Snakes are out

[BenBhoy 4,706]

38 minutes ago, FOXHUNTER said:

when suddenly I was confronted with an adder , face to face.

Crikey don't let Alsone hear that, he's been looking everywhere for one!! 

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

58 minutes ago, BenBhoy said:

Crikey don't let Alsone hear that, he's been looking everywhere for one!! 

Plenty in Hamsterley Forest near us. I remember another time fishing  at Kielder reservoir , one of the lads put an adder in my bait box , luckily it had a clear lid and I spotted it. We placed it in the reservoir, they are great swimmers. 

Edited February 4, 2021 by FOXHUNTER

[Sausagedog 7,381]

1 hour ago, FOXHUNTER said:

Plenty in Hamsterley Forest near us. I remember another time fishing  at Kielder reservoir , one of the lads put an adder in my bait box , luckily it had a clear lid and I spotted it. We placed it in the reservoir, they are great swimmers. 

Sure it wasn't a grass snake

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

3 minutes ago, Sausagedog said:

Sure it wasn't a grass snake

Defo adder , zigzag pattern down it's back about 2 ft long. Seen a few in my time up here , dont think we get grass snakes.

[Alsone 789]

14 hours ago, BenBhoy said:

Crikey don't let Alsone hear that, he's been looking everywhere for one!! 

I've found plenty. Grass snakes as well.

11 hours ago, FOXHUNTER said:

Defo adder , zigzag pattern down it's back about 2 ft long. Seen a few in my time up here , dont think we get grass snakes.

Although a zig zag would tend to be an adder, it's unlikely it was an adder. They're lightening fast and impossible to pick up - that's how most people get bitten. They also hate water. Grass snakes on the other hand are a light brown with black banding and a small one could be mistaken for an adder if you didn't know what you're looking for. They're usually quite docile and although they can bite, or play aggressive, they often play dead or exhume a foul smelling liquid from their skins to give the impression of rotting flesh as most predators don't eat dead rotting animals.

Adder here - they're fast and this was just a warning:
 

Grass snakes are commonly found around fishing ponds.

This may help with identification:
 

 

Edited February 5, 2021 by Alsone

[Sausagedog 7,381]

7 hours ago, Alsone said:

I've found plenty. Grass snakes as well.

Although a zig zag would tend to be an adder, it's unlikely it was an adder. They're lightening fast and impossible to pick up - that's how most people get bitten. They also hate water. Grass snakes on the other hand are a light brown with black banding and a small one could be mistaken for an adder if you didn't know what you're looking for. They're usually quite docile and although they can bite, or play aggressive, they often play dead or exhume a foul smelling liquid from their skins to give the impression of rotting flesh as most predators don't eat dead rotting animals.

Adder here - they're fast and this was just a warning:
 

Grass snakes are commonly found around fishing ponds.

This may help with identification:
 

 

The foul stench comes from their A hole.

I know this because I coaxed my mate to pick one up one cool spring morning and when he did I watched this substance  ejaculate all down his leg

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

16 hours ago, Alsone said:

I've found plenty. Grass snakes as well.

Although a zig zag would tend to be an adder, it's unlikely it was an adder. They're lightening fast and impossible to pick up - that's how most people get bitten. They also hate water. Grass snakes on the other hand are a light brown with black banding and a small one could be mistaken for an adder if you didn't know what you're looking for. They're usually quite docile and although they can bite, or play aggressive, they often play dead or exhume a foul smelling liquid from their skins to give the impression of rotting flesh as most predators don't eat dead rotting animals.

Adder here - they're fast and this was just a warning:
 

Grass snakes are commonly found around fishing ponds.

This may help with identification:
 

 

Nothing unlikely about it , it was an adder  , found a few in my time usually warming up in the sun , this is when they are quite lethargic from what I've seen. You are wrong when you say they hate water , often found near water and are brilliant swimmers as I have witnessed. 

[Alsone 789]

I've never seen adders swimming and I always understood they dislike water. Not saying they never swim, but equally i could be wrong.

As for picking one up. Both of you are very lucky if you managed to do so. Most adder bites are to hands of interested parties as generally they won't allow anyone to pick them up and they're lightening fast. Even TV Wildlife expert Steve Backshaw got bitten by one.

