Agama Caucasian: description and habitat. Caucasian agama (Agama caucasica) Range and habitats

(Pallas, 1814)
(= Agama sanguinolenta (Pallas, 1814); Agama aralensis Lichtenstein, 1823)

Appearance. Lizards average size with a slightly flattened body. Dimensions bodies with tail up to 12 cm; males are slightly larger than females. Head large and relatively high, heart-shaped and sharply demarcated from the neck. Eardrum located on the surface, so that there is a clearly defined external auditory canal. There are 2-3 elongated spiny scales above the ear. The body on top is covered with uniform, diamond-shaped, ribbed, overlapping scales. The lateral, thoracic and abdominal scales have blunt ribs, while the throat scales are smooth or have underdeveloped ribs. The ribbed tail scales are arranged in oblique rows that do not form transverse rings:

Upper tail scales of agamas:
1 - Himalayan agama (Laudakia himalayana), 2 - Caucasian agama (Laudakia caucasia), 3 - Khorasan agama (Laudakia erythrogastra), 4 - Turkestan agama (Laudakia lehmanni) and 5 - steppe agama

Fingers almost round. The fourth toe on the hind limbs is longer than the third.

Coloring. The upper side of the body is gray or yellowish-gray, the underside is white. In juveniles, along the ridge there is one row of light gray, more or less oval spots, extending to the base of the tail, and two rows of elongated spots of the same color on the sides of the body; Between the spots of two adjacent rows there are larger dark brown or dark gray spots. Blurry dark transverse stripes are visible on the upper side of the legs and on the tail. With the onset of sexual maturity in males, the dark spots almost disappear, and the light gray ones darken; in females, in general, the juvenile pattern is preserved. Body color can change under the influence of temperature or depending on the physiological state of the animal, demonstrating sexual dimorphism. In males, when excited, the throat, sides of the body, belly and limbs become dark blue or black-blue, cobalt blue spots appear on the back, while the tail becomes bright yellow or orange-yellow. Under the same conditions, the general background of the female’s body becomes bluish or greenish-yellow, the spots on the back become orange or rusty-orange, and the tail takes on the same color as that of the males, but less bright.

Spreading. The species is distributed in the deserts and semi-deserts of the eastern Ciscaucasia, Central Asia and Kazakhstan, as well as in northern and northeastern Iran, northern Afghanistan, and on the eastern border of its range it penetrates into northwestern China. In Central Asia, the northern border of the range runs slightly south of the line of the Emba River from east coast Caspian Sea, goes around the Mugodzhar Mountains from the south and through the lower reaches of Turgai and the valley of the middle reaches of the Sarysu River descends to the northern coast of Balkhash, further reaching the foothills of Tarbagatai. Along river valleys it penetrates into the foothills of the Tien Shan and Pamir-Alai, meeting in the vicinity of the city of Osh in Kyrgyzstan and Chubek in southwestern Tajikistan.

Taxonomy of the species. In the eastern Ciscaucasia, isolated from the main range within Chechnya, Dagestan and the Stavropol Territory, the nominative subspecies is widespread Trapelus sanguinolentus sanguinolentus and throughout the rest of the species’ extensive range the Eastern Caspian subspecies lives Trapelus sanguinolentus aralensis Lichtenstein, 1823.

Habitat. Inhabits sandy, clayey and rocky deserts and semi-deserts, preferring areas with shrubby or semi-arboreal vegetation, as well as on gentle rocky slopes in the foothills at an altitude of up to 1200 m above sea level, along the edges of loose sands, along river banks and in tugai forests. The northern border of the range quite clearly correlates with the northern border of the desert zone, going beyond its limits only in the eastern Ciscaucasia.

Like other species with such a wide range, the steppe agama has a shift in biotopic preference, while in the isolated western part of its range the agama is confined only to sandy soils, while in the Asian part it is one of the most eurytopic reptile species. Does not avoid human proximity, settling on the outskirts settlements and along roadsides. It uses burrows of gerbils, gophers, jerboas, hedgehogs, turtles, voids under stones and cracks in the soil as shelters.

