British reptiles

Part one the adder.

The adder is Britain's only venomous snake. Adders live in open spaces like heaths, moors and scrub land. However, they are very secretive and non-aggressive that they rarely pose a threat to humans. They have a dark zigzag pattern on their back and dark spots on their tale. They also have a black V mark just behind their head,A vertical pupil and a clear membrane over their eyes(Snakes don`t have eyelids). The colour of their eyes are red.Males are grey,White or cream but females are a red-brown colour, The male can grow up to sixty five centimetres with the female being slightly bigger. Adders are widespread throughout Britain especially in southern England and Scotland. They are active during the day,and may be seen hunting in warm weather for small birds,small mammals,lizards and frogs. Adders bite their prey with fangs, which inject venom,or poison, Straight into the victims flesh. If the animal does not die straight away the snake will track it with its forked tongue to follow the scent, They have heat sensors on its snout that will also detect the animals body. Snakes hibernate from October right through to the beginning of march. After hibernation they will look for a mate, On the heathland in spring males will wrestle with other males for the right to mate with receptive females who only become pregnant once every two years. They will not bite each other as this would be fatal as the are venomous. When the male adder approaches the female, he has to be careful, he will twitch his body to appease her and then they will couple. Between three and sixteen young are then born in august or September. Most reptiles lay eggs, but adders are viviparous snakes, which means they keep the eggs inside their bodies while they develop and then give birth to live young.The mother will not give them any parental care and they will leave the nest not long after they are born. Adders learn about the world around them using their excellent senses of sight,smell and taste. After they have killed its prey they fold back their fangs,before swallowing the animal whole. It draws in its prey by working its loosely hinged,wide opening jaws. Each half the upper and lower jaws can be moved independently. Very dark adders are not un-common,They are totally black with no zig zags. They have very few natural enemies apart from man and can live for up to ten years in the wild. They take about two years to reach maturity. Adders will shed their skin from time to time.