[Sausagedog 7,381]

35 minutes ago, Alsone said:

I've never seen adders swimming and I always understood they dislike water. Not saying they never swim, but equally i could be wrong.

As for picking one up. Both of you are very lucky if you managed to do so. Most adder bites are to hands of interested parties as generally they won't allow anyone to pick them up and they're lightening fast. Even TV Wildlife expert Steve Backshaw got bitten by one.

Ahhr. Experts!

X= the unknown factor and pert as in like an erect nipple!

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

4 hours ago, Alsone said:

I've never seen adders swimming and I always understood they dislike water. Not saying they never swim, but equally i could be wrong.

As for picking one up. Both of you are very lucky if you managed to do so. Most adder bites are to hands of interested parties as generally they won't allow anyone to pick them up and they're lightening fast. Even TV Wildlife expert Steve Backshaw got bitten by one.

You've never seen adders swimming well I have and I can tell you they are very efficient at it. I don't know how my mate picked it up but it ended up in my bait box , I never picked it up just tipped it out of the box into the reservoir. Every adder I have seen has been docile , I suspect the wildlife expert who was bitten was probably pissing off the poor adder as I think they would probably rather not get involved in a skirmish. 

[Alsone 789]

Adders are usually docile until they feel threatened then like any animal they become defensive. Statistically, the number one type of adder bite is to the hand and the number 1 cause is trying to pick them up. It's also bad for the snake. Believe it or not, they die easily after becoming stressed by being disturbed and being disturbed is the number one cause of death for adders. They can't be bread in captivity because the stress of being captive kills them. They're curently predicted to be extinct in the next 5-10yrs as their populations are plummeting due to disturbance.

If you see an Adder, admire it. Take a photo from afar if you want, but don't get close and don't disturb it. If it goes off, don't try and stop it or if it goes to a burrow, don't wait for it to come back out. All these actions stress them. They are protected by law from harm.



 

Edited February 9, 2021 by Alsone

[Alsone 789]

deleted.

Edited February 9, 2021 by Alsone

[Sausagedog 7,381]

1 hour ago, Alsone said:

Adders are usually docile until they feel threatened then like any animal they become defensive. Statistically, the number one type of adder bite is to the hand and the number 1 cause is trying to pick them up. It's also bad for the snake. Believe it or not, they die easily after becoming stressed by being disturbed and being disturbed is the number one cause of death for adders. They can't be bread in captivity because the stress of being captive kills them. They're curently predicted to be extinct in the next 5-10yrs as their populations are plummeting due to disturbance.

If you see an Adder, admire it. Take a photo from afar if you want, but don't get close and don't disturb it. If it goes off, don't try and stop it or if it goes to a burrow, don't wait for it to come back out. All these actions stress them. They are protected by law from harm.



 

Black adders matter!

 

[Dervburner 2,549]

Brilliant, I met Tony Robinson when they were filming time team at Codnor castle. I rode up there on my beta, had a chat with him. As soon as he heard the bike he was over. I know he likes his bikes, he told me about the dig, finds etc, seems like a nice fella

[Meece 1,957]

On 05/02/2021 at 15:03, FOXHUNTER said:

You are wrong when you say they hate water , often found near water and are brilliant swimmers as I have witnessed. 

Last summer my brother and I were motoring along a local river when a grass snake was swimming right down the middle of the river in the opposite direction to us.  It took no notice of us, the boat or the outboard motor. We moved over out of its way and it continued on its way straight down the middle of the river at quite a pace.  It kept its head up vertical about a couple of inches out of the water.

On 08/02/2021 at 05:15, Alsone said:

I've never seen adders swimming and I always understood they dislike water. Not saying they never swim, but equally i could be wrong.

....lllI think that you could be mistaken.....

As for picking one up. Both of you are very lucky if you managed to do so. Most adder bites are to hands of interested parties as generally they won't allow anyone to pick them up and they're lightening fast. Even TV Wildlife expert Steve Backshaw got bitten by one.

What made this tv wildlife pundit an expert.?  The adder obviously was unaware of his proclaimed status.  Could it be that if the adder was aware of this self proclaimed expert status that the adder thought "expert eh,  I'll give the bugger a nip,  that'll teach the cocky bugger not to come down ere and mess with me when I'm  trying to get a bit of sun". !

Edited February 9, 2021 by Meece