Common Slowworm

Anguis fragilis

The Common Slowworm is a legless lizard that looks like a snake but is actually a lizard! It has shiny, smooth skin and loves to hide under rocks and in grass.

Habitat: Grasslands

Appearance

The Common Slowworm is a legless lizard, often brown, grey, or bronze, with smooth, shiny scales. Females may have dark stripes or spots on their sides. Unlike snakes, it possesses movable eyelids and visible ear openings.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumChordataClassSquamataOrderLacertiliaFamilyAnguidaeGenusAnguis

Common Slowworm

Interesting facts

It's a legless lizard, not a snake, with eyelids that blink!

Slowworms can live for over 50 years, making them very old lizards!

Their skin is so smooth and shiny it looks like polished metal!

They give birth to live young, not eggs, just like mammals!

Special abilities

Common Slowworm can detach its tail to distract predators, allowing it to slither away to safety.

Common Slowworm can burrow through loose soil and leaf litter using its smooth body to find food and shelter.

Common Slowworm has the unique ability to give birth to live young, bypassing the need for eggs.

Common Slowworm can live for many decades, making it one of the longest-lived lizards on Earth.

Measurements & details

Length: 30-50 cm
Weight: 0.05-0.1 kg
Lifespan: 15-30 years
Top Speed: 0.8 km/h
Clutch Size: 3-20
Incubation: 120-150 days

Diet & Feeding

They feast on soft-bodied garden pests like slugs and worms!

Primary Foods

Slugs
Earthworms
Snails
Caterpillars
Spiders
Woodlice

Foraging Method

Foraging

Ecological connections

eats

Garden Snail

Helix aspersa

A primary food source for slowworms.

eats

Spanish Slug

Arion lusitanicus

Preys on these common garden slugs.

eaten by

Blackbird

Turdus merula

Birds of prey and garden birds hunt young slowworms.

eaten by

Red Fox

Vulpes vulpes

A common predator in its habitat.

eaten by

European Hedgehog

Erinaceus europaeus

Hedgehogs occasionally prey on slowworms.

Traits

Solitary

Solitary animals live alone for most of their lives, only interacting with others for mating or parental care.

Grassland

Grassland habitats are terrestrial biomes dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants, supporting a variety of grazing animals.

Insectivorous

This trait identifies organisms whose diet primarily consists of insects and other small invertebrates.

Hibernating

Hibernating animals enter a state of metabolic depression during cold periods or when food is scarce, characterized by reduced body temperature and activity.