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baby slow-worms

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chubsta View Drop Down
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    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 at 3:00pm
Just had a look under the cover and there were at least ten baby slow-worms, Im not experienced in how quickly they grow but they were only a couple of inches long so would they be this years? There were also a large number of adults, probably six or seven but they shot off pretty quick.

The population seems to be doing very well in the garden so am very pleased.
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Suzy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2019 at 12:29pm
Inspired by Chubsta's post I've just been out to look under my covers, something I've not done for a while. In fact several are getting a bit overgrown. 
The first had about eight very small slow worms (not this year's), but I got such a surprise with the second cover that had a young grass snake! I took one photo but I guessed it might have been a bit fuzzy so I went to take another and camera came up MEMORY FULL! Arrgghhh! My own fault.
So here it is in all it's out of focusness!

Suz
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2019 at 12:55pm
Emptied camera and returned to the covers, where obligingly the grass snake was still there. I got a slightly better image...


I then lifted the next cover..


Couldn't believe another small grassie amongst all the slowies. 



I've not had any grassies for years so am really pleased to have two at once.
Suz
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Suzy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2019 at 2:11pm
I'm sorry to have hijacked this post with grassies. There are slowies in my pix as well - my excuse!
I went back out and looked in my compost heaps and amongst the various slow worms I did think there was a new slow worm, but is that early?
I think Chubsta that if they like a place and there are covers/compost heaps they will increase in number very quickly. 
Suz
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will View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote will Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jun 2019 at 11:07am
Lovely grassies Suzy, congrats!  now make a huge breeding heap for them in your garden! 
With regards to baby slowworms, there will be some tiny ones still from last September but I'm sure, like our other viviparous species, some females will be out of synch and give birth at more or less any time.
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Suzy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jun 2019 at 11:37am
Thanks Will. I have three large compost heaps. Two are in containers, one an old coal bunker with no top but gaps in the concrete for access, another made out of four sides of corrugated iron and finally one large one, just literally a heap where we chuck weeds and stuff. The two contained ones have black plastic covers and are well loved by slowies for breeding and basking and have in the past had adult grassies visiting. All these heaps have greenery in them which is heating up and I water them occasionally if any signs of drying out, but we add to them all the time.
Your comments on the baby slowies will help a lot of us with the puzzle of early young in the year.
Suz
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Liz Heard View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Liz Heard Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Jul 2019 at 9:18pm
Fantastic Suzy. Great to see you've diversified your farm stock to now include Grass Snake!
So that's Palmate Newt, Common Frog, GCN, Slowie, Natrix (also Common Toad? - can't remember now).It's a range of garden herp species to be proud of i reckon.

Agree with Will re the 'tiny slithers of molten metal' babies - they could be early 2019s. Saw a couple of gravid females in the garden today and they weren't close to 'calving down' yet.
A photo would clinch it - they are so small at birth. For what feels like only seconds - it's amazing how quickly they grow.
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Suzy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jul 2019 at 12:37am
Thank you Ben.
Yep I've got toads as well. I think I've said before on here that I have all sizes and colours of them, BUT I've no idea where they breed as they don't use my ponds, nor anyone else's that I know of locally. 
I also had a lizard, or lizards  make two appearances - once in September or October in 2017 I think and then in April the following year. Not been seen since, sadly.
Suz
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