Allotments 4 All

I found an amazing snake on my allotment this weekend, or at least I think it is a snake..! It was a baby possibly, about 4 inches long and black shiny on one side (I thought it was a pieve of plastic!!) and white/cream on it's tummy. No stripes or patterns. It wiggled like a snake and lifted its head up like I was a snake charmer! Any ideas what it was? It was very sweet!

Could be a grass snake - I am no expert, although 6ft odd and hardy I still ran away like a screaming girl when the OH found one last year on our plot! :)

Hi
Could it have been a slow worm? they look more snake like than they do worms (if you see what I mean!). I have them on my plot, I usually find them under plastic or in the longer grass round the paths.
I did distrub 2 nests of them a couple of months back and there were at least 20+, some were about 4" long and darker in colour. The one I saw the other day was more brown and 12" long. I'll see if I can find any links with pics


Ok just googled and found this picture - but it is  an adult & therefore larger -
http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/slow-worm:anguis-fragilis-photo-1433.html

And this one is a young 'un

http://www.roddennaturereserve.org.uk/reptile%20images/Slow%20Worm%20-%20young%202.jpg

didn't someone post pics of an escaped python in their garden? Wonder what happened to that

here it is

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,33097.0.html

Grass snakes are greeny brown with dark splotches down their backs, and they're not shiny. Slow worm sounds more like it, but the young ones are usually brown with golden stripes down their sides. You do, however, occasionally get melanistic (black) ones; there's a not very good pic of one half-way down this page:

http://www.surrey-arg.org.uk/cgi-bin/SARG2ReptileSpeciesData.asp?Species=Slow_worm

More pics on this page:

http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2228

the baby slow worm pic posted by 1066 looks more like it but it was pure shiny black on one side and pure white on the other, an odd but very interesting find, my children were facinated!

oooooh, hope I dont come across any over my plots

Little Pud - they're harmless (and armless  ;D) and they just seem to tuck themselves away and hopefully eat some of the nasties that have a tendency to eat my veg!?

Yes I have to agree, harmless and really very sweet.

.. and slow worms are not snakes but lizards so easier to think of as cute.

Grass snakes have an unmistakable yellow "collar". My guess is it was a slow worm.

Yup slow worm, we have some in our garden at home, which is blissfully slug/snail free, just wish they'd move into my plot down on the allotment!

Sounds like a baby slow worm, they are lighter on one side when young and turn darker with age.

There were loads in my parents garden as a kid but havent seen one in years, perhaps they are getting rarer? Anyhows I am so glad that my Mum was not scared of snakes or creepy crawlies, and would encourage us to catch these things and examine them under a magnifying glass before letting them go. Can't say the same for my Dad though.. he was always heading in the other direction!

It's not a normal baby slow worm, they're golden brown and striped. That's why I suggested a melanistic one. There are a number of colour variations, I used to find the blue spotted ones round Oxford.

if you can get a closer look at it check its eyes slow worms have eyelids whereas snakes dont