ok who knows about snakes?saw one today about 2 feet long,light green with black diamonds on its back,wasnt too frightened by me and my dog looking at it as it slithered up the road

Trouser Snake...............

mmm, sounds very much like an adder/viper to me!

fozzie

Its an adder, common as hell down here in hot weather. We had a gorse fire not so long ago, they all escaped into the village!

cheers dudes,not poisonous?

Yep most certainly poisonous!

fozzie

Adders are poisonous. A mate had a massive reaction to one when we were on a school field trip.


He swelled up like 'Mr. Soft' in the old mints advert. 'Twas truly horrible.


Should have seen his face when 12 months later a load of the buggers swarmed over our wellies in Arran!


We sold his clothes when in hospital Still, he's got some highly paid job in Jaguar now so it can't have done him all that much harm can it?

Cheers,

Neil.

Look in my photo archive for the Trouser Snake Bat...................... Yet another blatant plug for smuttygifts.com (coming to an internet near you soon)

Grass snakes are commoner and also have diamond shaped marks on their backs and sides. There are several species up to 4' in length. The adder is native to open heath but grass snakes prefer a more aquatic environment being strong swimmers and feeding on frogs and tadpoles.

http://www.naturallywild.co.uk/reptiles.php

Lots of pictures for snake spotters! Smut free link.
Ian

adders are poisonous, but the last known death in the uk was about 25 years ago....

atb

steve

very scary snakes i nearly stood on one about 12 yrs ago. I still feel sick thinking about it

The bite of an adder is rarely fatal for healthy humans.
People with hart desease should be very carefull though.An alergic reaction is often more likely the cause of death after a adder strike.
Unlike popular believe it's not very wise to try to suck the venem out of the wound.The poison gets into the bloodstream immediately and it's impossible to suck it out.
Do not cut off the bloodstream of the bodypart that received the bite it will make things worse.

Dave 1888,

Where's the avatar a picture of ?

Eilean Donan Castle i reckon - most photograped castle in the worl y all acounts.clicky link

[Edited on 27/9/04 by colmaccoll]

looks like the smooth snake(very original name)

borrows your car,clears out your bank and runs off with your wife. Avoid it at all costs.