I was out walking yesterday in the woods when I heard a rustle by the side of the path in the undergrowth and looked round to see what I thought was the tail of a snake slihtering into the leaves. I was quite surprised because wouldn't snakes all be hibernating at this time of year? It's been so cold recently that I don't think they would have liked to be out in it.

It could have just been my eyes deceiving me as it was gloomy at the time, would it be possible that there are snakes still out though?

If there's been a even a day or two of warm up in the weather, it's entirely possible that they could come out.

Could just have been your imagination, though!

Kingfisher

Are you as cold as we are Xeract? It has not even thawed from the really hard frosts today. Everything is definately hibernating.Incidentally we have not even had one hedgehog baby to rescue. I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

I'd be very surprised if you did see one, it's absolutely freezing here! It can be very easy to get decievd in the low light, and like you say i'm sure they are all safely hibernating by now.

Yes, that is exactly what I thought. We have been getting the freezing cold weather recently so I doubt that anything that hibernates would be out, although saying that today looks a bit warmer and the forecast for the next few days is about 5 degrees warmer than the last week. It must have been my eyes deveiving me!

Sorry to be pedantic, but technically, snakes do not hibernate. Hibernation is the process of filling yourself up with food and entering a dormant state. The cold blooded ones such as snakes brumate. This is a process where they clear their digestive system, and go to sleep on an empty stomach.

Being cold blooded, they don't need that much food, as their calorie consumption is a lot less as they move about to cold and warm areas to regulate their body temperatures, which is why missing snakes turn up in their owners house 18 months later, worse for wear, but still alive.

Whilst squirrels and such which hibernate do come out temporarily, it's unlikely unless snakes would, unless there was a sharp rise in temperature which is possible. I think it's been mild the last week or so (I'm Surrey too)- especially compared to the sharp frost we've been having a few weeks ago. Just out of interest, where abouts in Surrey (assuming it was) are the woods?

Adders can tolerate lower temps than other species of reptile.
If the sun was out and the air temp above 6 degrees, then it is entirely possible that adders will be about.
You must have been very close to the hibernacula though.

If we're going to be pedantic, shouldn't we use poikilothermic rather than cold blooded.

Sorry.

Oh very good.

Nice Great work .Thanks