Activity. During the hottest part of the day, agamas often climb onto the branches of bushes, thus protecting themselves from overheating on the hot soil. From here, sexually mature males survey their individual territory, protecting it from the invasion of competitors. In the eastern Karakum desert, agamas spend the night on bushes quite often. Under optimal conditions, very high numbers are observed, up to 10 individuals per 1 hectare. After wintering in different parts of the range and depending on the climatic conditions of the year, they appear in late February - March - early April.

Reproduction. Agamas begin to reproduce after the second winter at the age of about two years. Pairing in southern Kazakhstan it lasts from early April to May. First laying eggs in southern Turkmenistan occurs already in late April - early May. Depending on age, the female lays 4-18 eggs size 9-13 x 18-21 mm per season, 2-3 clutches are possible. The eggs are laid in a burrow or in a cone-shaped hole dug by the female. Young 80-100 mm in size (with tail) appear from the second half of June to late autumn.

Nutrition. The basis of nutrition is insects; they also feed on spiders, centipedes and, to a small extent, plant foods.

Similar species. Agamas are distinguished from others by their bright colors; from mountain agamas - lack of ringed tail; from the ruin agama - uniform scales of the upper surface of the body and more large sizes. It differs from roundheads by the presence of an external ear opening.

On our website you can also find information on anatomy, morphology and ecology of reptiles: general characteristics of reptiles, integument, movement, and skeleton of reptiles, digestive organs and nutrition, respiratory organs and gas exchange, circulatory system and blood circulation, excretory organs and water-salt metabolism, genitals and reproduction, nervous system and sensory organs, behavior and image life, annual life cycle, geographical distribution and role in biocenoses, the importance of reptiles for humans, as well as: some rules of zoological nomenclature, definition of reptiles by external characteristics, recommended literature on reptiles.

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Description

The total length of the steppe agama does not exceed 30 cm, with the length of the body with head up to 12 cm, the tail is 1.3-2 times longer than body. Body weight up to 45 g (according to other sources up to 62 g). In the Ciscaucasia, agamas are smaller compared to Central Asian ones: their body length is up to 8.5 cm, weight up to 27 g. Adult males are noticeably longer than females and have a preanal callus. The upper head scutes are slightly convex and unribbed. The occipital scute, on which the parietal eye is located, is the same size as the surrounding scutes. The nostrils are located at the back of the nasal shields and are almost invisible from above. Upper labial scutes 15-19. The small external ear opening is well defined, in the depth of which the eardrum is located. Above it there are 2-5 elongated spiny scales. The body scales are uniform (this is how the steppe agama differs from the closely related ruin agama), diamond-shaped, ribbed, smooth only on the throat, the dorsal scales are large, with sharp spines, the tail scales are arranged in oblique rows and do not form transverse rings.

The color of young agamas is light gray on top with a row of light gray, more or less oval spots running along the ridge, extending to the base of the tail, and two rows of the same elongated spots on the sides of the body. Between the spots of adjacent rows there are larger dark brown or dark gray spots. There are faint darker transverse stripes on the upper side of the legs and on the tail. With the onset of maturity, the color changes, and adult lizards become gray or yellowish-gray. In males, the dark spots almost completely disappear, and the light gray spots become darker; in females, the juvenile coloring is generally retained.

With increasing temperature, as well as in an excited state, the color of adult agamas changes and becomes very bright. In this case, obvious sexual dimorphism in color is observed. In males, the throat, belly, sides and limbs become dark or even black-blue, cobalt blue spots appear on the back, and the tail becomes bright yellow or orange-yellow. Females become bluish or greenish-yellow, the dark spots on the back are orange or rusty orange, and the legs and tail acquire the same, but less bright, colors as the males. However, agamas from Ciscaucasia do not have the described color differences between the sexes.

