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British lizard

Swirlything

Swirlything

Wannabe
Well, since i'm new, (and I've been drooling over all *your* photos) thought I might as well contribute something. :)

Here's an old photo of what I believe is a Common Lizard (apologies for the blurry picture, and if i got the species wrong) which I found several years ago sitting on the pavement in my street. Thought it was a piece of twig until i looked more closely! Don't know what he /she was doing there- it's unusual to see reptiles where i live, but he'd lost his tail and was not looking too happy so I picked him up and took him home before he got stepped on/run over.

lizard.jpg


at the time we had a large overgrown garden so I released the lizard there fter keeping an eye on it for a while. Unfortunately though I found it dead a few weeks later, so possibly he had injuries apart from the tail or was picked off by a cat or bird. :(

Later though I had more luck with an equally cute lizard which a friend's cat had attacked. It had lost its tail and had a cut under one eye. I kept it until it had healed and the tail had grown back, then released it in some local countryside with plenty of insects around.

Unfortunately the crickets I fed it escaped and decided to move into the airing cupboard..... :eek1:

Chirp, chirp.
 
Lovely! I haven't any pics but usually see a few common lizards and slow worms every year. There is some chalk downland nearby that suports a small population of both. I get totally overexcited about them still :)
 
Swirlything said:
Unfortunately the crickets I fed it escaped and decided to move into the airing cupboard..... :eek1:

Chirp, chirp.
Click to expand...

Ha ha ha ha ha ..... love it! :grin01:
 
diamondlil said:
Lovely! I haven't any pics but usually see a few common lizards and slow worms every year. There is some chalk downland nearby that suports a small population of both. I get totally overexcited about them still :)
Click to expand...

I've been lucky enough to see a few slow worms. One was a really beautiful coppery pink colour, never seen anything like that before! Didn't have a camera on me though. Typical.
And the bit of land it was living in- like everything else in Wales- is now covered in nasty Barratt houses *sigh* :(
 
There's an old stone wall that is brilliant for catching lizards. (I'm old enough to remember before they were protected, you could buy them in the local petshop)
We used to catch them with a noose made out of a hollow grass stem, with a thinner piece of grass threaded through. wait by a hole and slip it over a lizard's head, hey presto lizard caught and doesn't drop its' tail. When my boys were small I showed them this trick, and got the biggest slowie I ever saw by mistake as she came out of a hole. She was a gravid female with bold stripes, really fat and full of babies.
Now they're older the boys think my animal catching skills and interests are a bit embarrassing but at that time they thought I was some combination of David Attenborough and Ray Mears
 
What a great find!

I've never seen a reptile in the wild here in the UK, although whenever I walk my dog I'm always on the lookout near marshes and streams for grass snakes, as I was told this was the type of habitat they like. I think I'm too far north here in Aberdeen, but I've met a few people who claim to have seen adders in the Highlands while hill walking.

By the way, is it true that there are no snakes in Ireland, or is it just a silly legend?
 
Swirlything said:
I've been lucky enough to see a few slow worms. One was a really beautiful coppery pink colour, never seen anything like that before! Didn't have a camera on me though. Typical.
And the bit of land it was living in- like everything else in Wales- is now covered in nasty Barratt houses *sigh* :(
Click to expand...

Slow worms nest in my garden. We've had them for years. I must have seen hundreds of them, and I just love them.

I've seen five of the British reptiles. The only one remaining is the smooth snake. :shrugs:
 
I watched a program on british snakes the other day, and it said that the smooth snake is super rare. They couldn't find one even for the show.
Good luck with finding one Plissken, I think you'll need it!
 
diamondlil said:
Now they're older the boys think my animal catching skills and interests are a bit embarrassing but at that time they thought I was some combination of David Attenborough and Ray Mears
Click to expand...

Hehe, I know that feeling... being really into wildlife of all sorts (especially reptiles, spiders and insects) i often can't stop myself pointing out things to friends- 'oh! look at that *insert creature here*, hey, what's it doing? Nice markings!', which was sort of cool when I was ten, but now usually gets me a chorus of 'eww! disgusting!' -s.

I've only ever seen the two lizards and the slow worms in the wild. I -did- see a baby slow worm in the garden once, but it had died before I noticed it- the poor thing got onto some hot concrete and baked :cry:
Haven't been lucky enough to spot any snakes, but I can't resist looking.

And, hmm.... Wintermute, I think it's true there aren't any snakes in Ireland :)
 
^^^ I agree with lil! Lovely things ... and great slug catchers to boot!

I've still never spotted a snake or lizard in the wild in the UK. Was up Blackford Hill in Edinburgh the other day and it was nice and warm so I was hopeful but still no joy. Plenty birds tho, including a few hawks of some description (too far above us so couldn't tell what type) who gave us a nice hovering display from the top of the crags.

Loads of wild raspberries too! Yum. :)

Bloke at work was down Dumfries way though and did see a few Adders out sunning themselves as the weather was so warm.
 
torquay

i live in torquay devon in are graden we have a nets like box fool of slow worms nice lizzered by the way
ell :crazy02:
 
i never saw herps in the uk in spain i find morish gekckos alot and i have seen some big skings in the road aswell. only one snake so far though was a false smooth snake i belive it looked like rear fanged.
 
~slither~ said:
I watched a program on british snakes the other day, and it said that the smooth snake is super rare. They couldn't find one even for the show.
Good luck with finding one Plissken, I think you'll need it!
Click to expand...

Smooth snakes aren't neccessarily rare, but they aren't found in all areas of Britain. They don't come this far south-east, that's why I won't see one here. They are found mainly in the Dorest area, I think, and places like the New Forest. I've seen them on programmes before. I'm not saying they aren't unusual, but I don't think its an impossible task to find one.

Blutengel said:
Can someone post me a pic of a slow worm? I have no idea what it looks like what so ever... tnx!
Click to expand...

You might like to look at a thread I made a while back:

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35508&page=1

Pictures of slow-worms. Some are in my hand too, so you can see relatively how large they are.



Ugly? Slow worms are absolutely beautiful. I guess I'm biased, because I've been seeing them and handling them since I was little, and they have a special place in my heart as far goes British wildlife, but still. Definetly not ugly!

aiden_punx said:
i never saw herps in the uk in spain i find morish gekckos alot and i have seen some big skings in the road aswell. only one snake so far though was a false smooth snake i belive it looked like rear fanged.
Click to expand...

How did it "look" rear-fanged? Did you look in its mouth? :shrugs:
 
hehe, Ive found a lot of common lizards, they are everywhere near me. Theres also a lot of slow worms here too. As far as snakes are concerned, Ive seen a very, very small grass snake, must have been a hatchling STUCK in an old wooden chair, its head was stuck in with his tail hanging out, managed to get him free, no biting or trying to escape. Probably just happy to be free from the chair, just released him then, dont know what happened to him.

Im trying to find an adder, I would really love to see one. So far though, no luck :cry:
 
Theres a forest near me where i always go searching for adders as so many people have said that they've seen them basking on the paths but whenever i go theres none ! It's really annoying as nearly every person ive spoken 2 has said they've seen them! :-offtopic My cornsnake doesnt have a name so any suggestions would be appreciated! thnx!
 
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