Zheltopuzik: life in a terrarium. Lifestyle and differences from the legless lizard yellow-bellied snake Is the yellow-bellied lizard poisonous or not?

The Yellow Tummy or Capercaillie (Pseudopus apodus) is a legless lizard, a representative of the order Squamate, the spindle family.

What does a yellowbell look like?

The body length of an adult yellowbell is about 120 cm, with the tail being approximately 80 cm. The reptile has no neck at all, the tetrahedral head completely merges with the body, the muzzle has a narrowed shape at the end. The entire body of the lizard is covered with large scales that have a ribbed structure.

Adults usually have a uniform olive-brown, dirty yellow, gray-brown, or reddish-brown color. Abdomen for the most part light.

The “clothing” of young animals is somewhat different and he wears it until about two - three years old. Juveniles are yellow-gray in color, with dark stripes across the body from the head to the root of the tail in the form of Roman fives, half-arcs or zigzags, and on the tail they are replaced by elongated dark spots. The head is also decorated with stripes. Young yellowbellies are completely different from their parents.

A characteristic feature of the reptile is the lateral folds of skin stretching from the ear to the anus, where small tubercles are noticeable on the right and left, traces of limbs lost in the process of evolution, which the ancestors of the yellow belly once possessed.

The yellowtail is often confused with a snake, which is not surprising. A non-specialist will be able to understand that this is a lizard only by the presence of ear holes (snakes do not have them) and also by the fact that, unlike snakes, the yellow-bellied can blink. Internal structure The yellowbell also differs from the snake - it has reduced shoulder and pelvic girdles.

Yellowbellies shed not like snakes - in stockings, but in pieces.

Like other lizards, the yellow-bellied lizard can cast its tail.

Habitat of the yellowbell

In nature, yellowbellies are found on South Coast Crimea, in Malaya and Central Asia, on Balkan Peninsula, in Israel, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, the Caucasus and southern Kazakhstan. They inhabit a wide variety of biotopes - rocky lowlands and forest edges, river banks and mountainous semi-deserts.

Yellowbellies feed mainly on insects - dung beetles, gold beetles, ground beetles, chafers, earthworms, slugs, centipedes, grasshoppers, spiders, etc. The omnivorous yellowbell will, on occasion, not refuse newborn rodents, as well as the eggs of birds nesting on the ground. The lizard's favorite food is grape snails. The powerful jaws of the yellowbell easily grind both mouse bones and snail shells.

Reproduction

Males and females of yellowbellies have no external differences, and only specialists can determine the sex of lizards (by behavior in mating season, according to the level of sex hormones, radiography).

Yellow-bellied lizards mate in March - April, and in May, females lay 6 to 10 eggs, from which, at a temperature of 28-30º C, young lizards will hatch in 30-45 days, unlike adults - striped ones. The yellowbellies guard and care for the clutches throughout the incubation period, turning the eggs over and cleaning them of debris.

What to feed your yellow belly at home?

At home, the main food for yellowbellies are crickets, feeder cockroaches, locusts, zoobass, snails, caterpillars, earthworms. From time to time you can offer the lizard newborn mice, pieces of heart and liver, once a week - quail egg. You should not feed your yellow belly flies and domestic cockroaches - they can be poisoned by chemicals. Insects for feeding a pet must be raised in conditions where they do not come into contact with household poisons and infections. You can purchase a starter colony from a pet store and then breed them for your lizard yourself.Most yellowbellies know their limits and will not eat too much, although some can be very gluttonous and will overeat if not limited.

In captivity, yellowbellies are often fed with poultry meat and chicken eggs. However, constant feeding of these products can lead to metabolic disorders and digestive diseases. Signs of such disorders are that the reptile refuses food, the feces become softened, and there are undigested pieces of food in it.

Arrangement of a terrarium for a yellow belly

For comfortable life At home, a yellow-bellied terrarium will need a horizontal terrarium measuring approximately 100x60x40 cm. A bedding of sand and fine gravel should be placed on the bottom. The required temperature is +25- +28°C during the day, about +20°C at night. Recommended humidity level is 60-65%.

IN natural environment In their habitat, lizards love to sunbathe, so the terrarium should have a place where the yellow-bellied lizard can bask - the temperature at this point should be 30-32°C. However, it is necessary to protect the heating point from contact with the animal’s body, otherwise the pet may get burns. For supporting comfortable temperature it is necessary to place an incandescent lamp connected using a thermostat. A UV lamp must also be installed. Length daylight hours should be 10-12 hours.