Range and habitats

The steppe agama is distributed in the deserts and semi-deserts of Eastern Ciscaucasia (Russia), Southern Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Northern and Northeastern Iran, Northern Afghanistan, Northwestern China. In Central Asia, the northern border of the range extends slightly from the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea south of the river Emba, goes around the Mugodzhar Mountains from the south and through the lower reaches of the Turgai River and the valley of the middle reaches of the Sarysu River descends to the northern coast of Lake Balkhash, further reaching the foothills of Tarbagatai. Along river valleys it penetrates into the foothills of the Tien Shan and Pamir-Alai, meeting in the vicinity of the cities of Osh in Kyrgyzstan and Chubek in Southwestern Tajikistan.

It lives in sandy, clayey and rocky deserts and semi-deserts, preferring places with shrubby or semi-woody vegetation. It is also found on gentle rocky slopes in the foothills (in Kopetdag it is known up to an altitude of 1200 m above sea level), along the edges of loose sands, along river banks and in tugai forests, often in close proximity to water, near populated areas and along roadsides.

In the Asian part of its range, the steppe agama is one of the most common lizards of the steppes and deserts, its average number is about 10 individuals/ha, in the spring in gerbil colonies up to 60. In the Eastern Ciscaucasia, the range of this species is very small and is constantly declining, the number is low, which is due with quite severe steppe agamas climatic conditions and intense anthropogenic impact.

Lifestyle

After wintering, steppe agamas appear in mid-February - early April, depending on the area of ​​distribution; males leave their winter shelters earlier than females. They leave for the winter at the end of October. In spring and autumn, lizards are active in the middle of the day, in summer in the morning and evening. The periods of maximum activity of adults and juveniles usually do not coincide. Deftly climbing trunks and branches, agamas often climb onto the branches of bushes, protecting themselves from overheating on the hot sand in the hottest part of the day and escaping from enemies; the males survey their area, protecting it from the invasion of other males. In the eastern Karakum desert they sometimes even spend the night on bushes. They are able to jump from branch to branch at a distance of up to 80 cm. Agamas run on the ground very quickly, keeping their body raised on outstretched legs and not touching the ground with their tail. In villages they can be seen running along the vertical surfaces of adobe and stone fences and walls of buildings. Steppe agamas use burrows of gerbils, jerboas, gophers, hedgehogs, turtles, voids under stones and cracks in the ground as shelters. Less often, they dig their own burrows, located between the roots or at the base of stones. Each adult lizard has a relatively small habitat area, beyond which it very rarely goes. Demonstrative behavior includes squatting combined with rhythmic head nodding.

Nutrition

The steppe agama feeds mainly on a variety of insects, mainly beetles and ants, but also spiders, centipedes, woodlice and succulent parts of plants, particularly flowers, leaves and stems. Lizards deftly capture insects with their sticky tongue.

Reproduction

Sexual maturity occurs in the second year of life with a body length of 6.5-8.0 cm. During the breeding season, sexually mature males climb to the upper branches of bushes, from where the area is clearly visible. When a rival appears, the owner quickly descends to meet him and drives the newcomer away. During this period, males and females usually stay in pairs; one, rarely two or three females live in the male’s area. Mating usually occurs in April. At the end of April - beginning of June, the female lays eggs in a cone-shaped hole 3-5 cm deep dug in loose soil or in a hole. The volume of clutch depends on the age of the female. 1-2 repeated layings per season are possible. The second clutch in Central Asia occurs in mid-June - early July, the third, if there is one, in mid-late July. During the season, the female lays 4-18 eggs measuring 9-13 x 18-21 mm in three or four portions. The incubation period lasts 50-60 days, young lizards 29-40 mm long and weighing 0.95-2.22 g appear from the second half of June until late autumn.

Subspecies

• Trapelus sanguinolentus sanguinolentus- nominative subspecies, lives in Russia in the Eastern Ciscaucasia isolated from the main range within Chechnya, Dagestan (Nogai steppe) and Stavropol Territory;
• Trapelus sanguinolentus aralensis- East Caspian subspecies, distributed throughout the rest of the species’ extensive range.

Type territory of the species: Kum-Ankatar in the Terek valley.

