Snakes

[Chumba Wumba]

I found a snake in my garden, its a beige colour with no markings and is about 10 inches long. it is not a slow worm as we have those too. it is definately a snake as it has a forked tongue and shed its skin. it has been in my garden for at least 1 year.

[Chumba Wumba]

Thankyou for your reply. As you can see I have slightly re-worded my question. I should have been clearer in the 1st place. Although at a first glance I thought it was a worm but then I noticed its forked tongue slithering in it has the distinctive snake-shaped head. Also my husband reminded me that we found a shedded snake-skin last year in our garden too. It may help to know we live near the sea and mountains in wales,uk.

[quattro]

It sounds like a grass snake to me they are a greeny yellow coluor but maybe if it has just shed its skin it has'nt got it's true colours yet they like the hot dry areas so what its doing in the welsh mountains I don't know!!

[Cetti]

Hi again Chumba Wumba - The reason I suggested the Slow Worm is from your description and also the length. They also shed their skins - and like coastal areas. There are only 3 snakes in the UK, Adder, Grass Snake and Smooth Snake. Now the Adder is distinctive and 18in to 2ft in length - so that's out. The Grass Snake is 2-3ft long, olive brown with vertical black bars along each flank. The Smooth Snake is 18-20ins - but is only found in Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Surrey and Sussex. All this info has been taken from about 3 different ID books, so it's been checked....but I'm totally baffled because everything(except the tongue) still points to the Slow Worm. Perhaps you could take a pic of your 'visitor'and show it to a reptile specialist - (the proper title escapes me at the moment!) I'd love to know when you have the answer.

[Chumba Wumba]

Thankyou for your replies. After further consultation with the other chumba wumba`s, we think it is a baby grass snake. My husband did notice a darker stripe down each side of it, which I failed to see. The `snake-skin` we found last year was actually a dead snake which had dried up, so it appears we have a breeding pair of grass snakes in our area, although as yet to be seen.

[Mtn. Momma]

You might try looking up "Rubber Boa" and see if the picture resembles your snake. They are a very cool snake. Looks more like a light colored worm.The kids love to handle them.