The lizard is considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), though it is vulnerable in Iowa and endangered in Wisconsin.

It can be found in woods or dry rocky hillsides, in grass or the burrows of small mammals.

White specks on the middle of the lizard's scales may sometimes form light stripes.

[5] Slender glass lizards have some difficulty moving across smooth surfaces because they do not have the large belly-plates and related muscles of snakes.

If captured, a specimen may thrash vigorously, causing part of the tail to fall off in one or more pieces.

While a potential predator is distracted by the wiggling tail, the lizard quickly escapes.

[15][10] Observations have also reported the ability of western slender glass lizards to swim considerable distances when avoiding predation.

[18] O. attenuatus is found in the midwestern and southeast United States, where it is endemic, in prairies, old fields, or open woodlands, often near water.

[21][10][1] Slender glass lizards eat a range of insects, such as grasshoppers, crickets and beetles, and will also consume spiders, small rodents, and snails.

[10] Unlike snakes, glass lizards do not have flexible jaws, and this limits the size of prey items they can consume.

[17] A fold of their skin is able to expand their body when they are breathing, eating a large meal, or when they are carrying eggs.

Snakes that feed on the lizard include the eastern racer (Coluber constrictor), ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus), prairie kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster), common kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula), and copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix).

[10] Mating typically occurs biannually in May and they lay 5 to 15 oval eggs in late June or July.

[13][23] Primary threats include habitat loss and fragmentation stemming from human development.

[24] The Iowa Department of Natural Resources recommended steps to conserve the slender glass lizard which are to avoid burning grassland from April to October, to remove trees mechanically instead of using chemicals, and to limit insecticide use in areas where slender glass lizards are known to inhabit.

[24] The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources recommends but does not require management and restoration of habitat for Slender Glass Lizards.