore, only if necessary enters the water.
Due to slowness and poor vision, the spindle is fragile - a reptile, which is a poor hunter. She is not able to distinguish colors, as other lizards do. Moreover, a fragile string hardly even recognizes shades of gray. However, this does not play a big role in the semi-underground hidden lifestyle that she leads. The spindle is brittle, or the coppersmith compensates for the weakness of vision with a developed sense of smell. She picks up smells, like snakes, with the help of a forked tongue, which she often sticks out.
Nutrition
Her constant food is the same slow earthworms and slugs. They also prefer a semi-underground lifestyle. It is not difficult to find them in a humid place, so there is no need to crawl a lot, and the large size of the individual site is also not required. There is no need to examine and pursue prey to spindles. Having discovered the victim, the conifer is not in a hurry. First, she "sniffs" her tongue, and then begins to swallow. About half an hour, and sometimes even longer, can continue to eat large prey.
The brittle spindle also extracts snails from shells, pulling them with the help of their teeth, bent back. On occasion, she can also profit from wood lice, centipedes, and caterpillars. Like snakes, this lizard is capable of swallowing large prey, so occasionally other lizards, young coppers, become its victims. It happens that snakes also become its prey.
Defense against enemies
The protection of these animals is a hidden lifestyle, as well as bone chain mail, located under the scales. In addition, they can throw off the tail, as well as "shoot" excrement. Unusual protective behavior is observed in young individuals. In case of danger, young copper flocks roll over onto their back, revealing a dark abdomen. Apparently, such a change in color produces the effect of surprise.
Nevertheless, this arsenal is not enough, so the spindle is often the victim of various predators. And ground beetles (carnivorous beetles), and various snakes, and toads eat young lizards. Martens, foxes, hedgehogs, badgers, night and day birds (there are more than 25 species of birds that feed on copper flocks) - this is not a complete list of enemies of the species of interest to us. It is curious that from snakes a copperfish is especially often swallowed by a copperfish. People also very often destroy these lizards. In different states there is a strange superstition about their "terrible poisonousness", although in fact the spindles are absolutely harmless.
The lizard, taken in hand, does not even bite.
Fragile spindle: contents
In order to arrange a comfortable place for a pair of lizards, a small terrarium of 30 liters in volume will be enough. It is best to do top ventilation. Fragile spindles suffer less from air stagnation than from drying out. This is understandable - these lizards are digging animals.
Soil can be peat, coconut, sphagnum. Forest litter can also be used. Pieces of moss are best suited as decorations and shelters. However, unpretentious plants like tradescantia can be planted in a terrarium.
A temperature of 20 to 22 ° C is optimal at which lizards exhibit the highest activity. UV lamps are not required, as we are dealing with a burrowing animal that avoids ultraviolet radiation.
How to feed the flocks
It is best to feed the lizards with earthworms and small snails. You can also give zofabas or flour worm larvae. Occasionally, you can feed spindleworms with a large bloodworm. They also eat moving animals (crickets, cockroaches), but only if they are very hungry.
Reproduction and nutrition of cubs
Lizard brittle spindle at home usually does not breed. However, pregnant females who have been caught in nature often give birth. Thorns are viviparous, the stage of the egg proceeds in the mother’s womb. Feeding newborn spindles is not easy, as they need small, sedentary objects. The easiest way is to go to the wasteland and find a plant that is severely affected by aphids. Break off the branch with aphids and place it in the terrarium. Spindles will pinch off parasites. Slightly grown lizards begin to eat small worms, bloodworms, small wood lice. They grow quite quickly and double their size in six months. The life expectancy of larvae is 9-12 years, but often in terrariums they live up to 20-30 years. The record age of the captive lizard is 54 years.