Luv2wild

The UK isn’t exactly known for its snake species however today I’m going to tell you all about them…

The Grass Snake – The Grass snake is the UK’s largest native Snake with males reaching lengths of up to 90cm and females reaching up to 130cm. They are found throughout the UK often in wetlands although they can also be found in dry grassland and even in peoples gardens. Grass snakes hibernate from October to April with females laying anywhere from 10 to 40 eggs, They lay their eggs in rotting vegetation such as compost heaps and incubate them until early autumn when they hatch. Grass Snakes have a varied diet ranging from small mammals and birds to amphibians and fish.

The European Adder – The European adder is famously the UK’s only venomous snake, It can be found all across the UK only absent from the Isles of Scilly, the Channel Islands, northern island and the Isle of Man. Its favoured habitats are heathland, moorland and woodland where it preys on lizards, small mammals and ground nesting birds such as skylark. They are short but stocky snakes reaching lengths of 60-80cm on average and weighing around 50-100g. They are easily distinguished from other snakes in the UK due to the typical viper head and zigzag pattern that goes down its back, The hibernate from October to March and are most commonly seen in the summer months from April to October. During spring male adders do a kind of dance where they duel to fend off competition to mate.

The Smooth Snake – The Smooth Snake is probably the UK’s least known about snake species, reaching a modest length of around 50-70cm and weighing around 100g it’s also the smallest snake found here. Smooth snakes are quite rare and are confined to the sandy heaths of Dorset, Hampshire and Surrey although there is a small reintroduced population in Devon. The Smooth snake is a constrictor and preys on sand lizards, slow worms, insects and nestlings and is completely harmless to humans.