Courtesy of Whitney Hutchinson
European Giant Glass Lizard
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European Glass Lizards (Pseudopus apodus) are sometimes known as Scheltopusik which when translated from the original Slavik word means ‘Yellow Belly’. They can also be called ‘Legless lizard’ in some circles. Scheltopusik is the more often used name or simply Glass Lizard. While often seen for sale it would seem their captive breeding is still one of those mysteries which elude many reptile breeders. Before we get into breeding this interesting species; we should understand at least some of their natural history.
Natural History of European Giant Glass Lizards (Pseudopus apodus)
European Giant Glass Lizard (P. apodus) as we know them today were first described by the German botanist and Zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in his work Novi Commentarii Academiae Scientiarum Imperialis Petropolitanae XIX published in 1775. Two hundred and thirty later this taxonomy would arrive at the current name of (P. apodus). ‘Legless Lizards’ are the evolutionary precursor to what we know as snakes today. The main characteristics of limbless reptiles we see today in snakes is the obvious lack of limbs or sometimes diminutive limbs such as is the case with Scheltopusik.
That’s right they’re not in fact truly limbless.
They have what are known as rudimentary limbs near the cloaca. Think of these ‘limbs’ somewhat like the spurs we see in Pythons. Unlike the Pythons these limbs are not used at all. More so snakes lack an external ear opening as well as not having eyelids. Both external ear openings and eyelids are found in the (Pseudopus spp.) European Giant Glass Lizards. These are an Old World Species found in various countries from Kazakstan south to Iran and west into Turkey, Greece, and the Ukraine. There’s also a subspecies which was described by Obst in 1978 (Pseudopus apodus thracicus) again as the name implies (P. a. thracicus) is found in Greece. What seems a minor detail in location can and does play a role in the enclosure. The comparison of the two is (P. a. thracicus) has a wider head than its cousin (P. a. apodus)
What’s in a Name?
It’s interesting to note that in some texts this species of glass lizard is reported to possess a different form of autotomy which I’m not familiar with personally. I remember as child reading a book about animals when in grade school talking about animal myths. The Glass Lizard in the drawing showed the lizard breaking into several pieces. The text explaining that early Europeans believed if touched, the lizard would shatter then come back together. According to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park this is in fact true to a certain extent and is where the common name of glass lizard comes from. While ‘technically’ true this is obviously a misinterpretation or rather a poor description of the autotomy behaviour found in some lizards. European Glass Lizards (P. apodus spp.) are capable of autotomy in several locations rather than what’s considered typical of autotomy of a tail section breaking off. After handling European Glass Lizards (Pseudopus sp.) I’m not sure if this is something they do in the captive environment and it’s been noted by Bert Langwerf this species can in fact be picked up by their tails without issue. I wouldn’t recommend trying this with your pet to test the theory.
Dentition
The dentition of the Glass Lizard (P. apodus spp.) is one of the highlights of the lizard if you decide to keep these interesting species. They look very similar to the human molar and are used to crush snails and other smaller invertebrate prey which they find in the wild. Bites seem to be an extreme last resort for the European giant glass lizard when either in the wild or in the captive environment. They instead choose to use their thrashing movements and feigning strikes (read head butts) to fend off would be captors. Mark O’Shea reported them as being a rather noisy lizard when moving through the brush of their native habitats. They’re also capable of very fast movement when being handled as I can personally attest to.
Diet
Pretty much anything that is smaller than the space between their eyes will be devoured if identified as potential prey. Pinky mice, roaches, crickets, and all of the general foods you’d feed any carnivorous lizard will be eaten. Snails, slugs, and grubs are also in the primary diet of the Scheltopusik. Most reports recommend a sixty percent diet of insects with forty percent being made up of meat such as pieces of raw chicken and lean ground beef.
It’s said they will also take smaller eggs as well, so quail eggs might be something to try out. It should go without saying but I’d stay away from wild caught insects to feed, we can never know where they’ve been and may have been sprayed with a chemical or even eaten a chemical designed to kill the insect and it simply hasn’t died yet. Adults will eat daily but this could quickly lead to obesity so make sure to only feed an amount which they will eat within five to eight minutes.
Courtesy of Whitney Hutchinson
Habitat
The two subspecies of European Giant Glass Lizard have different habitats which of course will impact what type of terrarium you set up for keeping. For the purposes of this article alone I will refer to the Eastern species meaning the (P. a. apodus) and the Western Species being that of (P. a. thracicus). The Western subspecies of European Glass Lizard (P.a. thracicus) should be kept in similar habitat but with a slightly higher humidity or moisture in the enclosure to resemble their native climate of the coastal regions where they are found.
Enclosure and Set-up
Given this species can attain a total length of four feet it’s an absolute they be housed in a large enclosure to roam through. From all the research I’ve encountered they require no less than an enclosure*
Substrates
Substrates most popular for these incredible lizards are a mixture of sterile potting soil, peat moss, and sand. In place of peat you can also use orchid bark and or cactus mix soils as recommended by Melissa Kaplan. With this species being such an adaptive one encountering various terrain types in their native habitats it’s recommended to use as deep a substrate as possible where they can easily burrow. Also it’s recommended that climbing structures are also provided as is noted by The Texan Herper. Glass Lizards do display adept climbing skills as well their fossorial abilities.
