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My first grass snake

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Chris d View Drop Down
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    Posted: 15 Oct 2011 at 6:52pm
I just wanted to share the good news that at last I've broken my Grass Snake duck !! I couldn't believe it when I stumbled on this little beauty today after looking for one all year ! It was very fiesty and wouldn't give me the chance to take a good picture. Can anyone confirm that they don't bite as I'm sure that this one seemed to be having a good go while hissing and trying to play dead. It wasn't very good at it as it kept making a dash for freedom everytime I put it down. Looking one of the pictures it looks like I was heavy handed with it but just to confirm I didn't hurt it and let it good pretty quickly after taking a few snaps. 
  
 
 
I haven't smelt of Grass Snake poo since a child !! Used to carry one that I bought in the local pet shop around in my pocket and haven't seen one since. still on a high !! 
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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: 15 Oct 2011 at 7:17pm


well done Chris. great find and nice pix too!

did you record it???????

ben
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Chris d View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chris d Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Oct 2011 at 7:33pm
Ooops, I forgot !!!! I was too excited to even think about it. The trip was a last minute decision to go there rather than the local forest, where I haven't seen anything for the last few weeks. I wasn't expecting to see anything this late in the season. Just goes to show Eh!! 
I have a question,while walking around I realised that I could only look for one thing at a time. If looking for herps then I can't seem to focus on looking for mushrooms at the same time and vice-versa. Anyone else have this problem or is it just me. ?  
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Iowarth View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Iowarth Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Oct 2011 at 7:52pm

Well done Chris. Bad-tempered little b*****r wasn't he?

I am some way towards the problem you mention. I am definitely more likely to overlook other things when concentrating on herps (especially mosaic basking Sandies!). But it is probability rather than a total blank! Certainly, I think many of us do carry a sort of "pattern" in our mind for what we are searching and dissimilar patterns can be overlooked.

Chris

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vanderklam Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Oct 2011 at 9:37pm
Hi Chris,

Congrats on your first grassie! I also find them quite difficult to photograph, but I think that speaks for itself regarding your question about whether they bite, in that they always seem to want to evade your presence. From my own experience I have not witnessed them striking with the intent of biting [not that's to say it doesn't happen]. Although what intrigues me the most is that I have witnessed on several occasions grass snakes rearing up and flattening the neck in a threat display [similar to what you would expect of a cobra I guess]. Is this anything you witnessed yourself here?

Regards

Kev
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Mark_b View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark_b Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Oct 2011 at 11:10pm
I believe the only way someone can get bitten by a grass snake is if they are handling it incorrectly and it's very stressed, even then it's practically unheard of.
 
If you firmly hold and fully support the animal - i.e let them wrap around your hand (thus getting fully excreted on) they normally settle down quickly and/or death feign. They will hiss, flattern out and false strike when you let them flap about, or hold them by the tail like steve irwin, or put them in a bucket with no vegetation to hide in.

I have slightly reworded some of the above since first posting


Edited by Mark_b - 16 Oct 2011 at 5:41pm
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Chris d View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chris d Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2011 at 5:05pm
Hi  Vanderklam, Mark,
I am used to handling snakes as I've kept quite a few albiet tame cage kept ones rather than wild ones. When I first picked it up, it did flatten its neck, while hissing and then turned sharply as if trying to turn and bite. I was supporting it at that time in the middle of its body but at that point which took me by suprise as I didn't think that they would be so agressive thought better of it and moved my other hand up to hold it behind its neck to prevent it biting me. Obviously Mark now that you have confirmed that they don't bite,  it probably wasn't trying but maybe going through the motions of "playing dead" with it's mouth open and convulsing .
It was very stressed and I was expecting it to calm down quickly which it didn't. Now that I know that there is a good chance that I wont get bitten (I'm not really bothered if I do as it wont be the first time from a snake) I'll try by letting it run through my hands until it settles down. Until next time...     
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JaySteel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Nov 2011 at 6:29pm
Hi there,
I was photographing a wedding at Rowhill Grange Hotel in Wilmington Kent in 2010 and I had the opportunity to have quite a lengthy chat with the gardener / groundsman. The site has a couple of good ponds and it looked ideal for some of our native herps so I asked the groundsman if he ever saw any. He told me that they are several grass snakes living around the ponds including some very large specimens. He recalled one incident where he was working with one of his compost heaps and he accidentally disturbed a 5ft+ grass snake that was buried in the compost heap with a large clutch of eggs. He told me how the grass snake struck at him and bit him on the hand resulting in his hand being left with a slight tingling sensation and redness. Obviously I can't be sure how accurate his account was but this is the only incident I know of where someone claims to have been bitten by a grass snake.

Jason 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote GemmaJF Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Nov 2011 at 7:06pm
Large adult females do sometimes bite. Mostly they do not and just put on a show but rarely they actually see it through. I experienced the same tingling sensation and redness when caught once by a grassy, so it sounds to me the account is accurate.
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JaySteel View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JaySteel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Nov 2011 at 7:13pm
Thanks Gemma. He seemed like a pretty honest guy.

Jason
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