please identify a snake like creature

[scardeycat]

i was gardening and under a bushy plant came across a strange creature, it is the size and width of a thumb with a definite snakes head but slug like body,i have downed tools and ran screaming into the house.is this a baby snake?but more importantly does it have a mother or siblings living in my garden. i live in hertfordshire.

[Wild-Woman]

Sounds like a slow-worm to me. Harmless. Welcome to WAB. WW

[scardeycat]

hi ww
what is a slow-worm?

[eeyore]

this is a slow worm pic from our gallerys

[chunkychambers]

Hi Scardey, I'm new too it's a great site innit?

I agree with Wild woman it sounds like a slow-worm, they're totally harmless.

Can you remember its colour, was it alive and in one piece?
The thickness is about right but it sounds short, they can grow to approx 18ins.

Welcome to the site, cheers from Chunky

[nightshade]

Hello scardeycat the sloworm is a legless lizard it eats slugs and other pests
it is quite harmless,even if it were a snake they usually clear off when humans
turn up it is getting to be quite rare now so be proud that it has chosen your
garden I would love them in mine,do you have a digital camera?if so send us some pics

[Wild-Woman]

I would love to have slow worms in my garden too. They are fantastic little creatures and as Nightshade has said effective at pest control. Go watch it at a distance if you're a bit worried, you may come to love them! WW

[dangerousdave]

defo a slow worm methinks, and if it was a little squat it may well have "thrown" it tail end as the common lizard does to escape predation. housecats enjoy hunting slow worms apparently..................

[scardeycat]

hi chunky
it was alive!!! the colours i remember as i hot-footed into the house were greeny,black and yellow,when i first saw it it looked like a light colored joke oooooooooooooooo!!!untill it lifted up its head.ive been very brave and ventured back into the garden but its gone.i wish now i was brave enough to have caught it to take a pic.as ive looked at images on google of slow worms and cant find a match!!

[Tiggrx]

As you say it was green/black/yellow then maybe it was a Grass Snake - also harmless