the online meeting place for all who love our amphibians and reptiles
Home Page Live Forums Archived Forums Site Search Identify Record Donate Projects Links
Forum Home Forum Home > Herpetofauna Native to the UK > Slow Worm
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Slow Worm :-)
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Slow Worm :-)

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  123>
Author
Message
DeniseChilver View Drop Down
New Member
New Member


Joined: 24 Aug 2012
Location: Surrey
Status: Offline
Points: 5
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DeniseChilver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Slow Worm :-)
    Posted: 24 Aug 2012 at 5:37pm
I have a new visitor in my compost bin

Been researching this afternoon as was scared I had snakes, but it's most definitely a female slow worm who has made her home in my warm compost bin.

It's soooo exciting, I might have little slow worms (well fingers crossed)

I have cats tho should we be worried at all ????
Back to Top
GemmaJF View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 25 Jan 2003
Location: Essex
Status: Offline
Points: 4359
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote GemmaJF Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Aug 2012 at 7:42pm
Don't be scared of having snakes, the only one likely to visit your compost bin is the grass snake which is quite harmless.

Glad to hear you have a slow-worm!

Cats might be a problem, you'll just have to see how things go. Mostly though slow worms stay out of sight or only partially out in the open so hopefully she'll be OK with your cats if they don't spot her.


Edited by GemmaJF - 24 Aug 2012 at 7:43pm
Back to Top
Suzy View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 1447
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Aug 2012 at 8:21pm
Is your compost heap covered? If not a sheet of plastic weighted down or an old carpet will make it more attractive to slow worms and hide them from cats. I have dozens of slow worms and hardly see any out and about. They feed at night but do move in the daytime and cats play with them in a horrible way - nature unfortunately.
Suz
Back to Top
DeniseChilver View Drop Down
New Member
New Member


Joined: 24 Aug 2012
Location: Surrey
Status: Offline
Points: 5
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DeniseChilver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Aug 2012 at 1:12pm
hiya, thanks for all the replies, she is settled in nicely in my compost bin & that has a lid so it's dark, warm & humid. I've had a chat to the cats... it's ok I'm not a nutter tho lol and they are instructed to leave her alone teehee
Back to Top
Suzy View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 1447
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Aug 2012 at 9:19pm
After a morning of deluge rain here in East Devon, the sun came out. After a while I thought I'd go and see if my grass snake was warming up in the compost heap.



I was disappointed as the grass snake is normally lying entwined in the slow worm heap, but it wasn't there, and there are usually more slow worms in this spot. Then I noticed a shed skin nearby. I can see about 60 slow worms on a circuit of the garden looking at all their basking sites. Grass snakes are occasional visitors but this year I've had two at once and one has been here since June. I have deliberately made the garden more grassie friendly with overgrown trackways and piles of wood/sticks and unmown areas. I have a large garden but I do live in a town.







Suz
Back to Top
DeniseChilver View Drop Down
New Member
New Member


Joined: 24 Aug 2012
Location: Surrey
Status: Offline
Points: 5
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DeniseChilver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Aug 2012 at 9:29pm
wow how cool, I'm leaving mine so she can come & go as she pleases
Back to Top
Suzy View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 1447
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Oct 2012 at 5:27pm
Went out in the garden at 5pm to photograph a small copper butterfly and thought I'd try and get a shot of the slow worms under a piece of Coroline. Sorry they're not very central in the frame but I was trying to hold the Corloline and not jiggle the camera.


Suz
Back to Top
GemmaJF View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 25 Jan 2003
Location: Essex
Status: Offline
Points: 4359
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote GemmaJF Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Oct 2012 at 7:40pm
Blimey Suzy, you have a slow-worm factory there! I'm not sure I saw that many during the whole season this year!
Back to Top
Suzy View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 1447
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Oct 2012 at 8:16pm
Ha Gemma! I pasted the fotie into Word and then put stars on each head and I think got 14. So with the ones hidden I guess maybe nearly 20 altogether. Earlier in the day there were about 6 newborns as well.
I have another 3 pieces of coroline which get similar numbers and then I have all the compost bins...
One piece of coroline I placed on quite an open expanse of soil, but next to thick vegetation, hoping to get newts or toads as it is near the pond but there has never been anything under it at all. Just shows stuff is not keen on open ground, even when adjacent to vegetation.
Suz
Back to Top
GemmaJF View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 25 Jan 2003
Location: Essex
Status: Offline
Points: 4359
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote GemmaJF Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Oct 2012 at 10:20pm
Very true about the open ground, they do like a 'bed' of vegetation underneath the refuge if possible. I've found a 'few' in open areas when we had to cover areas in mitigations just to be sure but compared to refuges in proper vegetation the numbers were tiny.
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  123>
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 11.06
Copyright ©2001-2016 Web Wiz Ltd.

This page was generated in 0.234 seconds.