We have baby snakes.

[Corris]

As I mentioned earlier, we found quite large shedded skins in the plot after we moved in. Well, over the last 24 hours I have seen 3 baby snakes!

They are around 8 inches totally stretched out I guess, maybe 6. They are dark brown, but have a yellow flash behind the head, and a yellow underbelly, with brown stripes from the underbelly going a little way up the body.

They are really small, and appear a bit dopey - one got completely lost and was in the corner of the garage/house wall on the concrete. One was being eaten by a blackbird (I shooed the blackbird off but it took the baby with it) and one was in the middle of the path in the side garden.

Do they hatch from a nest with many occupants? Am I crawling with them do you think? And I THINK they are grass snakes - if they aren't, would someone like to enlighten me?

I'm assuming having them is a Good Thing.

[Two_Sheds]

Lucky, lucky you. Do you have a pond? I've only ever seen them in water. Most of the babies will be eaten by other things, so you won't be overrun

[Corris]

Ah see, I keep making you jealous - along the big side of our two gardens (hedge in the middle) is the Weavers Way long distance footpath (old railway line) - the other side of that is the boundary of the Norfolk Broads.

I don't yet have a pond (I will have one when I eventually find the boundaries of my garden and clear it - I haven't yet managed even 50% and it's all damn well growing back) but there is plenty of water course and marshy bits just the other side of the old railway line. Even a canal in the distance.

I didn't fancy the one on the paths chances, not having seen the Blackbird giving the other one 'what for' earlier on.

[mothhawk]

Your description sounds like a grass snake. Yes, you're probably crawling with them if the blackbird hasn't scoffed them, the adult female lays a clutch of between ten and forty eggs, probably in your compost heap. They are also called water snakes, since they like to swim, and feed mostly on frogs, newts and small fish. They grow to about five foot long, but stay slim (not like pythons!).
They hibernate over winter, so if you've a warm compost heap, that's probably where they'll go, around October time.

Excellent video of bill oddie and baby grass snakes here

[Two_Sheds]

Lovely video, thanks.

(I didn't even have to put Bill Oddie on mute like I usually do)

[Corris]

That's them mothhawk! That's exactly the two skins we found too.

They are very lovely things, although the one yesterday didn't look too bright - I wonder if it was the same one the blackbird had? I don't think so because it was much further away from the house.

I thought frogs were a Good Thing in gardens? Surely snakes that eat them then are a Bad Thing?

[pauco]

That's them mothhawk! That's exactly the two skins we found too.

They are very lovely things, although the one yesterday didn't look too bright - I wonder if it was the same one the blackbird had? I don't think so because it was much further away from the house.

I thought frogs were a Good Thing in gardens? Surely snakes that eat them then are a Bad Thing?

It's called the balance of Nature, food for some life for the fittest.May seem harsh but it works for Mother Nature.

paul.

[Corris]

Absolutely Paul, but still we encourage things that benefit our growing surely? I thought frogs did a good job doing something I'm a bit vague about and so were to be encouraged.

[pauco]

Absolutely Paul, but still we encourage things that benefit our growing surely? I thought frogs did a good job doing something I'm a bit vague about and so were to be encouraged.

Your spot on Corris. All animals play a part of Natures cycle, some as prey, food chain, some to carry on the life cycle, the fittest who survive. The problem with man is greed.

paul.

[mothhawk]

Absolutely Paul, but still we encourage things that benefit our growing surely? I thought frogs did a good job doing something I'm a bit vague about and so were to be encouraged.

Frogs indeed do a good job eating slugs and flies and other pests...BUT...think of the (introduced) cane toad in Australia - no natural predators and virtually knee deep in some states, where people have to go out and kill them to reduce numbers!
Then think of all the tadpoles from the eggs of just ONE English frog per pond - if they all reached maturity and all the females laid as many eggs again, we'd be knee deep too, so it's good that they are thinned out naturally by other creatures, isn't it?

[Corris]

well another snake bit the dust today. We found the body - he had a big chunk stuck in his body - it looked like he'd eaten a beetle and it was too big for him. Poor little blighter.

[Two_Sheds]

I thought frogs were a Good Thing in gardens?

Well, we always say that they eat lots of slugs but actually they prefer worms

As to those higher up the food chain (raptors, snakes) - they will only exist if there is a plentiful supply of lower-down beasties

So a healthy population of grass snakes means a healthy population of frogs, means a healthy population of worms ...

[Inthevalley]

Whilst turning over my chicken compost I also uncovered a nest of grass snakes.

So many that it resembled a bush tucker trial, loads of snakes and still a good many in egg form.

I realise that this is probably a common thing but what I would like to know is can they be harmful to my hens in any way.

[Two_Sheds]

No, not harmful at all. They aren't poisonous, and eat frogs

[baldrick]

Well, we always say that they eat lots of slugs but actually they prefer worms

As to those higher up the food chain (raptors, snakes) - they will only exist if there is a plentiful supply of lower-down beasties

So a healthy population of grass snakes means a healthy population of frogs, means a healthy population of worms ...

all predators are marker species. They show how healthy the rest of the food chain is...except foxes and seagulls. They just demonstrate how long councils go between bin days LOL!