snake

[mossy835]

walking the dog this afternoon on one o my farms,i saw a snake.it had its head gone but the rest was there it was one inch round,about 3 ft long i take it was a grass snake.never had the looks of a adder.

[rimfire4969]

Saw a beautiful Adder yesterday. Love to see them. 

[oowee]

We have a very large area for adders and grass snakes. It's an area of old mine (lead) extraction now grassed over. There are literally hundreds of adders if you look carefully. Not a good place to walk the dog with this warm weather.

Occasionally I see them and grass snakes in the garden here but I think the local shoot means that the population is kept in check.

[MrPhantom]

1 hour ago, oowee said:

Occasionally I see them and grass snakes in the garden here but I think the local shoot means that the population is kept in check.

Both are protected!

[oowee]

6 hours ago, MrPhantom said:

Both are protected!

Not from pheasant.

[marsh man]

13 hours ago, mossy835 said:

walking the dog this afternoon on one o my farms,i saw a snake.it had its head gone but the rest was there it was one inch round,about 3 ft long i take it was a grass snake.never had the looks of a adder.

Strangely enough I saw a Grass Snake in exactly the same condition the other day , the one I saw was about two feet long and was in a striking position minus it's head.

What would have just removed it's head ?, Stoat , Weasel ?

[MrPhantom]

1 hour ago, oowee said:

Not from pheasant.

I genuinely did not know that! Interesting.

[oowee]

I do the adder surveys here and a big issue is pheasant predation. 

The scaly legs protect the birds and prior to dispersal the snakes are concentrated and coming out of hubernation very vulnerable. Also the young snakes are out when there are high concentrations of pheasant. 

[Sundodger]

Al

4 hours ago, oowee said:

I do the adder surveys here and a big issue is pheasant predation. 

The scaly legs protect the birds and prior to dispersal the snakes are concentrated and coming out of hubernation very vulnerable. Also the young snakes are out when there are high concentrations of pheasant. 

pheasants should be shot all year round, they are a blooody nuisance to the native wild life. They will eat just about anything from newts frogs 🐸 lizards and young snakes.

[GingerCat]

43 minutes ago, Sundodger said:

Al

pheasants should be shot all year round, they are a blooody nuisance to the native wild life. They will eat just about anything from newts frogs 🐸 lizards and young snakes.

Chickens aren't much different, I'm sure mine would eat me if they were big enough.  As a general rule I've found if they can get hold of it and its organic, they will eat it. Frogs, sparrows, small lizards, mice,  anything. 

[kenholland]

I remember a fare few years ago , over bewdley way the working party were having there break from release pen work , on a sandy clump of grass when we realised we were sitting amongst baby adders that were sunning them selves , that was a short break to say the least , lots of adders round there , one dog got bit on the nose , took him to local vet he recovered o k .

[lancer425]

3 hours ago, GingerCat said:

Chickens aren't much different, I'm sure mine would eat me if they were big enough.  As a general rule I've found if they can get hold of it and its organic, they will eat it. Frogs, sparrows, small lizards, mice,  anything. 

Too Right .

 

[kitchrat]

10 hours ago, marsh man said:

Strangely enough I saw a Grass Snake in exactly the same condition the other day , the one I saw was about two feet long and was in a striking position minus it's head.

What would have just removed it's head ?, Stoat , Weasel ?

Maybe a 9-iron....

Out here in Canada I've seen wild turkeys kill and eat garter snakes, about 3ft long.

In Alberta, they have rattlers, you have to be a bit careful in long brush when hunting Sharp Tailed Grouse!

My "better half" got the classic warning from a 5-footer, it worked well, one squeak and a 6-foot backwards leap from a standing start and all was well (New Olympic sport?)

[JDog]

Anyone who kills a snake in the UK is an imbecile.

I have seen keepers and beaters kill adders on grouse moors and I have remonstrated with them very strongly. Sadly they feel that the only good adder is a dead one. I came across a gardener two years ago digging up the remains of a compost heap and trying to kill the grass snakes which lived underneath the compost. He railed from my verbal onslaught.

[ditchman]

not really fussed with snakes...........its nice to know our specis is still there....................what does worry me is what i saw 5 years ago on a hot summers day in my garden.........a long lime green thin snake about 5 or 6 ft long slither across the garden...so i rushed round to the hedge the other side to see it shoot across the road and away....

now that wernt an adder !........

[12gauge82]

10 minutes ago, ditchman said:

not really fussed with snakes...........its nice to know our specis is still there....................what does worry me is what i saw 5 years ago on a hot summers day in my garden.........a long lime green thin snake about 5 or 6 ft long slither across the garden...so i rushed round to the hedge the other side to see it shoot across the road and away....

now that wernt an adder !........

🤔 Grass snakes grow to about 3ft maybe 4 at a push, but 5 or 6, anaconda? 

[billytheghillie]

21 minutes ago, ditchman said:

not really fussed with snakes...........its nice to know our specis is still there....................what does worry me is what i saw 5 years ago on a hot summers day in my garden.........a long lime green thin snake about 5 or 6 ft long slither across the garden...so i rushed round to the hedge the other side to see it shoot across the road and away....

now that wernt an adder !........

green mamba, one bite and you have 20 minutes.

[ditchman]

7 minutes ago, billytheghillie said:

green mamba, one bite and you have 20 minutes.

i can do a lot in 20 mins............

[billytheghillie]

aye so fat sarah told me.

[gustaff]

blooming adders make a mess of a spaniels nose and heads when bitten i hate the things and are cropping up all over in spots never seen before. had some savage vet bills because of the blooming things

[marsh man]

1 hour ago, ditchman said:

not really fussed with snakes...........its nice to know our specis is still there....................what does worry me is what i saw 5 years ago on a hot summers day in my garden.........a long lime green thin snake about 5 or 6 ft long slither across the garden...so i rushed round to the hedge the other side to see it shoot across the road and away....

now that wernt an adder !........

Was that after you drunk a bottle of the finest nectar from the hardware shop in Brundall ?

[ditchman]

try to have a serious conversation...............i give up ..

[ph5172]

4 minutes ago, ditchman said:

try to have a serious conversation...............i give up ..

In my youth we used to go searching for adders in Winterton - them and unexploded mines, but that’s a different story. 

[GingerCat]

2 hours ago, JDog said:

Anyone who kills a snake in the UK is an imbecile.

I have seen keepers and beaters kill adders on grouse moors and I have remonstrated with them very strongly. Sadly they feel that the only good adder is a dead one. I came across a gardener two years ago digging up the remains of a compost heap and trying to kill the grass snakes which lived underneath the compost. He railed from my verbal onslaught.

Good for you. I could do with some grass snakes round here. And some hedgehogs. Why anyone would kill one is beyond me. 

[strimmer_13]

I've activly searched for the things from Pembrokeshire to arne (where I am today and had sand lizards around my table all day) and never seen an alive one.