British reptiles.

Part two the grass snake.

The British grass snake should be called the water snake really as they spend a lot of time in slow flowing rivers,ponds and brooks. If a grass snake is disturbed, they will dive into water and hide amongst the weeds, Also if threatened by a predator, They will feign death by lying on its back with its tongue lolling, They may also eject a strong smelling liquid. Grass snakes can spend up to an hour under water. When they are away from the waters edge their habitat is low growing vegetation(close cropped sword). They hibernate between October and March in crevices or in old tree roots, After hibernation the males will look for a female and they will couple up and mate. In late spring or early the summer the female will find an area that generates heat, This is usually a compost heap or in leaf litter. She lays her eggs(up to forty). She is the only British snake to lay her eggs in a place where the heat is self generating.Depending on the temperature of where the female has laid her eggs, The warmer the area will mean that the eggs may hatch a couple of weeks earlier than those in cooler places. The eggs have flexible shells and are held in clusters by a sticky film. Two months after laying her eggs, Young snakes about seven inches long emerge through slits made by an egg tooth on their stout(this is shed after about two hours). They are smaller than their parents but look very similar. The female grass snake is longer than the male, It can grow up to two meters in length with the male being slightly smaller. The grass snake is Britain's longest snake, it has pale banding behind its head and has a round pupil, unlike the adder which has a vertical pupil(The eye is always covered by a transparent part of the skin rather than a eyelid). The grass snake also has a pale underside and greyish-green skin, But they do vary from light green to a olive green colour. It will shed(sluffing is another word for it) its skin between three and ten times a year,The colour of its skin is dull before sluffing but at its brightest afterwards. Its tail tapers away at the end of its body, it has dark markings along the flanks of its body with dark markings along its back. Grass snakes feed mainly on mice,frogs,tadpoles,newts,fish and birds. A grass snake swims with sinuous body movements as it hunts, It will swallow tadpoles but anything larger will be taken ashore to be eaten. Grass snakes are found throughout most of Britain but are not found in Ireland. They can live for about ten years in the wild if they are not preyed on be badgers or hedgehogs.