Steppe agamas are kept in horizontal terrariums at a temperature of +28...+30 °C during the day (under a heater up to +35 °C), +20...+25 °C at night and low humidity. Sand with moisture from below is used as soil. Branches on which agamas spend a lot of time must be placed. Since males are very pugnacious during the mating season, it is better to keep steppe agamas in groups of one male and several females. They feed mainly on insects, but also on apples, oranges, bananas, lettuce and oat sprouts, which they also eat well. Mating in March - May. Starting in April, the female lays 4-18 eggs in 2-3 portions. Thus, pregnancy lasts about 40 days. Incubation of eggs at a temperature of +27...+28 °C lasts 50-52 days.

Photo

Notes

Literature

• Bannikov A. G., Darevsky I. S., Ishchenko V. G., Rustamov A. K., Shcherbak N. N. Key to amphibians and reptiles of the fauna of the USSR. - M.: Education, 1977. - P. 105-108. - 415 s.
• Ananyeva N. B., Orlov N. L., Khalikov R. G., Darevsky I. S., Ryabov S. A., Barabanov A. V. Atlas of reptiles of Northern Eurasia (taxonomic diversity, geographical distribution and conservation status). - St. Petersburg: Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2004. - P. 53. - ISBN 5-98092-007-2
• Life of animals. Volume 5. Amphibians, Reptiles / Ed. A. G. Bannikova. - 2nd ed. - M.: Education, 1985.
• Kudryavtsev S.V., Frolov V.E., Korolev A.V. Terrarium and its inhabitants (review of species and maintenance in captivity). - M.: Forestry industry, 1991. - P. 283. - 349 p. ISBN 5-7120-018-2

The total length of the steppe agama does not exceed 30 cm, with the length of the body including the head up to 12 cm, the tail is 1.3-2 times longer than the body. Body weight up to 45 g (according to other sources up to 62 g). In the Ciscaucasia, agamas are smaller compared to Central Asian ones: their body length is up to 8.5 cm, weight up to 27 g. Adult males are noticeably longer than females and have a preanal callus. The upper head scutes are slightly convex and unribbed. The occipital scute, on which the parietal eye is located, is the same size as the surrounding scutes. The nostrils are located at the back of the nasal shields and are almost invisible from above. Upper labial scutes 15-19. The small external ear opening is well defined, in the depth of which the eardrum is located. Above it there are 2-5 elongated spiny scales. The body scales are uniform (this is how the steppe agama differs from the closely related ruin agama), diamond-shaped, ribbed, smooth only on the throat, the dorsal scales are large, with sharp spines, the tail scales are arranged in oblique rows and do not form transverse rings.

The color of young agamas is light gray on top with a row of light gray, more or less oval spots running along the ridge, extending to the base of the tail, and two rows of the same elongated spots on the sides of the body. Between the spots of adjacent rows there are larger dark brown or dark gray spots. There are faint darker transverse stripes on the upper side of the legs and on the tail. With the onset of maturity, the color changes, and adult lizards become gray or yellowish-gray. In males, the dark spots almost completely disappear, and the light gray ones become darker; in females, the juvenile colors are generally retained.

With increasing temperature, as well as in an excited state, the color of adult agamas changes and becomes very bright. In this case, obvious sexual dimorphism in color is observed. In males, the throat, belly, sides and limbs become dark or even black-blue, cobalt blue spots appear on the back, and the tail becomes bright yellow or orange-yellow. Females become bluish or greenish-yellow, the dark spots on the back become orange or rusty orange, and the legs and tail acquire the same, but less bright, colors as the males. However, agamas from Ciscaucasia do not have the described color differences between the sexes.

Range and habitats

The steppe agama is distributed in the deserts and semi-deserts of Eastern Ciscaucasia (Russia), Southern Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Northern and Northeastern Iran, Northern Afghanistan, Northwestern China. In Central Asia, the northern border of the range runs from the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea slightly south of the Emba River, goes around the Mugojar Mountains from the south and through the lower reaches of the Turgai River and the valley of the middle reaches of the Sarysu River descends to the northern coast of Lake Balkhash, further reaching the foothills of Tarbagatai. Along river valleys it penetrates into the foothills of the Tien Shan and Pamir-Alai, meeting in the vicinity of the cities of Osh in Kyrgyzstan and Chubek in Southwestern Tajikistan.

