| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Razee |
Posted - 31/08/2012 : 15:07:36
We have slowworms living in our compost heap. This is one I found when adding some more stuff to the heap - it was only small, but hugely fat. It almost looked like he'd swallowed another slowworm, can that happen?
Here it is, held by my nephew: ( we did put him back :-) )
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| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| EmSquem |
Posted - 10/09/2012 : 19:14:28
Awww I adore slow worms! I've never found one in my garden but I see them everywhere else around here . . . me and my friend found a few under some rocks in her flowerbed :P |
| scorpyshake |
Posted - 05/09/2012 : 13:45:41
My mother in law has them in her garden, they love hiding under sheds too, weve had them where I live too, but not seen any for a while, My hausband also noticed one on a sandy path coming away from a beach a few years ago in cornwall.
Slow worms are so cool :) |
| Mort13 |
Posted - 03/09/2012 : 09:41:32
Aww,I'm jealous. I've never seen one of these,what a beautiful creature |
| Razee |
Posted - 01/09/2012 : 17:36:54
@ Auld Baldy - does it work on ants, too? Midges yesterday, half an ant nest on my today...was distracted taking more slowworm pictures and the little blighters swarmed up my arm biting their way up. Aaargh... |
| Ell |
Posted - 01/09/2012 : 14:32:32
Oooo nice, your very lucky, I adore slow worms ^^ |
| Mike80 |
Posted - 01/09/2012 : 12:53:44
quote:
Originally posted by Jenn
ok, googled them, very cool...lol. I want one!
Interestingly, although they are a protected species in the UK, as far as I can tell it isn't an offense to keep one as a pet - similar to grass snakes. It's only an offense if you mistreat, harm or kill them or go on to sell/trade them. It's one of those weird British laws that outlaws everything else but doesn't specifically outlaw ownership, although in this case keeping one in captivity could be interpreted as mistreatment and be considered an offense.
Unfortunately for you that means no sending them to Canada for the pet trade. That's probably very fortunate for the slow worms and Canada though 
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| Jenn |
Posted - 01/09/2012 : 04:30:35
ok, googled them, very cool...lol. I want one! |
| Mike80 |
Posted - 01/09/2012 : 00:21:20
quote:
Originally posted by paulie78
...my friends got an entire colony under his patio which has upset wifey cause she wanted it moved and hes refused now on principle that the slow worms live there lol
That's pretty much what happened to my mum. She was moving some old patio slabs and discovered several slow worms living there. Unfortunately the slabs had to be moved but she's got a sort of 'wild', undisturbed border around the edge of the garden so I told her to place a few 12'' square pieces of corrugated tin around there to encourage the slow worms to stay. Hopefully it'll work.
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| paulie78 |
Posted - 31/08/2012 : 23:56:28
Aww very cool hmm wonder if it was a gravid female have to keep an eye open for babys and let us know we seem to get slow worms aplenty round here my friends got an entire colony under his patio which has upset wifey cause she wanted it moved and hes refused now on principle that the slow worms live there lol
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| scottishbluebird |
Posted - 31/08/2012 : 23:28:56
The avon stuff keeps away flies too |
| Auld Baldy |
Posted - 31/08/2012 : 22:54:56
At the first opportunity, ambush the first Avon Rep you see and grab as much 'Skin So Soft' skin lotion as you can. It works pretty well at keeping the devils away. (Seriously.) |
| Razee |
Posted - 31/08/2012 : 22:46:47
Mike 80: they really seem to like not just the compost heap, but the fact that it is covered by black plastic. They seem to sit right under the plastic, I think they like getting the heat from the compost heap from below and from the black plastic as it heats from the sun. And the cat can't see them there, either. |
| Razee |
Posted - 31/08/2012 : 22:05:29
Thanks, everybody. When I still didn't have snakes, I used to go to look at / handle the slowworms. 
& Blackcat: Would be nice to think it was pregnant, though it was only about half the length of the fully grown ones I've seen, and the bulge started just behind the head, so probably from something it's eaten.
& Lotabob: It looked almost like a picture of a snake I'd seen on a link: a hatchling that has just eaten another hatchling  Then I thought - hang on, they are mainly insect or worm eaters, would they try to eat another, smaller slowworm?
& Jenjen23: I've found a tailless one, too, and one with horrible scars, but healing very well. I suspect our cat ( or the 5 cats from next door ) could well be the culprit.
& Auld Baldy: I can sympathize re midges, just been changing electric fencing in the field a got eaten alive by mobs of them. Am still itching now. |
| Mike80 |
Posted - 31/08/2012 : 21:49:46
Good pic!
It's a little hard to tell from the picture but I'd say yours is female and, as Blackcat suggested, may be gravid. If she is pregnant then she's probably ready to drop any day now! Just a guess though.
Coincidently, I've been helping my mum to encourage slow worms into her garden over the last week. She lives the other end of the country so unfortunately I won't get to see the results, but I hope it works. They're useful creatures when it comes to controlling slugs
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| Auld Baldy |
Posted - 31/08/2012 : 21:20:56
That is a beauty. 
I found one up near Glen Coe in the Highlands several years ago and he was even chunkier than that one, at least half as thick again.
I got covered in deer ticks and eaten down to the bone by midges but it was worth it.  |
| jenjen23 |
Posted - 31/08/2012 : 19:01:49
wow looks chunky! We used to get loads in our garden, then we kept finding them with the ends of their tails missing then they seemed to disappear, pretty sure all the neighbours' cats got them killers |
| Falice |
Posted - 31/08/2012 : 18:27:36
Awwsome! What a fatty lol. I saw one of these a few months back after not seeing one since I was a kid |
| lotabob |
Posted - 31/08/2012 : 17:40:12
Looks like its only just eaten something huge or has a blockage. I would love to see one of these but so far nothing, they dont live in Ireland (though I have heard there is a small pocket of them somewhere) so will have to come to the UK and go compost digging. |
| Moppet |
Posted - 31/08/2012 : 17:11:52
Wow, very cool. |
| Blackcat |
Posted - 31/08/2012 : 16:27:07
Lovely photo.
If I'm correct they give birth to live young, so what you refer to as a 'fat' male might actually be a gravid female and you will have lots of tiddly baby slow worms in your compost heap
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