Date: 2011-03-15

R. Pushkin Moscow

A strange creature lives in the mountains of the Caucasus and Central Asia - yellow Pet  (Ophisaurus apodus). Seeing him for the first time, anyone decides that this is a snake: a long, more than 100 cm, cylindrical body, an elongated tail, a characteristic way of moving - all this could not be more consistent with our ideas about snakes.
   In fact, it is a completely harmless lizard, only legless. However, upon closer inspection, you can see on her body small papillary outgrowths on the sides of the base of the tail - the rudiments of the hind limbs. It confirms the belonging of the yellow-wolf to lizards and the presence of ear holes - after all, real snakes are deaf, they have no ears. And the eyes of the animal have eyelids; it may blink, while snakes even sleep with their eyes open.

Stock Foto Yellowtop

This reptile belongs to the spindle family (Anguidae). comprising 80 species of lizards that live in the countries of South, Central and. Partially, North America, North Africa. Southwest, South and Southeast Asia. In the CIS, it is common in the Crimea, in the Caucasus and in Central Asia, where it is often found in river valleys, bushes, and on cultivated lands. We also have another representative of the creeping family - the fragilis cinch, used by the people as a very poisonous snake, although this is also a completely safe legless lizard.

The second largest lizard of our fauna, is second only to the gray monitor lizard.
   This reptile is active during daylight, but on hot days it switches to a twilight way of life, willingly goes into the water and bathes for a long time. When frightened able to move very quickly, especially down the slope, while in a quiet state, moves slowly and awkwardly.
   Man fears truly panic. If other reptiles crawl away silently and imperceptibly, the yellow-wilderness produces so much noise, the grass above it so wavers that it is very difficult to confuse it with other reptiles. Perhaps such a non-trivial way of escape is a kind of protective measure, as a lizard incapable of active defense, making so much noise, imitates a large beast hiding in the grass.
   When caught, she does not even try to bite, but, rotating along her own base. tries to "unscrew" from the hands. If this does not help, then hangs lifelessly on his hands, closes his eyes, as if to say: I am dead, throw me away. The only manifestation of a defensive reaction on the part of the yellow-squeak can be considered hissing and sudden movements by the tail, which is twice as long as the body.

During the breeding season (June-July) the female zheltopuzika  lays 6-10 eggs. Of them in August and September young animals are born with a length of 100-125 mm. Their slender, yellowish-gray bodies adorn zigzag transverse stripes. In juveniles, the longitudinal ribs on the shields are much clearer than in adults: they merge into long (from head to tip of tail) rib bands. From this, their bodies look faceted and shimmer in the sun with yellow highlights.
   In general, the color of young animals very little resembles the dirty yellow or coppery tones of adult animals. However, the characteristic skin fold, located along the sides, makes it possible to accurately determine the species belonging. Unlike other lizards, and from snakes, the body of the yellow-willow body is solid to the touch, it is as if chained into its shell.

Stock Foto Yellowtop

The diet of yellow-fingered animals in nature consists of invertebrates: snails, beetles, slugs, earthworms. But rodents, lizards, frogs, chicks and bird eggs often become part of their menu. The large prey of the yellowtopuzik, holding it in its strong jaws, is stunned by sharp shaking of the head. He does not shun carrion. A significant share in the diet of the lizard is the fruit of various plants.
   The variety of food consumed by the yellowtopus makes it possible to consider it one of the most omnivorous inhabitants of the terrarium, which do not give the owner problems with feeding. In captivity, he betrays both live writing (mice, frogs, worms, snails) and meat with fish in the form of minced meat or slices. In the absence of animal food, you can replace it with vegetable: apples, grapes, grated carrots. And yet you should not deprive the animal protein lizards; Vegetable components are best used only as a top-dressing for a variety of diet. A good addition is also cottage cheese and white bread dipped in a raw egg.
  They live in captivity for a long time and multiply even in small terrariums. For a pair of adult animals, a room with a bottom area of \u200b\u200b70x50 cm and a height of about 40 cm is quite enough. It is best to use coarse river sand as the soil. From the scenery fit large heavy stones or snags, they also serve for the device shelters.

