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Slow Worm :-) |
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DeniseChilver
New Member Joined: 24 Aug 2012 Location: Surrey Status: Offline Points: 5 |
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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 ???? |
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GemmaJF
Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 4359 |
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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 |
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Suzy
Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1447 |
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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.
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Suz
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DeniseChilver
New Member Joined: 24 Aug 2012 Location: Surrey Status: Offline Points: 5 |
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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
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Suzy
Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1447 |
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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. |
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Suz
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DeniseChilver
New Member Joined: 24 Aug 2012 Location: Surrey Status: Offline Points: 5 |
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wow how cool, I'm leaving mine so she can come & go as she pleases
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Suzy
Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1447 |
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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.
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Suz
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GemmaJF
Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 4359 |
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Blimey Suzy, you have a slow-worm factory there! I'm not sure I saw that many during the whole season this year!
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Suzy
Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1447 |
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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. |
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Suz
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GemmaJF
Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 4359 |
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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.
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