Slow Worms
Identifying a slow worm
Slow worms are legless lizards rather than snakes, and are not a threat to humans. Although these lizards are often mistaken for snakes, there are a number of features that differentiate them from snakes. The most important is they have small eyes with eyelids that blink. This is a feature that is not found in snakes. They also have notched tongue rather than a forked tongue, which is a common feature of a snake. They shed their skin in patches like other lizards, rather than the whole skin as most snakes do.
Description
Slow worms are smooth and shiny, and vary in colour, from grey, to bronze or light brown with a pale underbelly. The female is browner in colour than the male, with a darker belly and a black stripe running down the back. Blue spots may also been seen, more typically on older males. They shed their skin in patches like other lizards, rather than the whole skin as most snakes do. The females give birth to live young. In the days leading up to birth the female can often be seen basking in the sun on a warm road.
Behaviour
They are common in gardens and are carnivourous. They tend to emerge and prey after rainfall or at dusk. Not being fast themselves, they hunt slower animals, such as slugs, snails earth worms, insects and spiders. On warm days one or more slow worms will often be found underneath rocks or logs. They hibernate over the winter, typically from late autumn to early spring, and can bury themselves within loose soil so that only the head is visible. They are just as likely to be found in communities as they are solitary. The slow worm has the ability to seperate from its tail if caught by a predator, although its tail will never regrow fully.
The slow worm breeding season runs from late April until June, with births occurring some three to five months later.
Protected
In the United Kingdom the slow worm has been granted protected status, alongside all other native British reptile species. The slow worm has been decreasing in numbers, and under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 it is illegal to intentionally kill, injure, sell or advertise to sell them.
External Links
- BBC - Science & Nature - Wildfacts - Slow worm
- The RSPB: A to Z of a Wildlife Garden: Slow worm
- The Herpetological Conservation Trust: The Slow Worm
- Slow worm - Anguis fragilis: More Information - ARKive