Obviously, I don't want to get too close! But I've always wanted to see adders in the wild, how should I go about looking for them?

I've had a fascination with snakes since I was young, but I've never seen one of any kind in the UK.

I too have always been fascinated by snakes, and I've seen plenty of adders around (I live in a woodland area). They really are nothing to be scared of, as long as they are not stepped on or scared. Their bite is venemous and medical treatment should be found, although it is more likely to just make you feel a little unwell for a time than do you any serious harm.

To find them, I found this information from the BBC website:

"The best time to see adders is just after they've emerged from their wintering home, or hibernacula - when they're sluggish and in-active. Males emerge in February, about a month before the females come out. They will spend their days basking in the sun to heat up and produce sperm so they are ready to mate by mid-April."

So it sounds like now is the perfect time to find them!

You should keep a look out for their distinctive black stripes down their back, which are common to both male and females.

Good luck!

This post was last modified: 22-02-2007 12:00 PM by Kingfisher.

Snakes are a real fear of mine so I would never go looking for one! From personal experience though I've found that in the sumer they often lay in the open to sun themselves and warm their bodies (being cold blooded creatures) so that can be a good time to see one.

They will run (figuratively speaking!) as soon as they hear you though which is often before you see them. So keep as quiet as possible when looking.

As a child I very nearly stepped on an adder sun bathing on a step. They can become very lathargic at times so make sure you don't startle it if you find one.

Like Meerkat said a good time to find them is on a warm day sunbathing, just like the one below

Let us know how the search goes!

Oh my gosh! I hate you Xeract for posting the picture of that snake. Just kidding. Honestly, snake is one of my greatest fear in life. I'm not really afraid of pictures but if I'll saw snakes in the woods, I'll surely collapse. It already happened to me many times.

Makes me shiver, I can't stand snakes.

I was watching a programme the other day, 'Johnny Kingdom on Exmoor', he went looking for Adders and found some in the gorse, he said this is where you can usually find them.

This post was last modified: 21-02-2007 07:20 PM by mjfromthezone.

We're all different, aren't we? I own three snakes (all non-venomous), and I've been fascinated with them since I was a child.  

But I can't help with adder finding--closest I've come is a slow worm, at my aunt's home in Daveyhulme...

Kingfisher

This post was last modified: 08-03-2007 06:07 PM by Kingfisher.

What kind of snakes have you got Kingfisher?

I have a nervous fascination with them, they scare me but I watch as many programs as I can about them and always secretly wish I can see one!

I have:
a Variable Kingsnake (the Durango Mountain variety)
http://www.applegatereptiles.com/species/greeri.htm
(this was the best photo I could find, Mr. Whump looks like the 'normal' snake on the top left)

a Pueblan Milksnake (Apricot phase colour variety)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lampropelti..._campbelli
(Mr. Bump)

and a Sinaloan Milksnake.
http://www.applegatereptiles.com/species/sinaloae.htm
(again, the best photo I could find, and Mr. Che looks like the snake on the top left)

Yes, they are all male snakes.  These particular snakes aren't bad pets, actually, although if one is a vegetarian, a snake is probably not the best pet for you, as snakes are NOT vegetarian at all.  They eat rodents, frogs, lizards, some insects, and they can be cannibalistic.  All three of my snakes are housed separately because they would try to eat each other if they could.  But they are quiet and can last a few weeks from each feeding .  

In the UK, there are two species of snakes other than adders.  Both the grass snake and the smooth snake are non-venomous.  Although the grass snake could be kept in captivity, it's diet consists of amphibians (frogs, generally) and therefore is extremely difficult to keep, even for an expert.  Keeping and capturing the smooth snake is prohibited under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, due to its endangered status.

Kingfisher

Xeract, I really cringed when looking at that picture of a snake, it made me nervous. Isn't it amazing how so many people have this fear of them when in reality how many people have been bitten by one.

It reminds me of when I was younger, my mother used to run a tea room in the Surrey hills. One day an American lady came in and said she had been bitten by a snake. After asking of its colouring etc they were sure it was an adder.Concerned for her as her hand was swelling and going a weird shade of blue, it was suggested that she attended a vets! I know weird but they keep the vaccine as most hospitals dont (Or didnt in those days) as it is usually dogs that get bitten. She insisted on staying for a cream tea first and announced that she had tried to catch it!!!
Takes all sorts I suppose.

Having been lucky enough to have an upbringing in the countryside we had numerous sightings and encounters with adders. One thing I learnt that no matter how hot the day, never go walking without wellies on.

Kingfisher, I take my hat off to you managing to have snakes as pets, just could not entertain the idea.

I would imagine that living in America with much more venomous snakes she must not have had the respect for the small adder. They can give quite a bite though from what I've heard!

There is like a conservation area where there are a lot of adders at Studland Bay in Dorset, I remember seeing a programme on it. I once saw a dead one at Fordingbridge in Hampshire.

I hope I never get to see one where I live but I believe they can sometimes live & lay their eggs in compost heaps because of the heat generated within it.

This post was last modified: 17-04-2007 03:02 PM by tibbar.

Oh tibbar14, I think that would be quite a bit of excitement, to see a live adder. One of my earliest childhood memories is that of hearing and seeing a rattlesnake (in the middle of the city of Los Angeles, at Griffith Park!).

Well, perhaps it would be too much excitement... .

Kingfisher

Not for me I'm afraid!

Oh tibbar14, I think that would be quite a bit of excitement, to see a live adder.  One of my earliest childhood memories is that of hearing and seeing a rattlesnake (in the middle of the city of Los Angeles, at Griffith Park!).

Well, perhaps it would be too much excitement... .

Kingfisher

It's very exciting to see a snake in the wild, even if it is a meager adder compared to some of the other snakes in the world. The adder usually only gets to about 65cm long for the females, and slightly less for the males, so they really aren't that big. I have a real fear of snakes though, so I might feel differently if I suddenly came across one inthe wild.

This post was last modified: 19-04-2007 11:00 AM by Xeract.