The yellow belly should receive ultraviolet light - this is especially important for young animals and pregnant females. With its deficiency, rickets, weakness, and impaired bone structure may develop, growth in young animals may slow down, and weak or nonviable offspring may be born in pregnant females. Both of them experience lethargy, digestion worsens and the molting process is disrupted.

You need to put a drinking bowl in the terrarium, and, if possible, a bathing basin, since reptiles, despite their land-based lifestyle, love to lie in warm water.

IN natural conditions As shelters, the yellow belly uses burrows of various animals, spaces between stones and roots of bushes. To create a “homey environment,” the terrarium should also be equipped with a shelter in which the reptile can hide - a piece of bark, a stone, a broken pot, etc. will do.

And one more thing: you need to be careful in using disinfectants and detergents when cleaning the terrarium: the reptile may be intolerant to such substances.

In cold weather, yellowbellies need wintering. “Winter” lasts 2-3 months, and the terrarium should be dark and relatively cold - +5- +10 ° C. 2 weeks before wintering, the lizard is stopped fed, only water is given, and the temperature in the terrarium is gradually lowered.

It is better to keep yellowbellies alone, combining them into groups only during the breeding season and preferably on neutral territory. You can mate one male with one female or create reproductive groups of two males and three females (this increases the chances of getting offspring). Young animals bred in captivity are fed crickets, cockroaches, and earthworms.

Where to buy a yellow belly?

If you really want this cute creature to live in your home, the question arises: where can you buy such a lizard?

You can go to the Bird Market and look for the yellowbell there. However, even at the bird market, most likely, you will be offered a captured reptile. In addition, sellers usually do not bother to provide animals normal temperature, which leads to overheating in summer and hypothermia in winter. If you still couldn’t pass by the terrarium with a yellow-bellied lizard, then carefully examine the lizard to see if it has wounds, swellings, ulcers or blisters on its skin. Observe the yellow belly to see if it moves well and willingly accepts food.

The most reasonable option is to purchase a yellow belly at a pet store, or even better, from those who breed these reptiles at home. When visiting a breeder, pay attention to the condition of the young animals and parents, and the conditions of their detention. If reptiles live in spacious, clean terrariums, they are mobile, have no visible damage or anomalies, and take food well - buy with confidence. You will receive unusual pet, which is easy to tame and very interesting to watch and care for. As a rule, the yellow belly gets used to new conditions quickly. A little time will pass and it will become completely tame.

In contact with

IN southern regions of our country - in Stavropol and Kuban, as they are also called Krasnodar region, as well as in the Republic of Dagestan - you can see amazing creature nature. Those who are dating for the first time yellow-bellied(and this is precisely the creature we are talking about), they mistake it for a snake.

In fact, the yellowbell (Pseudopus apodus) is a legless lizard. If you look closely, you can find only barely visible appendages in the place where the hind legs should be. Probably, at one time these really were limbs, but the lizard turned out to have no need for them, so they disappeared.

The main differences between the yellow-bellied snake and the snake are the presence of movable eyelids above the eyes and the absence of poisonous teeth. However, people often mistake the yellowbell for a snake and, upon discovery, try to get rid of it. And in vain, because this creature may not be entirely attractive in appearance, but it is completely harmless and very useful.

Favorite habitats of yellowbellies - open spaces: steppes, semi-deserts and deserts, fields. Although sometimes they can be found on mountain slopes and in places overgrown with dense bushes, it is easier to hide there.

Yellow Tummy - pretty large lizard. Adults often grow up to one and a half meters in length. Compressed at the sides, their elongated body imperceptibly flows into the tail. This reptile has no neck at all, and the head, which is not at all like a snake, merges with the body. The lizard's muzzle is narrowed at the end.

This creature cannot be called flexible, because its entire body is covered with large ribbed scales. Underneath them are hard plates that form a bony shell.

Between the ventral and dorsal sections of the bony carapace there is a small gap, which consists of several rows of small scales without a solid base and looks like skin fold. It gives the lizard's body mobility and increases its size when the reptile eats or carries eggs. The yellowbell's teeth are blunt and very powerful, capable of grinding even the hard bones of a prey.

Adult lizards have brown or yellow skin, sometimes with spots. Young animals are distinguished large quantity speckled. The yellow-bellied belly is light yellow, hence, in fact, the name of the reptile.

These eat amazing creatures mainly mollusks (especially snails) and various insects, as well as small rodents, toads, snakes, other lizards, chicks and bird eggs. Sometimes carrion is also included in the yellowbell's menu.

It is very interesting to watch how a lizard hunts. Having grabbed the prey, it begins to spin quickly in one place and does this until the unfortunate victim becomes dizzy and faints. After this, the yellow belly slowly starts eating.

