Sand lizards

General activity

Sand lizards spend extended periods of the day after emerging on long basking sessions. They occasionally take breaks to forage for resources. They also spend a considerable amount of time simply doing normal activity in areas under concealed vegetation. Under poor weather conditions, sand lizards emerge from resting locations later and bask less often throughout the day. Sand lizards most frequently bask on logs. This is most likely due to its absorption and slow release of heat radiation as well as providing a vantage point to spot potential predators and prey. They very rarely share basking sites with other lizards. Male sand lizards especially avoid sharing basking sites with each other, and are found only occasionally sharing with females. They avoid basking on open sand or soil and prefer to use vegetation if they bask on the ground. They thermoregulate themselves by moving between areas of high and low insolation.