RAUK - Archived Forum - Posts by daveg:

I'm a new member and wondered if anyone could help identify this snake that I came accross in China November 2002 when working on a drilling rig on the outskirts of Dongying in Shangdong province, (eastern China). Weather was sunny but chilly probably about 12 deg c (midday) so I was surprised to see it slither,albeit leisurely! accross a sandy track leading up to the drilling site about 100 m away.

The area was mainly deadish grass and small ponds and tracks running between several small oil installations so not really classic reptile country. I later thought there was a chance it had escaped from a restaurant as there were probably a few  within a km radius that may have had snake on the menu but couldn't verify at the time. I've tried to check up on Chinese herps on the internet but seen nothing to help me ID this one. Suppose its a rat snake of some kind?

Travel round quite a lot for my job and just now in Villahermosa, Mexico and seen some nice iguanas! Other than that, I live in Gillingham, Dorset and just heard by text that someone has seen an adder near the river Lodden but still trying to get the full details. Dave

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Nice to see reptiles surviving in somewhat bleak conditions. The photo I dug out here shows the area in the Shengli Oilfield , Dongying where I saw the snake.  Dave

Hi Folks

Have really enjoyed the forum so far and at least can now contribute this little beauty.  

At long last we have a picture of a grass snake from near my girlfriends sisters house near Penselwood, South Somerset. This is the second one she's spotted this summer and as with the first I was away working abroad so missed it. Had to run back to get her phone camera which wasnt charged so then went home to recharge but luckily the snake was still in situ under a piece of bark. She did well. The interesting thing is that there is a large overgrown manure heap nearby and the surrounding paddocks are grazed by cows and horses so maybe this is a good egg laying site. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity for me to arrange putting down some refugia? From the approxiamte size 50 cm I'd guess the snake is about a year old so not a hatchling from this year but there may be some of those around by now. I'll try and check out the site again later this week if the rain lets up. We seem to heading for a mini monsoon.

Oh yes I'll post the sighting on the official form.

Have any members noticed an increase in snake numbers due to the hot summer weather we had this year? or did the relatively cold extended winter interrupt the mating period?

Thanks

Daveg

Hi Dan, Steve

Your pictures are great Dan. I lived in Cyprus for 9 years, 1984 to about 1993 and spent a lot of time looking for reptiles. Used to see a lot of large Black Whip snakes (Caluber Caspius?) and Montepelliers which seemed to be the most common species at least around Larnaca where I lived. Chameleons were also fairly common but difficult to spot hidden amongst the foilage.

Snake George used to live in a village called Tsada up in the hills above Paphos and had his open air reptilarium nearby. I dont know if its still open these days? but hopefully he's still helping to promote conservation on the island.

Here are a few pics from those days that I scanned into my pc, sorry they are not brilliant quality, the first was taken at Mackenzie Beach at Larnaca after I got to the scene too late to save the snake being killed by a local cafe owner. I think it may be a Balken Whip Snake? but was never sure as this species didn't seem to be common and I never saw a similar patterened snake on the island.

The second snake was a captive at somebodys house in Larnaca that I went to have a look at one day. It kindly bit my friends finger while he held the snake for my shot. He survived! At the time I didn't know that this was a coin snake. The species is described in Collins Reptile and Amphibians (Britain and Europe) in the 2nd edition.

Finally the cat snake was a part of travelling zoo that visisted Larnaca but I remember snake George also had some in captivity. In the wild I only ever saw a dead specimen. I suppose this is a secretive nocturnal animal that is normally hard to find and maybe not common on the island.

If anyone else has Cypriot reptile news please let me know.

Dave

This slow worm was out and about the other morning crossing a small country road that lies exactly on the border of Dorset and Wiltshire. Distribution maps for  slow worms seem to be patchy around North Dorset in most literature yet they are actually quite common based on other peoples reported sightings. Still it was the first time I've seen one actively moving about for some time. Conditions humid overcast about 17deg C, time 09:12 august 31st. I'll send a record in.

Some others you could look for include Snakes and Lizards by Tom Langton, a book for beginners but has plenty of interesting information on British species. Lizards of the World by Chris Mattison is a detailed guide and has 4 references to slow worms plus info on other similar species of legless lizard.

Donald Streets book 'Reptiles of Northern and Central Europe' was first published in 1979 and has an 11 page chapter on the slow worm.

Dave

Hi Dan

We went to Stoupa in Greece October. Its a quiet resort and not too built up, great for Lizards and potentially snakes. On a previous visit 4 years ago caught a glimpse of what looked like a montpellier snake disappering into a stone wall but this visit no snakes at all for me. My partner and duaghter though spotted 2 whip snakes basking on a wall that we walked past most days to the beach. I'd gone off on another walk on that occasion and failed to see them  every time I went back to that spot. Could have been dahls whipsnakes.The weather was OK most of the time warm and sunny just a couple of rainy days in the middle, probably perfect for reptiles not too hot.

I think the above is a male? Greek rock lizard.

Male Pelloponese Wall lizard

This is a marginated tortoise but in this area there is a local morph known as weissingeri or dwarf marginated tortoise. Not sure if this is one? I found above one in Kardymili gorge.

Lighter coloured (weissingeri?) tortoise from Stoupa

Baby tortoise from close to same location as above. Found hiding in a stone wall.

