Adder
The Adder is Britain's only venomous reptile and although their venom poses little danger to a healthy adult human, the bite is very painful and requires urgent medical attention. A domestic pet bitten by an Adder will need immediate veterinary treatment.
The males are 50-65 cm in length with the females being larger than the males. Males are usually a grey or buff colour with vivid black markings, although they can also vary from silver to yellow or green in colour. Females are brown with dark red/brown markings that are less prominent than in the males. Both sexes have a noticeable zigzag pattern running along the back.
They live in open woodland, hedgerows, moorland, sand dunes, riverbanks, bogs, heathland and mountains and prefer undisturbed countryside.
Active during the day, they spend time basking until their body temperature is high enough to hunt for food which is mainly lizards, amphibians, nestlings and small mammals. They use their venom to immobilise their prey.
Mating takes place between April and May and they hibernate from September to March, spending the winter in deserted rabbit or rodent burrows or under logs. Males emerge before the females to shed their skin before setting off in search of the females. They give birth to between 6 and 10 live young which only stay close to their mother for a few days.
Adder in your Garden?
As they are protected under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981, leave them alone and keep pets and children away from it. They are not aggressive snakes and will only attack if harassed or threatened. If you find one out in the open, it is probably basking and will soon move back into the hedgerow.
If you find one that is injured or entangled in netting, call your local wildlife centre or the RSPCA for help.
Grass Snake
Grass snakes are 70-120cm long with females being larger than the males. Typically grey/green in colour, often with black spots, but colour can vary. They have a characteristic yellow/cream/orange collar behind the head. Black lines run down from their eyes to their top lips and their underside is usually white or pale yellow with a checkering of blue-black and white markings. Their forked tongue is blue-black.
They prefer damp habitats including river banks, ponds and ditches but also inhabit hedgerows, woodlands, farmland and meadows. Their diet is usually tadpoles, frogs and toads as well as fish, newts and occasionally mice and small birds. They are good swimmers and can stay underwater for up to an hour.
These snakes are active during the day and like to bask in the sun to warm up. They hibernate from October to March, usually in old rabbit burrows, wall crevices, piles of manure or tree roots. They mate during April and May and the femal lays anything between 8 and 40 eggs in July to August, usually somewhere warm such as a compost heap or under rotting logs. The young hatch late August to September.
Grass Snake in your Garden?
Grass snakes are protected under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981, so leave them alone. They are non-venomous and harmless to humans, although they produce a venonous secretion which is toxic to small animals. When threatened they hiss loudly and if contact is made, they emit a fould smelling liquid from their anal glands. If that doesn't frighten off the predator, they play dead by turning over and becoming completely limp!
Keep children and pets away from the snake and it will eventually make its way back to its home. If anyone is bitten by a grass snake it is advisable to seek medical attention. Should your pet be bitten, contact your vet immediately.
If you find an injured grass snake or one caught in netting, contact your local wildlife centre or the RSPCA for help.
Smooth Snake
Smooth snakes vary in colour from grey/brown to reddish brown. They have a pattern of dark spots running along the back and typically have a dark stripe that runs from the neck through their eye to the nostril and they have flat smooth scales. They can live up to 12 years and are 50-6-cm in length.
They live in dry sunny areas including scree slopes, embankments, heathland, hedgerows and open woodland.
These snakes are constrictors which mean they wrap their coils tightly around their prey and then swallow them live and whole. Hunting by day, they feed mostly on lizards and other snakes, although they will also eat rodents, earthworms, spiders and insects. They are not very active and will spend most of their day under rocks and stones. They hibernate from October to March/April and start breeding in April/May and they give live birth to between 4 and 15 young.
Smooth Snake in your Garden?
They are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and are also very rare in England, so leave them alone. They are non-venomous and harmless to humans. Keep children and pets away from the snake and it will eventually move off.
If you find an injured smooth snake or one caught up in netting, contact your local wildlife centre or the RSPCA for help.
Slow Worm
Slow worms do look a bit like snakes and are often mistaken for them, but they are actually legless lizards.
They have smooth, shiny snake-like bodies with an indistinct head and can be distinguished from snakes by the fact that they have eyelids.
30-50 cm in length, males vary in colour from grey to light brown or bronze with a pale belly. Females are usually browner and have darker brown flanks, a dark belly and a black stripe running along the back. They may sometimes have blue spots on the body.
They like humid habitats including grassy meadows, gardens, farmland, and woodland. They are often found in rural gardens when they all too often fall prey to cats. If caught by a predator, they have the ability to lose their tails, which never fully grows back. They hibernate from October to February/March usually under piles of leaves, in tree roots or compost heaps. An average of 6-12 young are live born in the summer months after a gestation period of about 3-5 months.
Slow worms hunt at dusk and their diet consists of slugs, snails, spiders, insects and earthworms.
Slow Worms in your Garden?
Slow worms are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and are completely harmless to humans, so leave them alone.
If you find an injured slow worm, place it in a well ventilated box and take it to your nearest vet or wildlife centre. | 