In the summer legless lizard offspring appears. In mid-July, the female lays eggs, from which cubs are born approximately a month and a half later.

Yellowbellies are useful because they destroy a large number of small rodents, which, when they multiply, cause great harm to agriculture.

As an endangered species, the yellowbell is listed in the Red Book of Ukraine and the Red Book of Kazakhstan. How endangered is listed in the Red Book Krasnodar region. Protected in the Aksu-Zhabagly Nature Reserve, in nature reserves Yalta mountain forest, "Cape Martyan", Crimean and Kazantip.

Date: 2011-03-15

R. Pushkin, Moscow

In the mountains of the Caucasus and Central Asia lives a strange creature - yellow-bellied(Ophisaurus apodus). Seeing it for the first time, anyone will decide that it is a snake: a long, more than 100 cm, cylindrical body, an elongated tail, a characteristic way of moving - all this is perfectly consistent with our ideas about snakes.
In reality, this is a completely harmless lizard, only legless. True, upon closer examination you can see on its body small papillary-shaped outgrowths on the sides of the base of the tail - the rudiments of the hind limbs. The presence of ear openings also confirms that the yellow-bellied snake is a lizard - after all, real snakes are deaf and have no ears. And the animal’s eyes have eyelids; it can blink, while snakes even sleep with their eyes open.

Photos of Zheltopuzik

This reptile belongs to the spindle family (Anguidae). including 80 species of lizards living in the countries of South, Central and. partially, North America, North Africa. Southwestern, Southern and South-East Asia. In the CIS, it is distributed in the Crimea, the Caucasus and Central Asia, where it is often found in river valleys, bush thickets and cultivated lands. Another representative of the spindle family also lives with us - the brittle spindle, which enjoys great fame among the people. poisonous snake, although this is also a completely safe legless lizard.

The second largest lizard of our fauna, second in size only to the gray monitor lizard.
This reptile is active during daylight hours, but on hot days it switches to twilight image life, willingly goes into the water and swims for a long time. When frightened, it is capable of moving very quickly, especially downhill, while in a calm state it moves slowly and clumsily.
He is truly terribly afraid of a person. If other reptiles crawl away silently and unnoticed, then the yellow belly makes so much noise, the grass sways above it so much that it is very difficult to confuse it with other reptiles. Perhaps such a non-trivial method of escape is a peculiar protective measure, since the lizard, incapable of active defense, makes so much noise, imitates a large animal hiding in the grass.
When caught, she does not even try to bite, but, rotating along her own base. trying to get out of his hands, as it were. If this doesn’t help, then he hangs lifelessly in his arms, closes his eyes, as if saying: I’m dead, throw me away. The only manifestation of a defensive reaction on the part of the yellow belly can be considered hissing and sudden movements of the tail, which is twice as long as the body.

During the breeding season ( June July) female yellowbellied lays 6-10 eggs. Of these, young animals 100-125 mm long are born in August-September. Their slender yellowish-gray bodies are decorated with zigzag transverse stripes. In juveniles, compared to adults, the longitudinal ribs on the scutes are much more pronounced: they merge into long (from the head to the tip of the tail) costal stripes. This makes their bodies look faceted and shimmer with yellow highlights in the sun.
In general, the coloring of young animals bears very little resemblance to the dirty yellow or copper-red tones of adult animals. However, the characteristic skin fold located along the sides allows you to accurately determine the species. Unlike other lizards, and even snakes, the yellow-bellied body is hard to the touch, as if encased in a shell.

Photos of Zheltopuzik

The diet of yellowbellies in nature consists of invertebrates: snails, beetles, slugs, earthworms. But rodents, lizards, frogs, chicks and bird eggs quite often become part of their menu. Large prey The yellow belly, held in its strong jaws, stuns with sharp shakes of its head. He does not disdain carrion either. A significant portion of the lizard's diet consists of the fruits of various plants.
The variety of food consumed by the yellow belly allows it to be considered one of the most omnivorous inhabitants of the terrarium, which does not cause feeding problems to the owner. In captivity, it produces both live food (mice, frogs, worms, snails) and meat and fish in the form of minced meat or pieces. In the absence of animal food, you can replace it with plant food: apples, grapes, grated carrots. And yet, it is not worth depriving lizards of animal protein; It is better to use plant components only as a supplement to diversify the diet. Cottage cheese and White bread, wetted raw egg.
They live for a long time in captivity and reproduce even in small terrariums. For a couple of adult animals, a room with a bottom area of ​​70x50 cm and a height of about 40 cm is sufficient. It is best to use coarse river sand as soil. Large, heavy stones or driftwood are suitable for decoration; they also serve for constructing shelters.

