# Slow worm



## Duffy316 (May 22, 2011)

Morning all, not sure if anyone is interested but when I popped into the garden for my morning smoke, I spotted a visitor


----------



## PinklySmooth (Mar 25, 2013)

Awwh I love these little guys xD


----------



## Duffy316 (May 22, 2011)

Yeah, I've grown rather fond of them. I'd never seen one before we moved to our current house last year.
You'll have to excuse the poor quality pics, I was on my phone and didn't want to stress the little guy too much.


----------



## RawrIsDinosaurForILoveYou (Apr 11, 2009)

I wish I could see one of these in the flesh


----------



## Duffy316 (May 22, 2011)

Without bragging, it is quite cool to see them going about their business. The only thing that worries me is there's cats either side of us, does anyone know anything I can do to help these little guys? We're not the most green-fingered of people so the garden is chaos, from what I've read perfect habitat for them- plenty of soil/grass, unlimited amounts of slugs/snails. I just wondered if there's anything I could do to help protect them!


----------



## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

leave a bit of the garden to be messy, they love that, it gives them lots of cover and also food as insects and slugs will go there too.

you could put some extra shelter in that area too, things for them to hide under, bricks, pieces of wood, etc.

looks like a female in the photo, although hard to judge the size, so could be a youngster. the females have darker sides and the black line behind the head, males are more uniform in colour.

i was showing slow worms to people on sunday - they loved them. so good when people appreciate our native reptiles.


----------



## Duffy316 (May 22, 2011)

Well, that case, the garden must be quite the local haven- the only regular user of the garden is the dog, and he only stares at birds while he's out there!
I have to be honest, I had to google it when I first found one (ok, I admit it, I did think 'baby snake'!), I think a lot of people tend to forget about our native wildlife, especially in the face of more exotic species.


----------



## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

you could try getting a square carpet tile and placing it down near some vegetation and then you can look under there now and again to see if any are hiding.

at the end of summer look for the baby slow worms - they are as thick as spaghetti! shiny gold/bronze with glossy black sides and back stripe. so tiny it's hard to believe.

take care of the little beauties, they are a great form of pest control and wonderful creatures.


----------



## Duffy316 (May 22, 2011)

I'll definitely be giving that a go! Thanks very much, I'll be sure to update this if I can spot any babies!


----------



## Agate (Oct 9, 2010)

Duffy whereabouts in N Wales are you? I'm in the Bay area and would love to see one of these! Saw my first adder over at South Stack the other week. Grass snakes and slow worms are next on my list.


----------



## Duffy316 (May 22, 2011)

Hi, I'm in Holyhead, Thomas Street to be precise. The ones I've seen have all been in my garden, I'm lucky I've not had to go far!
I know a lot of people have seen adders by South Stack, I've never seen one though. I've probably walked straight past them countless times though, I'm not the most observant of people!


----------

