A GUIDE TO The UK’s six reptile species are often overlooked. Their shyness and increasing rarity means they are seldom encountered, but if you are lucky enough to stumble across one it is sure to make your heart beat a little faster! Reptiles can tolerate the peripheries where mammals struggle to succeed, and are great indicators of the health of our habitats. Sadly, all are suffering declines due to loss and degradation of habitats, continual fragmentation of populations and persecution, so it is crucially important that we protect our precious reptile populations now. In Bedfordshire these four native reptiles can be found in Bedfordshire, including the adder; Britain’s only venomous snake, the grass snake; known for its aquatic lifestyle, the slow-worm; a legless lizard that is often mistaken for a snake, and the common lizard, which sheds its skin each year.
Adder
Although venomous, the adder is not aggressive, choosing to retreat from disturbance rather than face confrontation. Even when harassed the snake often hisses and warns well before striking. A small and chunky snake, adders typically measure around 50cm. Males are pale grey and females are usually brownish with orange and red
shades. Adders have red eyes and a distinctive brown zigzag down the spine, which is darker in the males. To feed itself, the adder sits motionless and waits for small mammals such as voles or mice to pass by, relying on its camouflage. On striking, it waits for its prey to retreat and die and then follows the scent of its own venom to find it. It will also feed on small birds and lizards. It favours sheltered areas where it can bask in warm sunshine, such as woodland clearings, glades and edges, heathland, moorland and areas of open scrub, bramble and gorse where it can hunt and commute in relative safety from predators. Adders give live birth to between three and over a dozen young. They are usually born between August and October. From October, adders go into hibernation and usually emerge in the first warm days of March, which can often be the best time to spot them.
Grass snake
The grass snake is the UK’s largest and commonest snake. It prefers wetland habitats, and good places to look for them include clean, slow-
