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|  » Stats |
Members: 50,177
Threads: 82,407
Posts: 853,656
Top Poster: glsammy (15,069)
| | Welcome to our newest member, Ruralman | |  | | 
14-09-2008, 10:02 PM
| | Active Member | | Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 37
| | | Slow worm
 Saw this slow-worm whilst on holiday in Devon last week. I actually missed it (nearly standing on it apparently!!) it was my fiancee that noticed it. We'd never seen one before - quite amazing to actually see one in the flesh, basking in the rain (LOL) in a churchyard in Coombe Martin. |
15-09-2008, 07:34 AM
|  | Knight Grand Cross of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: North Yorkshire
Posts: 10,729
| | | Re: Slow worm
Its a female too, if thats of any interest to you. Nice photo.  |
15-09-2008, 11:09 AM
|  | Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fife, Scotland
Posts: 1,011
| | | Re: Slow worm
What a lovely find. I've never seen one yet  One day though Bet, that made your day finding one!
Tracey |
15-09-2008, 11:29 AM
|  | Active Member | | Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 53
| | | Re: Slow worm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dogghound  Its a female too, if thats of any interest to you. Nice photo. | How do you tell the difference between males and females? 
Great piccie.
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Should I vote red for my class or green for our children? - BB |
15-09-2008, 01:50 PM
|  | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Stoke-on-Trent
Posts: 503
| | | Re: Slow worm
hi
nice find .
once mature, females mostly have a darker vertebral stripe, darker flanks and a dark, even black underside. if you look you can see a relatively faint stripe and slightly darker flanks in the picture. this is often much more obvious. males are usually more uniform in colour with a more mottled underside. males also have bigger looking heads and can have bright blue spots on their bodies.
a bit of practice and you'll pick it up quickly enough .
tim |
15-09-2008, 03:12 PM
| | Active Member | | Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 37
| | | Re: Slow worm
Can they bite or anything? or are they dangerous? Is it classed as a snake species then? |
15-09-2008, 05:36 PM
| | Knight Grand Cross of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 13,610
| |  Re: Slow worm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fungimonster90 Can they bite or anything? or are they dangerous? Is it classed as a snake species then? | Totally harmless unless you're a slug! They are legless lizards + not snakes. An animal to be encouraged as a friend to any gardener. |
15-09-2008, 07:59 PM
|  | Active Member | | Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Cornwall
Posts: 34
| | | Re: Slow worm
Hi All,
Lovely photo.
We get lots down here in Cornwall, I turned over my compost heap last week and found 23 - proper little community feeding on an ants nest, we also get them breeding in the wall at the bottom of the garden. They have an amazing defense mechanism where they can detach the end of their tail if threatened by a predator (normally cats) in the hope that it will go for the tail - if you see one with a very stubby tail that'll be why.
Wonderful creatures they really are - I'll leave the compost heap alone now till next spring as they will be hibernating in there over winter.
Cheers
Pete
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Peter McMurdie - Wildlife & Natural History Film |
15-09-2008, 08:06 PM
|  | Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 4,220
| | | Re: Slow worm
Lovely shot - so envious. Whenever I'm out and see some corrugated iron or something I'll always lift it up, and NEVER find anything
Not so common around these parts.
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As I said... :-D |
16-09-2008, 06:55 AM
| | Active Member | | Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 53
| | | Re: Slow worm
Quote:
Originally Posted by marvin hi
nice find .
once mature, females mostly have a darker vertebral stripe, darker flanks and a dark, even black underside. if you look you can see a relatively faint stripe and slightly darker flanks in the picture. this is often much more obvious. males are usually more uniform in colour with a more mottled underside. males also have bigger looking heads and can have bright blue spots on their bodies.
a bit of practice and you'll pick it up quickly enough .
tim | Thanks Tim. Does that count for the common Lizard too?
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