- Lifespan
- 10–16 years in the wild, occasionally longer in captivity
- Size & Weight
- 20–26 cm total length; 4–15 g
- Habitat
- Warm, open sandy or heathland areas with sparse vegetation, typically on south-facing slopes with good drainage.
- UK Distribution
- Extremely restricted to southern England, with populations confined to Surrey, Dorset, and a few other scattered southern sites; resident year-round but largely sedentary.
- Diet
- Insectivorous, feeding primarily on small invertebrates including ants, beetles, spiders, and grasshoppers.
- Prey
- Ants, small beetles, spiders, small grasshoppers, and other small arthropods
- Predators
- Grass snakes, adders, herons, crows, and occasionally domestic cats
- Mating Season
- May to June
- Breeding
- Females lay 8–12 elongated eggs in a shallow burrow or under a log during June–July; eggs incubate for 8–10 weeks; single brood per year
- Behaviour
- Sand Lizards are basking specialists, relying on thermoregulation in open sandy areas; they are relatively immobile and solitary except during breeding season. Males are territorial and highly aggressive towards rivals.