# Wild English Snakes



## Furrag (Oct 11, 2007)

Has anyone ever been out looking in the English wild for adders, smooths, or grass snakes? Do any of you put some time aside to go and look for them in their natural habitat on a regular basis in the summer months? If so, have you ever had any luck?


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## Nerys (Apr 18, 2005)

i've never gone looking, but do see them fairly often down here, i have found slowworms in my garden a few times, i rescued a grass snake from pond netting in a neighbours garden this summer, and next door had an adder in theirs the year before i moved down. in fact down in dorset all 6 of the uk native herps can be found within about 250yrds of my house.

Jay_mc over on livefoods puts up loads of pics of the native herps he finds down in essex..

N


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## gaz (Oct 5, 2005)

Wales here,but yes i do


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## tokay (Mar 13, 2007)

I was in Stoughborough heath and hartland moor (Dorset) last year , taking photos of our native reps saw a couple Grass snakes , Adders and the sandies and common lizards didnt see any slow worms though 
heres a nice Female Adder i found up there


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## tokay (Mar 13, 2007)

Gaz 
have you found any Aesculapiean Rat Snakes up in wales yet? id love to find some of these


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## captaincaveman (Nov 6, 2006)

we got plenty of grass and adders here, i spent 80% of my childhood over the fields hunting, fishing or walking dogs etc and they were common place, ive not seen many as an adult, maybe thats cause of less time spent over there, maybe down to not having the luck/spotting skills or a kid or maybe down to the fact im well over 6ft from the ground now:lol2:

I would like to start looking again:no1:


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## gaz (Oct 5, 2005)

tokay said:


> Gaz
> have you found any Aesculapiean Rat Snakes up in wales yet? id love to find some of these


 
i believe they are much further north,have seen them in Europe though and wouldnt mind snagging a couple of Welsh ones and releasing them down here
gaz


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## Fangio (Jun 2, 2007)

I've been to dorset and found a smooth snake. Only adders/grass snakes I've seen have been dead It's funny how the only wild snake I've ever seen is the rarest one with so many adders and grass snakes about lol.

Found slow worms and seen a few other lizards about while searching.


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## Daredevil (Jul 10, 2007)

Found a slow worm on me Uncle's allotment, but i've never seen a snake!!:no1:


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## robd999 (Oct 31, 2007)

tokay said:


> Gaz
> have you found any Aesculapiean Rat Snakes up in wales yet? id love to find some of these


Their location is quite well known - I saw 3 individuals last time I was in UK - though didn't even attempt capture - I had taken 27 hatchlings of my own to sell, so I wasn't exactly looking for more. 

Have just 2 adult pairs now - they are not found in Spain apart from the cooler northern parts and I have difficulty keeping them at a suitable temperature in the summer. They are very beautiful snakes and never look as nice in pics as they do in life.


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## robd999 (Oct 31, 2007)

Furrag said:


> Has anyone ever been out looking in the English wild for adders, smooths, or grass snakes? Do any of you put some time aside to go and look for them in their natural habitat on a regular basis in the summer months? If so, have you ever had any luck?


Searching for snakes has been my favourite pastime since I was a kid in Shropshire - I'll never forget catching my first adder.

Now I'm very lucky and have about 13 species near at hand. I often go on snake hunting expeditions and have amassed hundreds of hours of video and thousands of photos. The Summer months here are the worst time to find snakes. Spring and Autumn are much more suitable - most species hide away when the temperatures exceed about 35 or so. 


I'm currently editing and producing a DVD on the Snakes of Andalucia - a good excuse to disappear inland for a weekend now and again.

:smile:


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## tokay (Mar 13, 2007)

gaz said:


> i believe they are much further north,have seen them in Europe though and wouldnt mind snagging a couple of Welsh ones and releasing them down here
> gaz


ahh , may have to pop up to the north one day and see if i can find any


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