reptile eggs

[brown thumb]

just came back from the lotty  while i was there i noticed some type of reptile eggs on some bare soil they werent there on  tuesday unless they were  in the soil and some thing had dug them up but the earth was not disturbed they were the size of marbles oval ishin shape and looked like squashed ping pong balls i squashed one to see what was inside a pink worm type  thing came no movement from it  iam thinking may be a stoat may have carried on to my plot as they have been seen around the area but no snakes have been seen only a slow worm on the plot next door so could it be slow worm eggs or are they too large can any one  tell me as i dont fancy making contact  with an adder one day while weeding

[brown thumb]

[Robert_Brenchley]

Slow worms are ovo-viviparous; the eggs develop inside the mother's body, and the young are born live. So it's unlikely to be a slow-worm egg. Maybe grass snake?

[tonybloke]

i dont fancy making contact  with an adder one day while weeding

you won't! they are very shy creatures, and will normally 'leg it' ( pun intended) before you get anywhere near. ;)

[ACE]

Sounds like grass snake eggs, bury them in your compost heap. They will hatch out there. It is illegal to squash them. Harmless, but very helpful creatures, they eat all sorts of pests, but on the downside they are a bit partial to small frogs.

[tonybloke]

Sounds like grass snake eggs, bury them in your compost heap. They will hatch out there. It is illegal to squash them. Harmless, but very helpful creatures, they eat all sorts of pests, but on the downside they are a bit partial to small frogs.

yep, a huge grass snake cleared out our pond this yr

[Uncle_Filthster]

If you can find the original source of the eggs stick them back in. A nearby compost, pile of decomposing vegetation (e.g. grass clippings) or muck heap would be the best place to look.

All British reptiles, resting places, and 'nests' are protected.

[brown thumb]

i think they had already died as they had been left out in the rain and cold by the time i got there the chap next plot said it looked like some kind of fungi so i popped a egg and like i said already a worm like  thing was in but had no movement so i think they all had perished i buried  them at the end of the plot is it normal for all the eggs to be;; cemented;;to gether i thought  t hey would be loose its just left me wondering what brought them into my plot as i were digging near to them on tuesday and they werent there then and yesterday they were .just left on top of the ground and yes the plot does have several frogs and toads about makes sense for a grass snake to be near but there is no water about to have so many frogs etc i will go back to day and rebury them in compost heap in case there is life in any

[Uncle_Filthster]

They may be dead, they just be a bit chilled, worth a chance though.  Reptile eggs often stick in a clump because of the mucus secreted when layed and their leathery skin.  Fox, rats, crows, badger, etc, may all be a culprit in moving them.  I'd love to have grass snakes or slow worms on my allotment but we just don't get them round here and the small populations that are known about are a good 30 miles away at least and kept hush hush.