In the springtime, during the mating season, the males go looking for females. Two types of reproduction are to be found in the species present in Wallonia. Certain are oviparous, meaning that the females lay their eggs. The females choose sites which meet the required warmth and humidity criteria, which vary depending on the species. There is no maternal care provided, the clutch of eggs being immediately abandoned. Other species are viviparous. The ‘eggs’, in fact constituted of a thin membrane, are not laid straightaway and continue to develop inside the female. After several months she brings into the world her young, ready to hatch, who will not receive any parental care either. Lizards have a relatively short lifespan, from 4 to 6 years, whilst slow worms and snakes can live ten years or so, or even over 20 years!

Reptiles grow throughout the whole of their lives and regularly moult in order not to become cramped within their scaly skin. The moult is the phenomenon by which reptiles renew the surface part of their epidermis. In lizards the moult detaches itself in unequal pieces through rubbing action, whilst in snakes it breaks loose in a single piece like a finger being removed from a glove.

Our lizards, including the slow worm, also have the ability to lose a part of their tail and to see it subsequently grow back. This phenomenon is known as ‘autotomy’, in other words the ability to self-amputate. The aim of it is often to attract the attention of a predator to the small tip of the wriggling tail, which gives the lizard the time to find shelter. This operation is nonetheless very costly in energy terms for the animal.  The snakes do not have this ability but heal very rapidly.

Which are the reptiles of Wallonia?

The slowworm, Anguis fragilis, is the most widespread reptile in Wallonia. It is a legless lizard with a smooth and shiny body, with a length from 30 to 40 centimetres, sporting several quite discrete colours in the brown tones. The young are easily recognisable thanks to their golden colour and a thin black line which runs down the middle of their backs. It is a very unassuming viviparous species which frequents a large variety of environments, from grasslands to cleared woods. Semi-burrowing, they spend most of their time underground or tucked away in the undergrowth.

The common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis), oviparous, is not very timid and pretty easy to observe. Eager for the sun, it is to be found in rocky environments well provided with sunshine. It has a long head and a slender outline, a flattened and thin body, with a long, tapered tail. Its overall size approaches 20cm. It can be recognised by two light longitudinal stripes which demarcate, along its flanks, a dark brown band often speckled with light patches. 

The viviparious lizard (Zootoca vivipara) is Wallonia’s smallest lizard (11 to 17 cm) and is characterised by a thickset and not very flattened body. Its legs are short, the head small with a large neck and the tail relatively slender. It is the most widespread lizard in Wallonia after the slowworm and has a liking for cool and humid habitats. As its name indicates, the species is viviparious.

The sand lizard (Lacerta agilis), oviparious, is Belgium’s rarest lizard. It is solely present in the extreme south of the country and frequents warm and dry milieus. Pretty timid, it is difficult to observe. It is of a relatively large size (18 to 25cm) with a stocky silhouette. As is the case for the other lizards its colour is pretty variable, with brownish tones. In the Spring, the males change colour and sport bright green coloration along their flanks and on the head. The flanks are moreover decorated with whitish ocellus, bordered in dark brown or black.