It lives in sandy, clayey and rocky deserts and semi-deserts, preferring places with shrubby or semi-woody vegetation. It is also found on gentle rocky slopes in the foothills (in Kopetdag it is known up to an altitude of 1200 m above sea level), along the edges of loose sands, along river banks and in tugai forests, often in close proximity to water, near populated areas and along roadsides.

In the Asian part of its range, the steppe agama is one of the most common lizards of the steppes and deserts, its average number is about 10 individuals/ha, in the spring in gerbil colonies up to 60. In the Eastern Ciscaucasia, the range of this species is very small and is constantly declining, the number is low, which is due with rather harsh climatic conditions for steppe agamas and intense anthropogenic impact.

Lifestyle

After wintering, steppe agamas appear in mid-February - early April, depending on the area of ​​distribution; males leave their winter shelters earlier than females. They leave for the winter at the end of October. In spring and autumn, lizards are active in the middle of the day, in summer in the morning and evening. The periods of maximum activity of adults and juveniles usually do not coincide. Deftly climbing trunks and branches, agamas often climb onto the branches of bushes, protecting themselves from overheating on the hot sand in the hottest part of the day and escaping from enemies; the males survey their area, protecting it from the invasion of other males. In the eastern Karakum desert they sometimes even spend the night on bushes. They are able to jump from branch to branch at a distance of up to 80 cm. Agamas run on the ground very quickly, keeping their body raised on outstretched legs and not touching the ground with their tail. In villages they can be seen running along the vertical surfaces of adobe and stone fences and walls of buildings. Steppe agamas use burrows of gerbils, jerboas, gophers, hedgehogs, turtles, voids under stones and cracks in the ground as shelters. Less often, they dig their own burrows, located between the roots or at the base of stones. Each adult lizard has a relatively small habitat area, beyond which it very rarely goes. Display behavior includes squatting coupled with rhythmic head nodding.

Nutrition

Reproduction

Sexual maturity occurs in the second year of life with a body length of 6.5-8.0 cm. During the breeding season, sexually mature males climb to the upper branches of the bushes, from where their territorial area is clearly visible. When a rival appears, the owner quickly descends to meet him and drives the newcomer away. During this period, males and females usually stay in pairs; one, rarely two or three females live in the male’s area. Mating usually occurs in April. At the end of April - beginning of June, the female lays eggs in a cone-shaped hole 3-5 cm deep dug in loose soil or in a hole. The volume of clutch depends on the age of the female. 1-2 repeated layings per season are possible. The second clutch in Central Asia occurs in mid-June - early July, the third, if there is one, in mid-late July. During the season, the female lays 4-18 eggs measuring 9-13 x 18-21 mm in three or four portions. The incubation period lasts 50-60 days, young lizards 29-40 mm long and weighing 0.95-2.22 g appear from the second half of June until late autumn.

Subspecies

Steppe agamas are kept in horizontal terrariums at a temperature of +28...+30 °C during the day (under a heater up to +35 °C), +20...+25 °C at night and low humidity. Sand with moisture from below is used as soil. Branches on which agamas spend a lot of time must be placed. Since males are very pugnacious during the mating season, it is better to keep steppe agamas in groups of one male and several females. They feed mainly on insects and also

Steppe agama- a medium-sized lizard (length up to 10-15 cm) with pronounced sexual dimorphism in color. Inhabits deserts and semi-deserts of the Eastern Ciscaucasia and Central Asia. Outside Soviet Union widespread in northern regions Iran and Afghanistan, in the northwestern part of China.

The color of the steppe agama is quite variable, but it is usually gray or grayish-yellow (similar to the color of sand), has large dark spots on its back, and vague dark transverse stripes on its tail and upper side of its paws. Body color depends on the ambient temperature and the mood of the animal. When frightened or strongly excited, sexual dimorphism in color becomes more noticeable: in males the throat, belly, lower part of the sides and limbs become dark blue, while in females this does not happen.

Lives in open areas, but extreme heat uses rodent holes, cracks in the soil, voids under stones and plant roots as shelters. To protect the body from overheating on hot soil in the heat, it climbs onto the branches of saxaul and other shrubs. Territorial males have their own areas and protect them from other individuals. This must be taken into account when keeping agamas in order to avoid fights between males.