Be sure to have a reservoir that is suitable in size not only for drinking, but also for swimming. The pond should be fixed so that your pets could not turn it over.
   Like many reptiles, the yellowfin is often defecated in the water, so you need to constantly monitor its cleanliness and timely replace it.

To heat a terrarium of a specified size, a krypton lamp, located in the corner and reliably protected from animals, is sufficient. Lamp power is selected so that the air temperature is not lower than 25-27 ° C. To maintain its stability, you can use the aquarium thermostat. At night, heating should be turned off to simulate a natural decrease in temperature to 18-20 ° C.
   In addition to heating and lighting, yellowtopuziku, like other reptiles, need ultraviolet radiation. Erythemic lamps or Photon-type devices are usually 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.

Stock Foto Yellowtop

Despite the ease of care, yellow squirrels  can not be attributed to animals, widespread among lovers of home reptiles. One of the main reasons for this is the amazing ability of the lizard to make a mess in the terrarium, quickly destroying the scenery created there. It must be remembered that the yellow-pet animal is strong, and the constipation of the terrarium must be sufficiently strong.
   With good care, regular feeding (2-3 times a week), attentive attitude to animals, you will get real pleasure from observation, you will learn many interesting things about the wonderful world of reptiles.
   In conclusion, I want to say: having met the yellow-tumbler in nature, do not harm him. Remember that this is a useful lizard that destroys a huge number of mice, grasshoppers and locusts, crunches, leaf beetles, slugs, weevils and other pests of agricultural land.

Journal Aquarium 1999 №2

The second legless lizard of the spindle family known in Europe and in Russia is the yellow-footed pet. By origin, it is very far from the spindle.

Yellowfin lizard

This is a very large lizard. Record length for the species - 144 cm (with tail). The tail is about twice as long as the body. The head of the zheltopuzik goes into the body without the slightest hint of cervical interception. It has a shape that is uniformly tapering towards the tip of the muzzle, characteristic of lizards. In yellowtopus, the rudiments of the hind limbs remain, which do not play any role in his life. Teeth are very characteristic - powerful, dull, adapted for crushing. The body of the zheltopuzik is hard and inflexible, as it is covered with large ribbed scales, under which there are bone plates about 5x5 millimeters in size, which form the bone shell. Because of this trait, the genus in which the yellow-fox enters is called "armored creeps." There is a gap between the ventral and dorsal parts of the bone mail that looks like a lateral longitudinal skin fold from the outside. It is formed by one or two rows of smaller scales without a bone base. Thanks to these folds, the body is slightly more mobile. In addition, the folds allow you to increase the volume of the body when eating or carrying eggs.

Adult yellow hairs are colored in yellow and brown tones. On this background, small dark spots are sometimes scattered. The lower side of the body is lighter. Young yellow girls look completely different: they are striped. The background color of their bodies is yellowish gray, the stripes are dark, transverse, zigzag.

Where does yellowtopuzik live?

Zheltopuzik - southern lizard. In Europe, it is found only in the Balkan Peninsula and in the Crimea; widely distributed in Asia Minor and the Middle East, in Central Asia and in southern Kazakhstan. In Russia, it is known from the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, Kalmykia and Dagestan.

In the areas of its distribution, the yellowtopuzik uses a variety of open habitats: steppes and semi-deserts, mountain slopes, sparse forests, vineyards and abandoned fields. It is found at altitudes up to 2300 meters. He has daily activity, and he often catches the eye - crawls out onto the roads, climbs into buildings. In contrast to the loving shade and humidity of the swindle, the yellowtopuzik prefers dry and solar biotopes. But on the other hand, he willingly comes to shallow water and can stay in the water for a long time, although he practically does not know how to swim. At night, and on a hot afternoon, the yellowtopus hides in the bushes, under the objects lying on the ground, in heaps of stones. In some places, the yellow-louse is a common and common lizard.

