Viviparous Lizard

Lacerta vivipara

SIZE AND DESCRIPTION

Length 10–16cm. Tail may be twice the body length. Skin has obvious scales and a variable pattern. Female usually has a stripe down the middle of her back. Pale spots on the back are more obvious in male than female. Pale underside is orange in some males.

HABITAT

Occurs across Europe to the Alps and northern Spain. In south lives in damp places at up to about 3,000m; in north occurs in open areas such as overgrown and secluded gardens.

FOOD AND HABITS

Hunts by day using sight and scent. Prey includes spiders, insects and small snails. Hibernates October–March. Young develop in thin membranous eggs inside female’s body. Eggs are laid June–September, with young ‘hatching’ immediately. Lifespan up to 12 years.

Common Wall lizard

Podarcis muralis

SIZE AND DESCRIPTION

Length 18–20cm. Tail can be more than twice the body length. Longer and more pointed head than Viviparous Lizard’s (opposite). Colours vary from brownish or greyish to greenish.

HABITAT

Found on walls and tree trunks. Occurs from northern Spain, across France and Italy, to the Balkans and Greece.

FOOD AND HABITS

Feeds on small invertebrates. Lives in colonies. Hibernates November–February, except in warmer places. The 2–10 eggs are laid in a hole dug in the ground, and hatch July–September. Lifespan up to seven years.

Slow-worm

Anguis fragilis

SIZE AND DESCRIPTION

Length 30–52cm. A legless lizard with a round head and smooth-scaled body. Brownish, but blue may show on older individuals.

HABITAT

Meadows, woodland margins, gardens and cemeteries, from Britain and western Spain to Russia and southern Scandinavia.

FOOD AND HABITS

Hunts slow-moving invertebrates, usually early in the morning or in the evening. Mating takes place April–June. The 6–12 young develop inside female for 3–5 months, before being born August–September. Lifespan up to 50 years.

Grass Snake

Natrix natrix

SIZE AND DESCRIPTION

Length 70–150cm. Slender pale snake with a distinct head and dark marks on either side of its neck. Mouth looks curved. Female is bigger than male.

HABITAT

Lowland hedgerows, woodland margins, heaths, moorland, water meadows, gravel pits and gardens. Found in England and Wales across continental Europe, except far north and far south.

FOOD AND HABITS

Eats frogs, fish, tadpoles, newts, mice, voles and birds. Swims well. Hibernates October–March in holes, crevices and manure heaps. Mating takes place April–May; 8–40 eggs are laid June–early August in manure heaps, haystacks, compost heaps or rotting logs. Eggs hatch August–September. Lifespan up to 25 years.

European Adder

Viper berus

SIZE AND DESCRIPTION

Length 55–90cm. Colour variable, ranging from light with small and incomplete dark dorsal cross-bars, to entirely dark in melanistic individuals. Head usually with a distinctive V or X on the back. Dark streak from eye to neck continues as a series of spots along the flanks. Female usually brownish with dark brown markings, male pure grey with black markings.

HABITAT

Includes chalky downs, moors, rocky hillsides, meadows, rough commons, hedgerows, dumps and large gardens, in much of Europe.

FOOD AND HABITS

Timid, biting only when cornered or alarmed – may hiss loudly to warn off aggressors. Bites not highly dangerous to humans. Feeds mainly on small mammals and reptiles. Young, numbering 3–20, born August–September. Hibernates in winter. Lifespan 10–15 years.

Typical European Adder prey includes mice and newts