In nature, the agama feeds on beetles, ants, bedbugs and spiders, in addition, it eats leaves, stems and flowers of plants, especially in spring.

In captivity, it is kept in "Desert" type terrariums at a temperature of 27-29 ° C, with heating. It eats well mealworms, cockroaches, crickets, and green food includes dandelion leaves and flowers.

Sometimes lays eggs in a common terrarium.

Website "Siberian Zoological Museum" (www.bionet.nsc.ru), photo by Yu.K. Zinchenko

Steppe agamas (Agama sanguinolenta) are Central Asian lizards from the large agama family. It is difficult not to notice them or to confuse them with someone else: in their habitats they often catch the eye of a person and even allow him to come close to them, allowing him to see them in all their glory.

This is a lizard average size: The total length of its body does not exceed 30 cm, more than half of which is the tail.

The body is valval, covered with rhombic ribbed scales overlapping one another, like a tile. The head is relatively large, high, with a rounded muzzle and also covered with small scales. The cervical interception is strongly pronounced, further emphasizing the size of the head. On the sides of the back of the head and neck there are scratches in the form of spines; the scutes of the front part form a pronounced edging on the sides above the nostrils and eyes. Behind the eyes there is an ear opening, in the depth of which the eardrum is located.

Her limbs are powerful, with developed claws. Clawed paws help her climb trees and bushes, boulders and outbuildings. With the help of them, she can also effectively defend herself if she is captured. But its main defense is its mouth with solid teeth, among which well-developed fangs stand out.

An adult can bite a person quite noticeably. If she manages to grab onto living flesh, she clenches her teeth and does not unclench them for a long time.

Young lizards are colored light gray on top, and transverse uneven dark and light stripes and spots of different sizes are evenly distributed across the main background. The underside of the body is light gray. In males, the throat and chest are darker.

A young agama has such a modest gray color

Adult agamas, like most desert reptiles, are gray or sandy gray in color. But this is only at rest and when low temperature. If the animal gets very hot in the sun, or due to fear or nervous excitement, the inconspicuous color changes dramatically: the throat, sides, chest, belly and limbs of males become black and blue, and bright blue spots and tail also appear on the gray background of the back it turns bright yellow. In this color, the males are an impressive sight!

Females, under the influence of the above factors, also change color, but it is a little more modest. Their general background becomes bluish or greenish-gray, the spots on the back are orange, and the tail is light yellow.

Outwardly, the agama gives the impression of something rough: and indeed, if you take it in your hands, you can feel how hard and prickly it is.

Habitats

The steppe agama can be found in Central Asia and Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Iran, and northwestern China. In Russia it is known in the Eastern Ciscaucasia.

These lizards live in sandy, clayey and rocky deserts and semi-deserts. There are especially many of them where shrubs grow. They are also found in rocky gorges, salt marshes, and dry river beds. They settle on the outskirts of populated areas and along roadsides, and also enter cultivated lands - fields, vegetable gardens, melon fields.

Lifestyle and behavior of the steppe agama

The lizard is diurnal. She is very thermophilic and prefers air temperatures up to +30 – +35° C. However, more hot weather forces her to either hide in holes or use other methods of protection from overheating, for example, climbing bushes and other elevations (the air temperature at a height of about 1 meter is several degrees lower than at the surface of the earth). In addition, here the lizard is blown by the wind. In order to increase heat transfer, the agama opens its mouth and sticks out its tongue. Bushes are also used as an observation post: rising above the ground, the reptile carefully surveys the surroundings.

Caucasian agamas lead sedentary image life. Each adult lizard occupies a fairly vast territory - several hundred square meters, beyond which it very rarely goes. Males protect their territory from other males, but young individuals and females are allowed to move freely throughout their territory.

These lizards climb bushes well, run quickly on any substrate, while keeping their body elevated on outstretched legs and holding their tail in weight, and also deftly climb the walls of buildings. When a reptile escapes, it does so with a bang, hitting everything in its path.