Despite the relatively small body flexibility, the yellow-bellied can crawl at a fairly high speed. At the same time, it is intensely writhing in waves with a large amplitude, and, having overcome several meters, it stops for a while. Then the next powerful jerk, and again a short pause. Such a crawling is noticeably different from the smooth and uniform movement of snakes. Zheltopuziku has to move a lot - for a day he masters an area with a radius of about 200 meters.

What eat yellowtopusik?

Zheltopuzik - one of the few specialized to feed certain "products" of lizards. Powerful jaws and developed blunt teeth are adapted to crush the outer shells of animals, primarily mollusks. Both in nature and in captivity, yellow-squirrels prefer this particular prey. If the spindle chooses naked slugs or cleverly pulls snails out of the shells, then the yellow-willower simply bites through their "houses" like a nutcracker. Even such large mollusks with a thick shell, like a snail, are defenseless against the yellow-willow. He is looking for his prey actively. Having noticed it, it can very slowly sneak up and then, from a distance of several centimeters, rush at it with lightning speed with a wide-open mouth, which, as it were, covers the victim from above. He not only crushes the snails with his jaws, but also, holding them in the mouth, presses against nearby stones. Swallowed shells and their debris are digested in the stomach of the yellow-willow. Just like snails, the yellow-willower bites through large hard insects - beetles, orthoptera. On occasion, he will eat a bird's egg, a chick, a mouse-like rodent, a toad, a lizard, and even a snake. He tries to pin down the captured prey, quickly spinning around its axis, so that the victim is crushed to the ground. Like the swindles, two yellowfetus, seizing one prey from both ends, can, rotating in different directions, break it "brotherly". In contrast to the spindle, the yellow-bellied includes in its diet vegetable food, such as the apricot's crab, the berries of the vinegar. The omnivorous yellow-willower eats even carrion - rare for reptiles food; in nature, watched as yellowtopus trying to swallow corpses of pika and magpies.

Breeding yellowtopusikov

Almost nothing is known about the social and marital behavior of the yellowfetus. In captivity, the lizards of this species are peace-loving in relation to each other and to the serpents contained together with them. Males in nature are more common than females. Perhaps females are less active and spend more time in shelters.

Yellowfish has powerful jaws, but he rarely uses them for protection. Taken in his hands, he is trying to free himself with the help of energetic squirming and rotating around his axis. The enemy can also pour excrement.

These lizards breed by laying eggs. In laying 6-10 large eggs in an elastic white shell; their length is 3-4 centimeters, width 1.5-2 centimeters. There was a case when the female guarded her clutch, wrapped around her, as some snakes do. Young yellow hairs about 10 centimeters long hatch in a month and a half. It remains a mystery why adults in their habitats are common and common animals, and their juveniles are extremely rare. Perhaps this is due to the as yet unknown features of the biology of young yellowtopusik.

Like the spindle, the yellow-tumbler, when molting, shifts the dead skin layers to the tail.

Large size and bony "mail" protect adult animals from most natural predators. They are attacked by some birds, as well as foxes and dogs. In yellowfish - does not regenerate. In nature, you can find a lot of individuals with traces of injuries and severed ends of tails. In some populations, the proportion of such persons with disabilities reaches 50 percent. Obviously, the main culprits of these injuries are predators, grabbing lizards by their long tails, when they crawl into shelters that do not fit entirely, and the defenseless tail remains outside. In this regard, hedgehogs are especially dangerous - they cannot cope with a large and strong lizard, but they will easily tear off or bite off a piece of its tail. It is possible that the tail of the yellow-haired frost freezes in case of sudden frosts. It is also possible that injuries can inflict on each other the yellow-squirrels in fights or during mating.

Injured and tailless lizards do not differ from healthy ones either in behavior or in the nature of their activity.

Many of these lizards are destroyed by man in his eternal struggle with snakes. They are also caught for keeping in captivity (the yellow moths live well in terrariums and in open-air cages). But no less damage is caused by a person indirectly: yellow-bodies die on the roads, fall into various pits, ditches, structures, from which they cannot get out.