# 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.

- **Category:** [Reptiles](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/reptile)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low
- **Habitat:** Grasslands

![Common Slowworm](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Anguidae.jpg&width=800)

Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anguidae.jpg)

## 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.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Squamata
- **Order:** Lacertilia
- **Family:** Anguidae
- **Genus:** Anguis

## 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

- **Tail Escape:** Common Slowworm can detach its tail to distract predators, allowing it to slither away to safety.
- **Underground Navigator:** Common Slowworm can burrow through loose soil and leaf litter using its smooth body to find food and shelter.
- **Live Birth Giver:** Common Slowworm has the unique ability to give birth to live young, bypassing the need for eggs.
- **Ancient Age:** 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
- **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](https://www.snappit.app/explore/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](https://www.snappit.app/explore/red-fox) (*Vulpes vulpes*) — A common predator in its habitat.
- **Eaten by:** [European Hedgehog](https://www.snappit.app/explore/european-hedgehog) (*Erinaceus europaeus*) — Hedgehogs occasionally prey on slowworms.

## Traits

- [Solitary](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/solitary): Solitary animals live alone for most of their lives, only interacting with others for mating or parental care.
- [Grassland](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/grassland): Grassland habitats are terrestrial biomes dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants, supporting a variety of grazing animals.
- [Insectivorous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/insectivorous): This trait identifies organisms whose diet primarily consists of insects and other small invertebrates.
- [Hibernating](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/hibernating): Hibernating animals enter a state of metabolic depression during cold periods or when food is scarce, characterized by reduced body temperature and activity.
- [Carnivorous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/carnivorous): This trait identifies organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of animal tissue.

## Collections

- [Reptiles](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/reptiles)

## Safety

**Danger:** 1/5 · Very low

If you see a Slowworm, watch it from a distance and don't try to touch it.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Common Slowworm?

Compare toes, scales, head shape, crests and tail proportions. Many lizards can drop and regrow their tails, so a short tail isn't always a species trait. Lizard Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How long is Common Slowworm?

30-50 cm

### How much does Common Slowworm weigh?

0.05-0.1 kg

### How long does Common Slowworm live?

15-30 years

### How fast can Common Slowworm move?

0.8 km/h

### What does Common Slowworm eat?

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

### Where is Common Slowworm usually found?

Grasslands

### How does Common Slowworm hunt?

Foraging

## Where to spot

- [Naturpark Aukrug](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/naturpark-aukrug) — Schleswig-Holstein, DE · Park
- [Naturpark Augsburg-Westliche Wälder](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/augsburg-western-woods-nature-park) — Bayern, DE · Park

## More Reptiles

- [Pond Slider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/pond-slider) (*Trachemys scripta*)
- [Western Fence Lizard](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-fence-lizard) (*Sceloporus occidentalis*)
- [Common Five-lined Skink](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-five-lined-skink) (*Plestiodon fasciatus*)
- [Desert Spiny Lizard](https://www.snappit.app/explore/desert-spiny-lizard) (*Sceloporus magister*)

---

Source: [Common Slowworm: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-slowworm)