While observing his territory, the male periodically crouches sharply and nods his head. According to scientists, these nods are an ancient form of signaling, demonstration behavior of lizards. The agama can nod at the sight of danger, when meeting a mating partner, and even when seeing large prey.

When two males meet, they exchange display nods and usually go their separate ways. But sometimes clashes happen. Enraged opponents become like little dragons: they straighten their throat sac, open their mouths, rise above the ground, arch their backs, and inflate their bodies. They do this in order to demonstrate the size of their body and demoralize the enemy. Each of the males tries to stand sideways in front of the other’s muzzle, and since both cannot do this at the same time, they move in circles for some time, intimidating each other. One of the rivals, having really assessed their capabilities, can simply run away, but if both decide to go to the end, a fight ensues: the lizards cling to each other, exchanging bites in various parts of the body.

During the day, steppe agamas, as a rule, are located on the branches of bushes, but at night they hide in shelters, which they usually use in rodent burrows. Sometimes they dig holes on their own, choosing a place at the base of stones or between the roots of bushes.

Agamas overwinter in the burrows of other animals, mainly gerbils, and also in deep cracks and in depressions in the ground. Depending on the area of ​​distribution, they go to wintering in late September - October and leave it in mid-February - early April.

Diet

The basis of the diet of steppe agamas are insects. These are mainly large beetles and orthopterans - they grab them with their jaws and bite them with powerful teeth. They also will not refuse small insects, for example, desert ants - they grab them with their sticky tongue.

Agama is a lurking predator. She never sneaks up, but having noticed potential prey from her observation post, she rushes at it with lightning speed. Sometimes the reptile tries to grab a flying insect, but it is too massive and clumsy for this. If the throw at the prey is successful, it immediately eats it and returns to its original place.

Sometimes agamas eat and plant foods– nibble flowers and fresh shoots of some herbs.

Continuation of the family line

The mating season for agamas is in the spring. While courting his chosen one, the male demonstrates to her the size of his body, inflating his larynx and torso and lifting his body above the ground.

At the beginning of summer, the female makes one or two clutches, each of which contains from 6 to 18 eggs. The eggs are regular elliptical in shape, up to two centimeters long and about one centimeter wide, covered with a leathery shell. The female lays them in loose soil, in which she digs a special burrow. To disguise the location of the offspring, she takes a long time and carefully levels the substrate discarded during the construction of the nest.

The young appear by the end of summer, after 50-60 days of incubation. Newborns have a body length of 3-4 cm, a tail - 6-7 cm. Having reached the surface, the cubs dry out and then scatter.

From the first days of life, they boldly defend themselves from any danger. If you reach out to them with a hand, they aggressively rush at it, jumping up, inflating their throats and opening their mouths wide.

They are very mobile and feed intensively, increasing by 0.5-1 mm daily. They reach sexual maturity in the third year of life.

Enemies of steppe agamas

These lizards have many serious enemies. They are hunted by day and night birds, snakes, corsac foxes and foxes. Therefore, in nature there are many crippled agamas - with scars, damaged limbs, broken tails. Fortunately, they are very tenacious: even serious wounds on them heal very well, and disabled lizards continue to hunt and reproduce just as successfully as healthy ones.

Agamas suffer not only from predators: these reptiles, not afraid of human proximity, often die under the wheels of cars.

Keeping steppe agamas in a terrarium

Often the steppe agama is kept as pet. It requires a horizontal type terrarium, the minimum dimensions of which are 50x40x30 cm. The temperature at the heating point should be 30-35°C during the day and 22-25°C at night, the background temperature is 25-28°C and 18-20°C, respectively. Duration daylight hours– 12-14 hours.

The terrarium must be decorated with dry branches on which the reptile will sit. Sand is used as soil in a layer of at least 10 cm with moisture from below. She also needs shelter - in a cold corner they set up a shelter in the form of a cave made of flat stones or driftwood.

In addition to insects, steppe agamas are fed with the juicy pulp of fruits and vegetables.

In principle, these lizards can be kept in groups: 1 male for 1-2 females. Since agamas are territorial, adult males should not be kept in the same terrarium.

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