British lizard

only seen 1 lizard so far this year, the place I usually see them has been set alight a few times by idiots this summer, burning large areas of the grass and shrubs. Lots of burnt snail shells, I expect a lot of the lizards and slowies have been killed too. Plenty of grasshoppers in the unburnt parts, and a bumper butterfly year. I'll keep on looking for the lizards though

WOW its gud 2 c tht many uk members in 1 thread!! wot the chances of me seeing eny slow worms or lizards here in the north east of england (u know, nxt 2 newcastle n sunderland)When i was out on a school trip(at kielder) me nd me m8s found a lizard in the middle of the road(we rescued it) but it was quite little so i thought it was a newt at first, not much of a find really

would an abandoned railway be a good place to find them, or an old farmers field maybe?

I have a young Glass Lizard. I wonder how he compares to Slow Worms. He is underground almost all the time. We see him out hunting a couple times a month. But crickets disappear rapidly! I am reluctant to handle him, because they are very fragile, and I don't want his tail to break. He is very flighty. I had to dig him up a couple days ago to check on him, because there seemed to be an awful smell coming from his tank, but actually it was rotting potatoes in the cupboard underneath him.

I have lots of slugs in my yard. My Eastern Box Turtle loves them- he'll eat 20-30 in one sitting! I put a pile of slugs in a big Tupperware lid, and then put the turtle in with them. You can _hear_ him chomping them down.

Glass Lizards, here in Florida, are pretty common road kill in treed areas with long grass. I've never seen one out and about- we got ours by accidentally digging him up with a bulldozer, in the winter. I'd never seen one before, so we kept him for a while. Every time I think about releasing him, I either see a bunch of them road-killed, or he comes out much more frequently and seems more pet-like.

You Brits aren't too inventive with herp names, are you? Slow Worm, Common Lizard, Smooth Snake...

Nanci

u might say that about us brits, but who invented the 'chippy'?

Haha, don't you mean fry, as the humble chip seems to be called more and more. Soon we'll only be able to get long, thin, tasteless fries.

Oh and another thing. We don't have to be too inventive as there aren't that many to name. There's only 5-6 lizards/snakes I think. You can't exactly run out of names with that few can you?

I thought he meant the other kind of Chippy! Hey, if he wants to take credit-

I never realized UK had so few herps. I wonder why.

I think I am going to rename my species in British fashion.

Orange Snake. Spotted Snake. Speckled Turtle. Grey Tortoises. Checked Birds. Smooth Lizard.

connord94 said:

would an abandoned railway be a good place to find them, or an old farmers field maybe?

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Both places would be great area's to look, esp. the railway. The rails are used by snakes, lizards to bask on and the old rail ties are good nesting sites, especially if they starting to rot out.

but because of the location where i live, i dont think i will ever see 1 down here, and i go over ther often and have NEVER seen anything reptile-like, where would be the best place to look, under rocks maybe? also would it be safe to handle one if im careful?

I look under everything- pieces of cardboard or wood, rotten logs, stones, sidewalk chunks. Along the edges of places that would be warm in the morning- asphalt roads, tops of fences, etc. My all-time best place was a huge pile of asphalt shingles off a roof that had been dumped in a meadow. I could _always_ find lizards and snakes there. That site was available to me for my entire herp-addicted childhood.

Nanci

I've seen plenty of slow worms where I live in wales, and its really heart breaking because of the job I do and the fact that I keep a cornsnake.

I mow lawns for the local council and on sunny days theyre basking in the long grass. Before I spot them its usually too late and they can get injured badly from a strimmer or a lawnmower. I've lost count of the numbers and it's not only slow worms but frogs occasionally. The best you can do is finish them off. Every time it happens I think of my snake.

Ive rescued a few though and im always happy about that, even if alot of them decide to crap on me or try and lose their tails when I pick 'em up. I have to move them for my work mates too.

There is a canal near where I live and since I cycle to work early in the mornings I often see the odd grass snake going for a swim, always makes my day

wish _I_ lived in a desent part of the UK, where _I_ could spot reptiles *sigh* maybe i will someday . . .

Nanci said:

I never realized UK had so few herps. I wonder why.

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My best guess would be the crappy weather. Maybe that our ancestors have inhabited the island for ages and wiped a few out too. :shrugs:

~slither~ said:

My best guess would be the crappy weather. Maybe that our ancestors have inhabited the island for ages and wiped a few out too. :shrugs:

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you're right about the weaher being crappy,
but after loadsa years surely herps would adapt to the 'crappy weather'

When it comes to adapting, it's as it happens or never. Put yourself in a freezer, u aint gona adapt that quick so you die.

connord94 said:

where would be the best place to look

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Being an avid wild herper myself I might hand out some pointers. Go look for herps on cold but sunny days. Let's say 12 to 17 degrees celcius. Look for places where sun comes and wind doesn't.



(this picture courtesy by Arjan Coenen)

connord94 said:

under rocks maybe?

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When you look for them do not look under rocks. Too many rock and too few snakes

connord94 said:

also would it be safe to handle one if im careful?

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Under no circumstance handle any of the reptiles you find.. LOL I can't help myself but I have to get that perfect picture. But seriously, I do not reconmend handling vipers. It could get very nasty when you take a hit. (somewhere on the line of spending time in th IC).

Btw, last picture (of me) is made by Jelle Jansen.

Excellent pictures, Marcel. That darker phase adder is amazing. I've never been lucky enough to see one, but I'll keep looking. (But if I am lucky, I won't touch!)

diamondlil said:

Excellent pictures, Marcel. That darker phase adder is amazing. I've never been lucky enough to see one, but I'll keep looking. (But if I am lucky, I won't touch!)

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I've found a few adders over the years where I live, there is an old quarry just at the bottom of the road surrounded by heath and managed woodland, they used to be here in adundance and though i'm only young (geologically speaking ) in this time i've seen them shrink in number, making it hard to find them but they're there. There was one found just this summer near me, unfortunately though it was found by the kind of people that if they were dogs, you'd have them put down, and they killed the poor thing with a spade. There were some lizards around here some time ago, only one i see now are slow worms. Plenty of wild boar as well, scared the b-jesus out of me just a couple of months ago, not something you expect to look to the right and find standing next to you, hehe.