Snakes, Coroline, onduline and I

I have come to the conclusion (not solely) that Onduline is the best material for surveying snake sites. Having said that it is bloomin' expensive compared to say tin.

I have found Coroline for a couple of quid less per sheet, but have never used it or read of it being used, although i'm sure a more dedicated herpetophile than I has. The manufacture's notes inform me that the fundamental difference is the thickness (2.6mm compared to 3mm Onduline). Presumably this would affect its heat retention properties but to what degree? Has anyone used it? Does anyone know where to get the cheapest Onduline/Coroline or is the information privileged (like the generosity of my local bottle bank)? Has anyone noted the minimum size sheet for attracting snakes or a wallet friendly compromise (assuming the bigger the sheet the better) 

Cheers

P.S. is anyone else itching to get out to the heath and mire. Happy new year on the 1st of January! I don't think so, i'll be saving me bunting and party poppers for March thank you very much!

Thanks for that Gemma. Have you tried Coroline and if so how do you rate it?

Cheers

I have been using recycled plastic sheets made from the
left over or damaged sections of reptile exclusion fencing

I have never really rated Onduline in my experience - I
tend to prefer a mixture of materials - hardboard, tin,
felt and now recycled plastic sheets.

Jon

I wish more consultants would use Coroline and Onduline. I'm fed up of getting reports where they've put down 50cm x 50cm sheets of roofing felt and after a couple of months pronounce that there are no adders, grass snakes or common lizards on the site.

Saying that, I've got a bunch or Onduline sheets on an adder site and they studiously avoid them; not one adder in 5 years even though they're quite happy to sit a few feet away.

I have to say I don't generally encounter snakes under
roofers? felt, other than perhaps occasional
juveniles/immatures (although I?m probably doing
something wrong?).

I do like tin and I can get hold of the old stuff from me
local tinker much cheaper than Onduline. The problem is I
like checking refugia for slow-worm (and perhaps C.
Lizard) on slightly cooler, overcast days (when I can
survey all day and still get excellent results). In these
conditions tin seems to become too cold and doesn't cut
the mustard for me. Clearly I would not expect to find
many snakes in such conditions but I do like to make the
most of our all too brief herping calendar, so I require
a good all round material suitable for surveying all the
'common or widespread' species under a range of differing
weather conditions.

I like the idea of using fence off cuts, although I have
never used them myself, or board for that matter. I
frequently find reptiles under such dumped materials
though. I did once use the laminated wooden doors and
panels from my rebuffed kitchen units. The result was
slow-worm initially but then a high humidity built up
(due to the cool and non-porous laminate no doubt), the
grass turned to slush and the toads and GCNs moved in and
the slow-worms out. Either that or the ants decided to
build their labyrinthine cities beneath.

One of the best materials I used were off cuts from an
old half inch thick, fibre reinforced industrial rubber
belt drive that I found in a defunct aggregates quarry.
Fantastic stuff for reptiles and amphibians (it had
amazing heat retention and distribution qualities in that
the underside was never overly hot). The rubber residue
didn't half used to cake my hands and clothes though. I
must have smelt like the Michelin man?s underpants.

Having said all that I am much in favour of a mixture of
cheap and recycled materials. It is often better not to
over engineer a possible solution and focus, intuition,
confidence and high expectations in your own methods are
key to finding such cryptic animals, i think.

Cheers for your comments