Mo Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 My friend has just come back from 2 weeks hol and the grass had grown quite a bit. She was strimming the edge and the strimmer broke----- it had hit a big snake. Needless to say it ended up dead but we want to know what sort it was. It was black and yellow and might there be more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
si@guisborough Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Might have been a Slow worm, a legless lizard. The younger ones are gold with dark brown sides, and like lots of vegetation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phanerothyme Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 did it have any kinf of distinct pattern on its back? you say large - how large 6 inches, 2 feet? Where do you live - heavily urbanised or somewhere greener. Si is prolly correct - slowworm most likely, else grass snake. Shame if it was an adder though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Posted July 9, 2003 Author Share Posted July 9, 2003 About 18in long. We live on the edge of an estate, surrounded by open countryside. Is it likely to be poisonous and would it attack a rabbit as ours runs free in the garden all day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phanerothyme Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 it is unlikely to be poisonous, i.e an adder. snakes can only eat things whole, since they cant chew, so have a look and see whether you think it could or not. at 18" I seriously doubt it could eat anything larger than a small frog. Did it have a pronounced pattern on its back of any kind? If it didn't then it definitely isn't poisonous, if it did, it might be an adder. Adders are poisonous, but they are not dangerous. Treat them with respect, since they are becoming ever more rare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodge Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 I noticed you're from NE Derbyshire - there is an area between Sheffield and Chesterfield in the Peaks, where Adders are "common" (well, more common than other areas near here). Adders are about 60cm, and are generally have a black/yellow pattern along thier full length (back). They tend to eat small animals - rodents etc. Grass snakes are longer - about 140cm, and are generally dark brown, with markings around the neck, and sides. There's loads of photos of each on't'interweb type thing - have a look at http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/Adder - has quite a bit of info on Adders. HTH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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