Dave

Hi foks

Hope its OK to ask for another foreign identification? Ive recently been catching a bit of winter sun in Oman on a work assignement. While driving from Nimr up to Nizwa last week we had a quick photo stop in the desert. The very first shrub I looked at had this snake in. At first I thought was shoelace but it remained motionless long enough to take some pics and then made its escape very rapidly into some other nearby mini bushes and evaded my clumsy attempts to catch it

I think it may be  a variety of sand snake or racer?

Thanks Dave

This slow worm has made several appearances in my mother in laws garden (Gillingham, Dorset) over the last year and earlier lost the end of its tail to (presumably) one of the local cats who stalks the area near the garden fence where it likes to put in an appearance. She has now built a protective cocoon of flower pots and garden gnomes around its habitat and this seems to be providing effective protection against the feline offender. On this occasion 10th July she caught the SW and kept her? captive in tupperware til I could get round for a look I think it could be a pregnant female judging by its girth?

Dave

Hi Stanislaw

Western Whip snakes were common in the pine forsets between Bordeaux and Biarrittz at least back in 1980's. I remember seeing a few there without much effort in looking, dont know if thats still the case?

Dave

We visited Keffalonia 15th to 22nd this month but the weather was typically too hot during the day to see many reptiles. Mornings and evenings Balkan wall lizards were active in the hotel grounds and around coastal paths. Saw one dead montpellier on the road near Karavados. Anyone seen the religious festival in August where the cat snakes appear near the church in Markopoulo village? Dave

Balkan Wall Lizard on coast path near Kanali beach

Juvenile lizard (Balkan?)

Montpellier snake

Moorish gecko, bathroom ceiling.

Folks

Can anyone please identify the newts in the pictures. They were taken by a friend of a friend at his garden in Pen Selwood Somerset.

They were both convinced that these  little creatures were lizards so I offered to post the pictures here a clear up the debate. My guess is that they are palmates and the one(s) with the orange dorsal stripes are about inch 1/2 long are late stage efts and the more uniform with spots is a female. I was told the ventrals were uniform orangy coloured.

Thanks for any words of wisdom

Dave

Hi Andy, I havent seen any myself in the NE but the distribution maps suggest the North York Moors are well covered with them judging by the one in Amphibians and Reptiles  (A natural history of British Herpofauna) by Trevor Beebee and Richard Griffiths

Elsewhere in the NE they seem to be patchily distributed. Luckily I live in the SW where they are common but even here you dont often see them above ground, got to look under stuff such as discarded plastic, roofing felt or tin etc. Good luck

Andy

This link gives some info on the best areas to try near Durham

http://www.durhambiodiversity.org.uk/pdfs/species/reptiles-a mphibians/Adder&slowworm.pdf

The first pic is a slow worm from last week, I found under a piece of plastic next to the large pyramid of discarded wood chippings inside a small fenced off field overgrown with grass, must be private but popped over the fence for a look. Nearby on the road was a squashed baby grass snake. This area is near a small river called Shreen water 5mins from home in Gillingham Dorset. Not a hot spot for any rare species like Sand Lizards or Smooth snakes but slow worms crop up frequently enough.

Plastic sheet just out of view to left of compost heap!

Keep on looking and dont give up hope!

Dave

 Just a few pics from trips to Greece this year. The Montpellier snake and Greek Algyroides (?) were from Keffalonia in late July. Weather as you'd expect was very hot so there werent too many reptiles around. The snake was in a shady spot in a drainage ditch just above the beach at Karavados. Gave me a nip but then calmed down quickly while a couple of elderly Greek ladies looked on in amazement or horror. My wife took the pics and also takes credit for spotting the snake in the first place. I didnt suffer any side effects from the bite as this was quite a young example of approx 30 cm and it didnt use its back fangs to bite me.

This is a close up showing the head scales. The long frontal scale seems to confirm it is a Montpellier although at first I thought the snakes pattern was like that of a Balkan whip snake.

The lizard below was on a wall close to our apartment between Lassi and Argostoli. I think its an Algyroides judging by the picture in the Collins Britain & Europe Reptiles and Amphibian field guide.

Have just been for a week (last in Oct) in the Southern Peloponnese  staying near to Koroni. We visited my step daughters family who live in Mavromatti near the site of Ancient Messinia and did a bit of work helping to prune  their olive trees of excess branches before the final harvest of the olives in November. Ideal reptile habitat but alas no snakes were found although Im sure there must be loads hiding in the tumbledown stone walls. Again my wife was quick to spot something that seemed to look like a snake but it turned out to be a young glass lizard with the distinctive dark barred pattern. 

The locals here are terrified of snakes and will kill them on site. I think the only venemous snake in the area is the nose horned viper?

Just a few lizards from the coast near to Koroni. Peloponesse wall lizards were common when the sun was out although unfortunately we had several rainy and windy days mid week.

I think the above is a male judging by the colouration. Below is probably a female.

Below is the wall next to the sea where I did my morning lizard spotting walks. One (female?) peloponnese wall lizard looking for its breakfast.

The baby lizard below was found inland close to a ruined monastery and small river in the hills near to the Ancient Messinian site. Not sure if its a young wall lizard or something else. Can anyone help with an ID?

Finally no self respecting Greek holiday apartment can go without its quota of geckos. Here was one of ours.

Hope to get back to this part of Greece in the spring next year. I would imagine it remains a good place for reptiles and amphibians throughout November as max daytime temperatures are still up to 22 deg C and everywhere is green and verdant after the October rains

Dave