Herpetiles - Snakes

Herpetiles, or the Amphibian and Reptile group of animals comprising snakes, newts and lizards.

The UK has only 3 snake species, adder, grass snake and smooth snake.

I have still to photograph a smooth snake.

Adder     Viperus berus

Adders are often mistreated by photographers as they get pulled, pushed, and pinned down on all manner of props.  I'm happy to say that this adder is wild and was not disturbed for the photographs.  Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, UK, March.

Adder 09 square

Adder 06

I have done several professional reptile surveys for an environmental consultancy I occasionally work for (RPS Group), and it is always a great pleasure to see an adder, but more so when it is done for pleasure  close to my home.  I now know of about a dozen sites for adder just a few miles from where I live.

Adder 19

In the last few years adders have been rapidly dwindling in numbers and some conservation research effort is now needed.

Scientists are trying to use DNA to assess why the adder is in decline.  I haven't seen any good results from this study yet, but I personally would look to the skies for the answer - or what's falling from it in the form of sprays from aircraft (or chemtrails) doing large scale weather modification experiments in attempts to alter weather patterns.  Obviously, this would also affect amphibians to a greater degree.

Adder 07

I always think a good snake photo must have a tongue flick, but this is so difficult to get,

but more so when the snake is actually moving as it is doing in the above photograph.

Adder 11

Grass snake    Natrix natrix

Back in 2000 I did an assignment for BBC Wildlife to document  in photographs a year in the life of wild grass snakes close to my home.   These were some of the photos I took at a dead Beech tree during the mating season, soon after the eggs had hatched, and at a pond in the Autumn.

Grass Snake male 1 (S)

Grass Snake baby on log 1 (S)

Grass Snake juvenile male (S)

Grass Snake in Mares Tails (S)

I've seen a few photos of grass snakes in water before, but many are set-up using captive snakes.

I'm happy to say these grass snake photographs are of wild snakes doing natural behaviour.

Grass Snake in Mares Tails 1b crop (S)

And again, a photograph of one large female grass snake curled up on the woodland floor

in the Forest of Dean.

Grass Snake coiled 2 (S)

Grass Snake baby in leaf litter crop (S)

A couple of photographs to show just how tiny baby grass snakes are!

Grass Snake baby in leaf  (S)

Grass Snake eggs and skin (S)

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Galleries      David J Slater

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