UK Native reptiles...

[PseudoDave]

Hi all, Just wondering if any other UK'ers regularly see our native reptiles? I'm quite lucky in the fact that my area seems hot for all of them and I've managed to find at least one specimen of any given species every year so far (obviously not to keep) and given the status of some of the species i think that's quite good. So, does anyone else have any good populations in their area?

Dave

 

[Samzo]

Frogs and toads! That's all I see really, I found a toad that filled both my hands cupped under our car lol I think it got chased by a cat as we found a cat on the roof. What have you found Dave?

 

[PseudoDave]

All the reptiles, forgot to include the amphibians, we're lucky to have great crested newts in our two ponds, but we dont see many toads around here at all.

Like i say though, i've found at least one specimen of all our native reptiles, excluding the smooth snake which I didnt find in my area but on a trip to see my family in somerset. So, in my village and surrounding farms we've found sand lizards, common/glass lizards, grass snakes and adders. Now that i've organised a camera I'll be taking it with me when we go looking again. There is an old quarry near me, which is surrounded by heath, we live on a naturally chalky area with plenty of low vegetation surrounded by woodland, which basically makes it suitable for all of our native reptiles and amphibians.

 

[Samzo]

Wow that's cool. I've found newts and slow worms aswell but that's it. I never knew we had lizards!

 

[PseudoDave]

Slow worms are lizards my friend :wink: , so you've found a lizard mate. They can drop their tails like lizards as well, i've only ever found two adult slow worms with what appeared to be their original tail, you see plenty of youngsters with their tails, but where so many people catch them by their tail they drop them regularly.

 

[Samzo]

lol Oh.. I thought it was some kind of snake thing

 

[PseudoDave]

Most people do, don't worry

 

[Johnald Chaffinch]

i saw a lizard in Hull. it was round the back of a factory next to a riverbank. it's hard to know if it was just one that someone had set free though, i guess it probably was.

never seen a snake but i found a snakeskin on a path in norfolk. i know there's quite a few snakes about near golf courses n stuff, shame i've never seen one.

there's some large turtle/terrapins living in an arboretum here in nottingham, they're just roaming free, i've heard they've been here for years

 

[PseudoDave]

Still every chance the little fella was a native, but obviously still could have been a release. The 'common' lizards, although by no means 'safe', are still pretty common. If anyone lives near Iwade in south-east then you may know just how common they can be, all over the place, it's great to see a mass of lizards run in all directions when you lift a rock,log or even tyre, what would be greater though is if the little turds would pose for a picture before legging it.

 

[Ian]

I was in a garden centre, a few miles away from from me, and this was in the middle of the summer. And, there is a large, outdoor aquatic section, where apparently lizards really like to hang out, when its hot. So, I was scurrying around, and I found one! It ran up to a wall, and started climbing the wall, but I just caught it. I was amazing, like, rainbow coloured, and about the size of a leo. Was so cool, I wanted to take it home

Cheers,

Ian

 

[Johnald Chaffinch]

does anyone know the history of how lizards have got here?

cos i cant remember seeing them in any british wildlife books

 

[PseudoDave]

There are plenty of european species, it's like most other islands i guess, as the land masses broke up, it allowed individual pockets of species to evolve into our own. There are many information sources about them, try http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/identification.htm to start with.

They are not introduced species, they are 100% native and, indigenous.

 

[ibanez_freak]

When I was hill walking a year ago at benahee (dunno how to spell it just that's how it sounds) Saw plenty of little lizards. Was a pretty hot day in summer though. But interesting to see. very fast.

Cheers, Cameron.