Humble Serpents In The Long Grass

The grass snake also known as water snake or ringed snake is a creature of beauty, patience and humility. But like any other species of snake they are often labelled as villains by people, evil reptiles with long fangs that lurk about our gardens, feeding on innocent wildlife and watching us with their cold eyes from a distance.....this just isn’t true!

Those of you who have been in the village a while will remember an article I did for the crier when I was 9 years old...entitled “From a pond near you” where I described seeing a huge long monster swimming in our pond. Of course it wasn’t Swaffham Prior's own version of the Loch Ness monster, it was just a chilled out grass snake having a swim to cool off from the heat of the day and actually of little danger to anyone except frogs.

Grass snakes are Britain’s most common reptile; they are non- venomous (so you can’t die from being bitten) and live in or around water and long grasses. With Swaffham prior being positioned so close to Wicken Fen with their wet marshy land and with many ponds locally, this means that we have a much higher population of grass snakes then in other areas of the country. Like many snakes- grass snakes are very strong

swimmers and spent over 80% of their time in water, hunting for a meal below the surface.

To get a glimpse of one is a rare treat-they are timid and shy snakes and show little aggression compared to other species, so it’s unlikely one would ever put a fight up...they simply slip away into the undergrowth. The most common time to see one is in the peak of summer around garden ponds where they will often sunbathe on the hot rocks to store the suns heat within its scales. They have a particular liking for slate as this rock is a better heat conductor then other stones and provides them with nooks and crannies to sleep under.

They are typically dark green or brown in colour with a yellow collar on their neck hence their given name.

Female snakes tend to be bigger than the males and can grow from anything up to 80cm long. People are often afraid when they see one as they can be mistaken for its cousin, Britain’s only poisonous snake- the Adder. However, Adders are highly endangered and only live in warm heath land habitats like Thetford Forest.

They are also rather distinct with a long black zigzag pattern along their scales and a wider head that is arrow shaped. Grass snakes being reptiles are cold blooded and so hibernate during winter, only emerging when the earth is warmed by the suns heat. They will shed their scales once a year and this process is called Ecdysis- they will lay one clutch of eggs per year during the spring/summer months.

In truth the only time that these snakes come into conflict with humans is in our garden ponds...all pond owners would have at one time or another found a fish with a bite out of it or a lack of frogs. It is true that grass snakes will eat garden fish but they will only pick off the small ones and usually prefer amphibians for a meal. If you are continuing to find dead fish then it is more likely that you have a heron bird attacking them

not a grass snake and should get a net. As Grass snakes are protected under the rare wildlife act, it means that you cannot attempt to remove a grass snake- if for any reason you have a snake and do not wish it to stay then you should seek the help of an environmental officer who can send someone out to catch it and take it to a

suitable place with water. But really, if you have a snake in your pond then be proud, count yourself lucky that your garden is a home to such a fascinating reptile...and while frogs are special in their own way, remember that wildlife is full of food chains so while the snakes may eat the frogs, the snakes inevitably will be eaten by owls or other birds of prey.

Let’s try and overcome this phobia of snakes and start seeing the serpents in the

grass as friends rather than villains.