Glass lizards, or glass snakes as they are sometimes referred to, are a secretive Florida lizard.
People often think them a snake at first sight when actually they are legless lizards.
They have eyelids where snakes do not. Their striped bodies are usually brown or yellowish with white bellies.
Article Photos
Glass lizards, or glass snakes as they are sometimes referred to, are a secretive Florida lizard.
Glass lizards have a stiff body with fragile tails that break off easily but also grow back. Their nickname comes from the fact they are easily broken - just like glass.
The breakaway appendage allows glass lizards to escape predators who try to feed on the tail while they lie motionless and later escape. They are then more vulnerable until the tails grow back, which can take three months or longer. The tails grow back smaller and plainer without the original pattern.
Glass lizards eat crickets, beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, spiders and other small insects. They hunt for food mostly in the daylight but they will hunt in the evening.
Their strong jaws allow them to mash food up before swallowing it. Daytime sunshine gives them the energy to hunt at night. Their shiny bodies can grow up to 3 feet long but a lot of length is their tail.
A lot of their lives are spent burrowing through soil and leaves in search of insects. In Florida they can be found basking on the pavement in the sun. A glass snake will allow you to approach but try to pick one up and it will start to thrash around, which will probably scare you into dropping it.
My 12-year-old nephew, Pierce, picked one up off the road recently while visiting Florida and he found out they do not want to be picked up. The glass lizard startled Pierce as he had never seen one.
Many glass lizards are run over by cars as they lay on the surface for warmth and energy from the heat of the pavement. Habitat destruction also plays a major role in the decline of the glass lizards.
The shiny snake-like lizards will not harm you. Observe them from a distance and allow them to do their thing in nature.
