Grass Snake, Adder and Smooth Snake

Reptile Consultants

We are reptile consultants with years of experience in surveying for most reptile species. All our staff have experience in surveying techniques, habit recognition and the handling of reptiles.

General Reptile Information.

The grass snake (Natrix natrix) and the adder (Vipera berus) are the two most common snakes to be found in the UK. Adders are found all over Britain while the grass snake becomes rarer towards the north and are rarely found in Scotland.

Grass snakes are up to 120cm long, live in a variety of rough habitats and lay their eggs in warm rotting vegetation. The background colour is dark green and the body is marked with vertical black bars and spots that run along its sides. There is generally a pale yellow collar marking.

The adder is the only native species that is venemous but this is rarely harmful to humans. Adult adders are generally up to 66cm long. Background colouration is a light shade of grey or brown with a black zigzag marking along the length of the back. As with all reptiles, colouration varies and becomes duller as sloughing (skin shedding) approaches.

Both snakes hibernate, spending the winter in burrows or under logs protected from the cold and predators. Maintaining the right body temperature is vital to reptiles' survival. In the morning, they find a warm basking site to heat up their bodies, then later they may move back into the shade because they do not sweat and have to be careful not to overheat. During hot summers, adders will try to move to damper, cooler sites.

Both snakes are protected under schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. They received greater protection following reviews of the schedules published in 1988 and 1991. This means they are protected against intentional or recklessly killing and injuring and against sale or transporting for sale.

The smooth snake is the third native snake. Its range is limited to the heaths of Dorset, Hampshire and Surrey and is distinguished from the other two native species by its black crown, distinctive eye stripe and double row of spots or bars down its back. The smooth snake is a European protected species and is fully protected.

Lizards

The common or viviparous lizard ( Lacerta vivipara ) is one of three species of lizard that occur in the UK. They have a dry scaly skin and are variable in colour ranging from brown or yellow-brown to almost green with varying patterns of spots or stripes. The typical length of an adult is 150mm, including the tail.

Common lizards hibernate over the winter, emerging from February onwards depending upon the weather. They begin to mate in April and May and the young are born in late July or August. The lizard gives birth to live young, hence the term viviparous, meaning live bearing.

The lizards draw their body warmth from the sun and consequently spend long periods basking in the sun. They are commonly seen on road and railway embankments and on walls where they sit for long periods soaking up the heat of the sun before going to find food.

They occupy a wide range of habitats including woodland, marshes, heathland, moors, sand dunes, hedgerows and bogs.

Common lizards hunt insects, spiders, snails and earthworms. They stun their prey by shaking it and then swallowing it whole.

At night, and when startled, they will shelter beneath logs or stones or under other refuges that may be available.

Common lizards are protected under schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. They received greater protection following reviews of the schedules published in 1988 and 1991. This means they are protected against intentional or recklessly killing and injuring and against sale or transporting for sale.

Common lizards should not be confused with the somewhat larger sand lizard ( Lacerta agilis ). These are typically 190mm long and stockier than the common lizard. Their markings are distinctly different being considerably more colourful. Sand lizards are confined to moorland and coastal sand duneswhere they lay their eggs in the warm sand. The range of the sand lizard in the UK is therefore very limited. Sand lizards are a European protected species.

The third species of lizard is the slow worm ( Anguis fragilis ), which is frequently mis-identified as a snake. The firm body of the slow worm is distinctly cylindrical in shape and the tiny smooth scales result in a very smooth, shiny appearance. Colouration is typically a uniform grey to brown although there is a wide variation from straw coloured to almost black and some animals have very fine stripes or a zig-zag along the centre of the back. The typical length of an adult is 400mm.

Slow worms can be found in a wide variety of habitats throughout Britain and is the most likely reptile to be found in urban and suburban environments.

Slow worms hibernate over the winter, emerging from March onwards depending upon the weather. They begin to mate in April and May and six to twelve young are born in August or September.

Their favourite food is slugs but they will also eat insects and spiders.

Slow worms are hard to find. They will bask in the sun but they quickly and quietly move into cover when disturbed and do not generally attract attention as they retreat from a basking spot.

Slow worms are also protected under schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. They received greater protection following reviews of the schedules published in 1988 and 1991. This means they are protected against intentional or recklessly killing and injuring and against sale or transporting for sale.