The behavior of the wall lizard

Scientists have observed that adult male common wall lizards sharing and co- author of the paper, published in the journal Animal Behaviour.
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They do not, however, come anywhere near the bulk of these animals. Markings and colouration are often very similar to the Viviparous Lizard but they will often have a row of blue scales along the lower flank almost on the belly and the tail usually has patterning carried right round it in whorls unlike the former species.


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Green animals are quite common, especially in males, and where this is found it is generally a much brighter green than occasionally seen in Viviparous Lizards. As their name suggests, their favoured habitat is walls, or similar naturally occurring rock formations where they take advantage of nooks and crannies in the wall or rock to conceal themselves. They are rather shy and extremely fast moving lizards although where they are used to people seeing them as with one or two of the introductions in the Bournemouth area it is possible to watch them quite closely.

This is a European Protected Species. In addition, being extremely agile, lively and often highly strung they need a disproportionately large vivarium. Last, but not least, males in particular are extremely aggressively territorial as are some females. This even shows in their relationship with other species, even those considerably larger than them.

Lilford's wall lizard

Quite simply you should not rely on these animals sharing a vivarium with any others. Consequently, an absolute minimum of a 1 metre by 0. Having said this, some people have successfully maintained larger groups in such vivaria. Certainly it seems that having a group together, especially if reared from young together tends to inhibit their typically aggressive territorial behaviour. It must also be said that this species together with some other Podarcis and similar Lacertids can make a beautiful display.

A wide and tall vivarium, yet with minimal depth, with a stone wall emulated at its back together with artificial vegetation can rival a fish tank for both beauty and behaviour. The name "Wall lizard" is well descriptive of their habitat. Accordingly the terrarium benefits from rocks, or similar, heaped to provide basking and hiding areas. But, you must ensure that the rocks are well fixed and cannot move thereby crushing the lizards. They are fairly tolerant in respect of soil types and sand, grit, gravel or one of the available artificial compounds are all suitable.

In fact, the conventional semi-desert setup suits them down to the ground. A water bowl and a light spray in the morning are necessary to take care of their moisture requirements. UV lighting and a substantial temperature gradient are essential to their well-being. Should the temperature grow warmer than this, since they typically brumate rather than hibernate they will become active but can happily be cooled down again until Spring.

To see these animals at their best an outdoor vivarium is far better. A small garden frame will again support a pair and numbers can be increased as space permits.

Lateralization in the escape behaviour of the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) - ScienceDirect

Excellent drainage is essential as they do not happily tolerate excess humidity. Just as with indoor vivaria, they will do best if provided with a rock pile, or even a wall in which they can hide and on which they bask. They can and will live happily throughout most of the UK in such an enclosure for many years.

Only in the coldest and wettest areas are they likely to need additional shelter such as might be provided by keeping them in a greenhouse. Mating starts during the Spring and is typical of lacertids see our Breeding pages. The dorsal surface is usually greenish or brownish but varies much between different island subpopulations. There is usually a pale dorso-lateral stripe and there may be several dark streaks or three dark lines running along the spine. The flanks may be slightly reticulated and the underside is white, cream or pinkish.

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The throat may be blotched with darker colour. Juveniles sometimes have a blue tail. Lilford's wall lizard is native to the islands of Menorca and Mallorca in the Balearic Islands , the Cabrera Archipelago to the south of Mallorca, and the neighbouring rocky islets. However it has been extirpated from the two large islands and is now only present on the islets. Lilford's wall lizard is a relatively tame lizard and easy to approach. It mainly feeds on insects, spiders and other arthropods, snails and some vegetable matter.

This includes flowers and fruits, nectar and pollen. Some plants endemic to the Balearic Islands depend on this lizard for pollination. It also sometimes moves to the vicinity of nests of the Eleonora's falcon Falco eleonorae and feeds on the remains of its prey and the flies that accumulate around the nesting site. It is sometimes cannibalistic , eating juveniles and the tails of other lizards of its own species.

Breeding takes place in the summer, and females may lay up to three clutches of one to four eggs with an average mass of 0.

These hatch in about eight weeks and the emerging young measure about 3 to 3. The population of this lizard seems to be in decline. It was at one time very numerous on Menorca and Mallorca but is no longer found on either. This extirpation may have been caused by the proliferation of cats and by other introduced predators, possibly the false smooth snake Macroprotodon cucullatus and the weasel Mustela nivalis.

There are twenty-seven recognized subspecies many of which are found on only a single island: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in genus other than Podarcis. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.