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Green Lizard
(Lacerta viridis)
Green
Lizard
Slow Worm
Details
Albums
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Adults are usually 13 cm (from head to cloaca), sometimes longer, tail is often twice the body length. Males are often almost entirely green with black spots on back and with a wide head (lightly spotted). Females vary greatly in appearance. Sometimes entirely green or brown or with blotches, often 2-4 narrow light stripes on back which can be framed by dark stripes/spots. Females also have a smaller and narrower head. Rarely both can have an irregular pattern of black blotches. Belly is yellowish, almost everytime without black spots. Throat is blue in mature males and sometimes in females (only paler, weaker). Young are often beige, uniformed or with a few light spots (no dark lining) on flanks or with 2-4 light stripes. There are many variations. Often regarded as 2 separate species (L. viridis and L. bilineata). Melanistic forms are sometimes observed.
Likes dense bushy vegetation, meadows, rock piles, with good exposure to sun, Can rach densities of 200 animals per hectare (but not here...)
Feeds on insects, earthworms, even small lizards.
Females lay 6-23 eggs, wich hatch in 7-15 weeks, producing babys that are 3-4 cm in length (from head to cloaca, 7-9 cm in total). Can reach sexual maturity in their second spring, when females are around 8 cm (from head to cloaca).
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