It is necessary to have a reservoir of suitable size not only for drinking, but also for swimming. The pond must be secured so that your pets cannot turn it over.
Like many reptiles, the yellow belly often defecates in the water, so you need to constantly monitor its cleanliness and promptly replace it.

To heat a terrarium of the specified size, a krypton lamp, located in the corner and reliably protected from animals, is sufficient. The lamp power is selected so that the air temperature is not lower than 25-27°C. To maintain its stability, you can use an aquarium thermostat. At night, the heating should be turned off to simulate a natural decrease in temperature to 18-20°C.
In addition to heating and lighting, the yellow belly, like other reptiles, needs ultraviolet irradiation. Typically, erythema lamps or Photon-type devices are used for this. Sessions are carried out 1-2 times a week for 20-30 minutes from a distance of 50-100 cm. The first procedures should not exceed 5 minutes, then their duration is gradually increased.

Photos of Zheltopuzik

Despite the ease of care, yellowbellies cannot be classified as an animal that is widespread among hobbyists home care reptiles. One of the main reasons for this is amazing ability lizards create chaos in the terrarium, quickly destroying the decorations created there. It must be remembered that the yellow-bellied animal is a strong animal, and the locks of the terrarium must be strong enough.
At good care regular feeding (2-3 times a week), attentive attitude towards animals, you will get real pleasure from observing, learn a lot of interesting things about amazing world reptiles.
In conclusion, I want to say: if you meet a yellowbell in nature, do not harm it. Remember that this is a useful lizard that destroys a huge number of mice, grasshoppers and locusts, beetles, leaf beetles, slugs, weevils and other agricultural pests.

Aquarium Magazine 1999 No. 2

Therefore, it is not poisonous, and, accordingly, does not pose any danger to humans.

Yellowbelly is also known as yellow-bellied snake or just yellow-bellied. Today it is considered the largest snake of all inhabiting the territory modern Europe.

Features and habitat of the yellowbellied

The yellow-bellied snake is a very fast crawling snake, which has a rather graceful body and an impressively long tail. The yellowbellied head is clearly demarcated from the body, the eyes are quite large with a round pupil.

These snakes generally have very well developed vision, which, combined with quick reaction and high speed movement makes them excellent hunters.

It is not for nothing that representatives of this species are recognized as the largest among others living throughout Europe. The body length of an average individual is approximately 1.5-2 meters, but specimens are known whose length exceeded three meters.

Despite its length, the yellowbellied snake is a very fast snake.

If you look at the various photo of yellowbellied, then you can notice that the color of most adult individuals looks approximately the same: the upper part of the body has a uniform color in brown, olive or rich black tones, the back has many spots located in one or two rows.

The belly is usually white-gray with yellow-red or yellow spots. In general, the color of different individuals varies greatly depending on their habitat and geographical location.

The habitat of these snakes extends virtually throughout Europe. Today there are a great many of them on the Balkan Peninsula, in small and central Asia, In Moldova, among the steppes of Ukraine, the forests of Transcaucasia and in many other places.

The snake got its name from its belly, which has a yellow tint.

Yellowbelly prefers the steppes open type, semi-deserts, thickets of bushes stretching along roads, rocky mountain slopes and even wetlands that are difficult for humans to access.

If a particular period of the year is characterized by severe drought, yellowbellies can move directly to the floodplains of rivers and populate areas along the rivers.

The yellow belly often penetrates human settlements, crawling into various buildings located on farms in order to lay eggs or wait out unfavorable conditions. temperature conditions.

He can also organize temporary shelter for himself in stacks and haystacks, but in Lately they can be found there less and less often. A temporary shelter for the yellowbellied can be a crack in the ground, a rocky embankment along a river bed, a rodent burrow or some kind of hollow located at a low altitude.

The yellow belly is very attached to its home, so it usually tries not to leave its palace for a long period of time, returning there even from a long trip for prey.

It can often be found among the ruins of ancient buildings, vineyards, and even in mountainous areas at an altitude of up to two thousand meters. They try to settle mainly near water sources, but not because they like to swim, but because there is always a lot of potential prey there.

Yellow-bellies like to make their homes on stone ruins near water bodies

Character and lifestyle of the yellowbellied

Yellowbellies, despite their non-toxicity and relative safety for humans, are nevertheless not distinguished by their peaceful nature. You can watch a video of a yellow belly beating its tail on the Internet in order to personally get an idea of ​​the capabilities and gracefulness of this big snake.

