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Snake eating my fish

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Lucille View Drop Down
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Joined: 08 Sep 2019
Location: West Devon
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    Posted: 08 Sep 2019 at 6:55pm
Could someone please give me some advice please?
My terrier has been going mad at a particular place, under the black plastic around my pond, for a couple year. We just presumed it was a mouse or rat and didn't take much notice until my fish started going missing! Today we pulled up some of the black plastic...had never been touched since pond was made. Underneath was a very large snake skin, nearly a metre long and quite wide, after looking up different markings etc I think it is an adder, I'm worried about my dog and how to stop my fish being eaten. Any advice would really be appreciated, thanks, Lucille
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GemmaJF View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote GemmaJF Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Sep 2019 at 3:06pm
Hi Lucille,

The skin is likely to have belonged to a harmless grass snake and not an adder. Adder do not visit ponds to feed on fish. However grass snakes often do and use items such as black plastic to gain a little extra body warmth for the process of skin shedding. A grass snake is not a threat to your dog. 
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chubsta View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chubsta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Sep 2019 at 9:15am
that is a lovely snake to have in your garden, as Gemma says it will be no danger whatsoever to your dog, or anything else other than its food. A large snake will still only be able to take very small fish prey so are you sure you aren't being visited by a heron or gull, my fish were regularly taken by gulls from my pond.
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Lucille View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lucille Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Sep 2019 at 7:32pm
Thank you all for your replies, I get it now it won't harm my dog! I have a wildlife camera and there has never been any herons or gulls. Unfortunately a small bit at the edge of the pond isn't visible because of long pond grass etc. So I guess I'll just have to lump it. Again thankyou for your replies x
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