Glass Lizard facts: lizards without legs | Animal Fact Files

Glass lizards are named so because they can be quite fragile. A glass lizard will drop its tail in self defense and may do this without the tail even being touched! When they tail breaks, it may sometimes do so in pieces, which has led to the myth that these lizards can piece their tails back together again - though this isn't true. Instead, glass lizards grow a new tail that looks different than before. This has led to another common name for these animals: the horned snake. The snake part comes in because glass lizards are legless lizards! They have vestigial limbs or no limbs at all! Glass lizards are also known as glass snakes, but they aren't snakes - they're not even venomous! Give our video a watch to see how you can spot the differences!

Scientific Name: Glass lizards are classified in the family Anguidae and their genera include: Dopasia, Hyalosaurus, Ophisaurus, and Pseudopus
Range: Northern Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas
Size: may be longer than 4 feet (1.22m) in largest species but on average about half this length
Diet: insects, spiders, slugs, snails, worms, small mammals
Lifespan: up to 20 years

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[pinknight]

Woah! They’re really pretty. So cool! It’s crazy how fast they are willing to drop their tails.

[X-any-all]

They look like very shy animals; there's a sweetness to their appearance.

[tracybowling]

I'm so glad you did an episode on these lizards.

[caitsidhe]

Legless lizards are incredible. Not only they are absolutely beatiful, but their diet is all thats usually unwanted by us.

[Col]

They're pretty cool. I'd heard of them but didn't know anything about them. Thanks for the video!

[TheOnlyYukii]

Excuse me i saw one in my yard and wanna pick it up but how do i do so without its tail dropping

[Brantwhite-hkew]

Idc what anyone says that's a mf snake just caught 2 of em the other day

[ShelbyOnSafari]

I found a slowworm in my garden the other day, it was quite the surprise! That is so cool that their tails can almost shatter like glass! Hmm... i wonder where that legend came from about them putting their tail pieces back together again? 🤔 Thanks for another great video guys! 💚

[GoingtoHecq]

Glass lizard heads don't at all look like snakes. Glass lizards look like square snakes.

[jadenl]

Incredible!😍 Never heard of these awesome lizards before!🤯 Thanks for the video!😃

[charleyedwards]

Idea! it could be interesting if you put out a series of compilation videos, either compiling whole videos of some like animals or clipping handfuls of cool facts out of videos of similar videos and compiling them as one? ps i love this channel and even tho the viewership over the years has ebbed and flowed you continue to make great videos! keep up the great work guys!

[Vawzen]

I bet a snake mate a lizard thinking it was a snake

[Kroggnagch]

Tail? The whole thing is a tail with a face.

[Kroggnagch]

“Birds of prey” shows raccoon lol I like the idea of a raccoon as a bird of prey.

[abbottsmilereviews]

I ran one over with a lawn mower on accident:(

[nightfury]

I hate lizards, but these ones are a lil 'cool' since they don't have that typical annoying lizard appearance.

[MinxTsuki]

But do they bite? Why shouldn’t I pick it up :(

[ijansk]

Why do you say "the Americas"? It is just America. You don't say "the Europes", "the Africas".

[jacobhexum]

i thought you where trolling but then i googled