Having met a person in conditions wildlife, the yellowbelly will not always choose to bypass it. Often it begins to curl up in the form of a spiral, while raising the front part of the body and opening its mouth wide, trying to bite a person with a loud hiss.

At the same time, he makes sharp leaps and lunges towards his own opponent, constantly moving from place to place, so that from the outside it may seem as if a snake is jumping. Yellowbelly beats its tail and is capable of making a rapid jump over a distance of more than one meter, attacking a person directly in the face.

The character of the yellowbelly differs from most other representatives of the snake kingdom in its imbalance and chaos. The snake is extremely resourceful and has incredible dexterity, so catching it is an extremely difficult task.

And, besides, it can inflict bites, which are quite painful for humans, since in the snake’s mouth there are several dozen sharp teeth, somewhat curved back.

Fragments of yellowbellied teeth usually remain in the wound, and if you do not remove it after a certain period of time from the moment of the bite, you can end up with blood poisoning. In the event of a bite, the wound must be treated as soon as possible with any antiseptic and then the victim must be provided with medical assistance.

During particularly hot times of the year, snakes can overheat in the sun, after which they go into an extremely overexcited state, during which yellowbellied tail strikes and performs other chaotic maneuvers. This is explained by the fact that when the body temperature rises, the yellowbelly's metabolism accelerates significantly.

Yellowbelly feeding

The yellowbelly's diet is very extensive. Since the snake has excellent eyesight and excellent reactions, all kinds of lizards, small mammals, large insects such as locusts and birds, as well as birds that have built their nests at low altitudes, often become its prey.

The yellowbelly is also not averse to hunting rodents, sometimes it can even attack a poisonous one, which, however, is capable of repelling representatives of the snake family.

Reproduction and lifespan

Yellowbellies lay eggs around the end of June. One clutch usually contains from six to twenty eggs, from which offspring appear from late summer to early autumn.

The yellowbelly has quite a few enemies, so it itself can become prey to predators or other opponents. Life expectancy in the wild is approximately eight to nine years.

This snake belongs to the snake family and therefore cannot be poisonous. The yellow-bellied snake is also called yellow-bellied or yellow-bellied. In Europe there is no larger snake; it can reach a length of two and a half meters. The yellow-bellied crawls very quickly, has an elegant body and is relatively a long tail. Top part The body is colored plain brown or almost black. On the back of young individuals there is one, and more often two, rows of spots.

dark in color, in some places they merge to form transverse stripes. On the head, dark dots merge into a regular row. A number of small spots are also located on the sides of the snake. Its belly is grayish-white in color with yellow streaks located along the edges of the abdominal scutes.

Habitats

The yellow-bellied snake prefers to settle in dry places, basking in daytime in the open sun rays areas. It is active only during daylight hours. It can hide in bushes, gardens, vineyards and ruins of buildings. In the mountains it is found up to an altitude of 2000 meters, where it hides among the rocks on rocky slopes. The yellow belly takes refuge not only among stones and thickets of bushes, but also in rodent burrows or tree hollows. He climbs branches well, but greater height doesn't climb. Although in general he is not afraid of heights and, if necessary, can jump down from a tree or cliff.

The snake is often found on the shores of water bodies, not because it likes to swim, but due to the presence large quantity food in coastal thickets. Sometimes the yellow-bellied snake crawls under a stack, wall or into an outbuilding.

Hunter and his prey

Possessing sharp vision, quick reaction and high speed of movement, the snake is a successful hunter. The most common prey for snakes is small mammals, lizards and large insects, for example, locusts or their relatives. Destroys birds located on the ground or low on trees and bushes. The yellow-bellied snake has a fairly diverse menu, including lizards, snakes, birds, and rodents.

He even hunts vipers, sometimes receiving bites from them, but, apparently, he does not suffer much from this. Considering the intensity of the yellowbell's hunting, it can be argued that where it lives there are no traces of rodents.

Defensive Aggression

Usually, when confronted with a person, the yellow-bellied snake tries to quickly retreat. But after some time he will definitely return to his original place, especially if his refuge is located there. If there is nowhere to retreat or a person comes close to his shelter, the snake boldly comes to his defense. At the same time, he not only demonstrates his aggressiveness, but also jumps towards the enemy. The wide gaping mouth, loud hissing and bold attack make an impression. A snake can even bite on some vulnerable spot. The bites are quite strong, but they The yellow-bellied snake is essentially a harmless creature, its aggressiveness is forced, and its evil disposition serves as protection from those who encroach on its territory.