Adders and grass snakes

[dunc5]

Hi would someone be able to supply pics or links to show the difference between an adder and a grass snake , we get alot on our beach and sand dunes and id would like to make sure my two children know which is which pluss i would like to make sure i know aswell .


thanks

dunc

[TheViking]

Hi...

This should be a grass snake and this is an adder.

[dunc5]

thanks mate thats just what i wanted .


dunc

[Paganwolf]

two good pics viking :super: , where are you in Norfolk dunk? i've caught Adders on Winterton Dunes just past Caister, they bask usually on the foot paths but if your kids are anything like mine (wild elephants!) they will disappear quickly if warmed up, i've never had an Adder strike at me while relocating (local golf course calls me frequently)a very beautiful snake with a plethora of different hues from light olive to olive brown in colouration with a zigzag/diamond pattern along their backs,females can get quite large, beautiful. Grass snakes are worse to catch as they as a defense mechanism empty a foul smelling liquid all over you, a smell you will never forget :shock: :rolmao:they are of more uniform olive/green colour and have a yellow/brown collar (as per vikings pics) found near fresh water usually as their main source of food is amphibians, if you are on the dunes keep your eye out for the common lizard, if you see all three you've seen half of the british big 6 reptiles! Grass snake, smooth snake, adder, slowworm, sand lizard and common lizard.. :wave: .. beauty is in the eye of the beholder..........Jp

[dunc5]

Hi Paganwolf i live in a small village called sea palling , about a month ago i joined the inshore lifeboat as a trainee , we were moving some bricks and slabs ready to do some painting on the lifeboat shed when i came across a snake , i was a bit concerned as my two children and there freinds were near by , hence the request for the pics and thanks to Viking i now know it was a grass snake and we are all a bit wiser.

thanks

dunc

[EdS]

We got grass snakes in our garden, but alot darker with yellowish stripes.

[Tantalus]

just had to post this in this thread, i am still giggling about it

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1065091.html

Tant

[ScottC]

:rolmao: :rolmao: :biggthump :rolmao:

[Keith_Beef]

The Viking's pictures are nice, but I think the best differentiating characteristic is the shape of the head, rather than colouring.

A grass snake's head is narrow, same size at the base as its neck, rounding to its snout.

An adder's head is like a diamond; it widens from the neck, then narrows to a pointed snout.

If you get a clos look at an adder, you can look at the pupils, as described here:
http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/adder.htm

KKK.

[ScottC]

Lots of useful information there Keith

[ChrisKavanaugh]

I could send a few Pacific diamondbacks over to rattle the poor adders I've been dry bitten twice ( no envenomation ) and my biggest fear was this idiot with a huge bowie who wanted to hack X's in the wound, tie a tourniquet and suck on my ankle. The various poisons work against different or combinations of the body's systems and it helps to know the typical progression of a bite victim to your adders. Above all remain calm and get the victim to hospital ASAP. Even if no envenomation takes place the wound is seriously contaminated ( remember what snakes eat and they don't floss) and tetanus a danger. There are all manner of folk remedies, myths and first aid protocols. But with a child just keep everyone calm and GO.

[Chopper]

There are loads of Adders and Grass snakes around here in Kent especially where I live, we have many very stupid people here as well, people are always getting bitten, here are some examples of people's stupidity.

1. During this summer a lady was walking her dog when she stood on what she thought a stick, thinking it would be a good idea to throw the stick for her dog she picked it up, and suddenly realised that you don't get floppy scaly sticks when it latched on to her wrist, result... 10 days in hospital, very large swellings and a very red face ops:

2. A very good friend of mine who knows the area as well as I do decided to show his children "HOW TO HANDLE A SNAKE" so picking up a baby Adder (only 6" long and as thick as a pencil) he played with it, it bit him on his left index finger, thinking it was to young to do any harm he continued to play with it and it tried to bite him on his right hand, but only scratched it. Result... left arm swelled to three times its normal size, right hand to twice its normal size masses of pain and a 26 day stay in hospital, where the Doctors and Nurses made sure that he realised what a silly billy he had been.
I called him something else that I can't put on this thread, but it did make the ward staff roll about the floor laughing :rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao:

The moral of this info is,
IF YOU SEE A SNAKE, LEAVE THE BLOODY THING ALONE

Oh, and by the way size really is not important :-P

[Realgar]

Anyone seen our much forgotten third species - the smooth snake?

Round my way we now have corn/rat snakes breeding thanks to a large number of escapes.

Realgar