They are also noted for their ability to enter the water and hold their breath for a considerable length of time. I would infer this to be related to their foraging of snails in the wild.
I’d recommend a minimum of six inches of substrate mixed as described above with a layer of coarse gravel at the bottom to allow for drainage on top of the gravel I would place a layer of cypress mulch. The top layer of the enclosure should be covered with various pieces of cork bark and a few branches angled so the lizard(s) can climb if they want to. With this very cognitive species reported as recognizing caregivers and other such behaviours; enrichment is not a recommendation it’s a necessity. This is especially true as they are a very long-lived captive animal reported in some cases to live up to fifty years in a quality environment.
I’d recommend using false plants for decor. Being a burrowing species it’s most likely they’ll disturb the root systems of any live plants used as they move through the enclosure. When using false plants I would also recommend more broad-leafed plants and some that would represent the grasses of the steppes where they are native to. A cork bark backing or carved styrofoam with lots of crevices for enrichment would also be recommended as well.
Lighting and Heating
Once again we won’t want to use any colored lights as these will disturb a normal circadian rhythm. I would recommend an overhead heating system such as follows.
Thermostat set to 85-90F. Pulse proportional thermostats while more expensive at the outset are highly recommended. In the long run they will save you money and may even save your lizards life as these are less likely to cause a catastrophic failure. They will and do indeed fail so use a laser temp gun to monitor and record basking temperatures on a weekly basis.
I’ve always recommended use of a ceramic heat emmiter*
Speaking of sun, use a mid-range ultraviolet lighting system of 5.0. This would best represent their native environments. UV is the all important factor for breeding as I will share later on and also expand upon the circadian rhythm and the hibernation process. The UV light I would recommend is the fluorescent tube type allowed to stay on to coincide with your natural seasonal light. It’s been surmised that length of exposure to UV may play an important role in breeding.
Breeding
When it comes to breeding the Scheltopusik (P. apodus spp) there’s relatively little if any information available. Below I’ll share what has worked and what most of the texts agree on as far as breeding this incredible species of lizard.
Hibernation
Hibernation is a must when attempting to breed Scheltopusik and this is agreed upon by anyone I can find who’s successfully bred them in a captive environment. The tricky part is to get them cold enough to have them re-emerge with the intention of breeding. It’s been said in any of the research I’ve been able to find to expect about a fifty percent success rate regardless of how well the enclosure and maintenance with the lizard is done prior to breeding.
I’d be very interested to learn if anyone has attempted breeding one year and then given the next year off while providing the same hibernation cycle. It would be an interesting experiment in the captive environment to learn if this is a requirement of breeding success.
To begin hibernation start by reducing the light exposure based on your own locations seasonal light. Unless you live in Alaska then you have to take into account the lighting of their natural habitat. Also begin reducing the temperature and feeding to allow them to clear their gut after their final feeding prior to hibernation. You want to arrive at around seventy degrees fahrenheit and a light cycle of about eight to ten hours uv exposure. This is done over a weeks time in preparation for beginning hibernation.
Each week cut back an hour on the uv exposure to arrive at eight hours then hold the eight-hour week and finally shut the light off completely. Two weeks prior to going into full hibernation you will need to stop feeding all together and allow them this two-week period to evacuate any remaining digested foods. During the last two weeks you want to hold them in the seventy degree temperature range. After which you’ll reduce the temperature down to about forty-six to fifty degrees. This is usually done in an outdoor enclosure if at all possible as we rarely have place indoors allowing for this cold temperature. Hibernation begins in September with the cooling process and actual hibernation taking place from October to March when the process is reversed.
Courtesy of Whitney Hutchinson
In order to breed I would recommend housing them in pairs one male to one female in a regular enclosure as described above. I would separate them for breeding and when coming out of hibernation I would give them both a week to two to acclimate and then place the male into the females enclosure. Watching for any aggressive male who may injure an uninterested female. The actual breeding process is similar to that of most lizards where the male will grab the nape of the female to bring the cloaca together. They may remain ‘locked’ for up to an observed three hours but not often lasting more than ten minutes at most. If the breeding took, within a month and a half to two months later the female will lay her eggs in a depression she creates usually beneath a stone or some other structure she can burrow under. When attempting to remove the eggs for incubation the female will guard her clutch and will readily bite and lunge at the prospective caregiver. I would personally suggest removing her before any attempt to move the eggs is done.
Three months later incubated around 75-80F trying to stay on the lower side of the temperature range in your incubation medium of choice the eggs in theory should hatch. I say in theory as there’s as of yet not a definitive way to even breed this incredible lizard within the captive environment.
Conclusion
I would consider European Giant Glass lizards as more of a ‘collector’ species, similar to the Uromastyx genre. While there are numbers of them kept in the captive environment there’s not a large number of people breeding them. Eventually this could impact the numbers available to herpetoculture as a whole. If you keep Glass Lizards or have an interest in keeping them, I would be remiss if I didn’t encourage you to embark upon a captive breeding program. There may come a time when the European Giant Glass lizard will go the way of many other species in herpetoculture. Where we only see them few and far between. With some hard work, who can say you couldn’t attain the honour of discovering the key element to breed them on a regular basis in captivity.