TURF SNAKE
Natrix helvetica
Once believed to be a sub-species of the European turf snake, recent DNA work has actually revealed that the British turf snake is genetically separated therefore it has actually been provided its own name – the disallowed turf snake, due to its distinct yellow collar.
It is our biggest native snake, with women determining up to 120cm (4ft) in length. This might sound long, however compared to the South American green anaconda (the longest snake in the world determining up to 18ft), they still determine up rather stumpy!
Grass snakes generally eat frogs and other amphibians, little mammals, birds and birds’ eggs. Although they do have fangs to capture victim, they are not toxic. They choose to hunt in morning and can hunt both on land and in water, as they are good swimmers and are typically discovered in wetlands, ponds, damp forests and heath. Their olive colour with black dots makes them quickly camouflaged and difficult to identify in the turf.
The turf snake is the only British snake to lay its eggs in a location where heat is created such as a compost pile or haystack. Hundreds of eggs can be laid and a number of women can seek the exact same nest website in early June, with young hatching out in August or September. Young snakes race to fatten up prior to hibernation starts from October, when grownups look for an ideal location under a log stack, in tree roots or other dark remote locations.
Foxes, badgers, owls and kestrels will all hunt turf snakes, however they can reside in the wild to over ten years. During their life turf snakes can shed their skin sometimes as they grow, with as much as 3 to 10 ‘moults’ a year, called sloughing. Whilst sloughing, the skin ends up being dark and the eye mists over.
Common European Adder uncoiling after basking on tree stump. Picture by Elliott Neep. (Image: © Elliott Neep)
ADDER
Vipera berus
The adder is the UK’s only poisonous snake and is likewise referred to as the viper. It is most frequently discovered on peatlands, lowland heathland (wild, moorland landscapes where heathers, gorse and yards grow) and even along the coast in dune and among seaside forest.
Adders are much smaller sized than the turf snake, just determining up to around 60cm (2 feet) in length. They have a dull mottled colour making them tough to identify among plants, branches and stones, however their constant, dark zig-zag stripe down the back is a telltale marking. They eat comparable victim to the turf snake, however as they are poisonous they toxin their victim utilizing fangs that hinge downwards from the roofing system of their mouth.
Unlike the turf snake, adders bring to life live young. Mating happens in early spring and this can be a great time to identify them, as they are more active and can be seen together. Females generally bring to life in between 6 and 20 young around August.
Adders likewise require to slough their skin like turf snakes, and can do this throughout the spring and summertime prior to hibernating from late fall into the winter season. Adults can measure up to twenty years however are preyed upon by a large range of other animals. But their greatest risk is loss and fragmentation of ideal environment, with lots of locations of lowland heathland lost over the last 100 years.
