vernon
Harder than Ronnie Pickering
- Location
- Meanwood, Leeds
Slow worm?
- Thread starter User
- Start date
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summerdays
Cycling in the sun
- Location
- Bristol
If you want to see him again, put a bit of corrugated iron on the grass somewhere near the edge and close to longer grass. I watched someone who had to clear an area of them before building work could take place.
laurence
Veteran
- Location
- in the aeroplane over the sea
lovely creatures.
good for the garden as they love slugs.
that one looks like a male, although it can be tricky as i've seen a lot of female ones without the obvious dark sides or stripe behind the head. i picked one up yesterday to check (i was doing a survey and you have to note the sex of the slow worms) and it pooed on me.
good for the garden as they love slugs.
that one looks like a male, although it can be tricky as i've seen a lot of female ones without the obvious dark sides or stripe behind the head. i picked one up yesterday to check (i was doing a survey and you have to note the sex of the slow worms) and it pooed on me.
Saddle bum
Über Member
- Location
- Kent
Fnaar
Smutmaster General
- Location
- Thumberland
If they detach their tails, sorry to be a pedant, but where does the tail start?
[muttering\I will not mention trouser snake. I will not mention trouser snake. I will not mention trouser snake. I will not mention trouser snake.\muttering]
[muttering\I will not mention trouser snake. I will not mention trouser snake. I will not mention trouser snake. I will not mention trouser snake.\muttering]
Mad Doug Biker
Banned from every bar in the Galaxy
- Location
- Craggy Island
Cats are an ABSOLUTE menace with small animals in general. If it was down to me I'd ban the ruddy things and no mistake 
Eh Pat?
That said, I've never seen slow worms before, you just don't get them here.
Eh Pat?
That said, I've never seen slow worms before, you just don't get them here.
vernon
Harder than Ronnie Pickering
- Location
- Meanwood, Leeds
Fnaar
Smutmaster General
- Location
- Thumberland
Which would win in a race between a slow worm and a proper worm?
vernon
Harder than Ronnie Pickering
- Location
- Meanwood, Leeds
Archie_tect
De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
- Location
- Northumberland
Depends which way they set off...
laurence
Veteran
- Location
- in the aeroplane over the sea
the tail starts after the vent... same as for snakes. the vent contains the cloaca, which is part of the sex organs. in snakes (not entirely sure about slow worms) the genitalia (there are 2) are just below that. if you pick up a slow worm it may well pee or poo on you, you'll be able to see the vent then. they do an amazing projectile pee as a defence.
if you look at snakes or slow worms, you will see a narrowing just after the vent... this is the start of the tail. it is very noticeable in female slow worms at the end of summer, before they give birth.
when a slow worm loses its tail it only regrows a small amount. the one in the OP has lost part of the tail. many other lizards will regrow the tails more than a slow worm, but they will not grow to the full length - a common lizard with a full tail will have a tail the same length or slightly longer than the body itself, if it loses any it will grow to about 2/3 the original. a slow worm regrowth will only involve a small amount of regrowth and mainly consists of forming a point - for reasons below.
slow worms use their tails in fascinating ways. when you find a slow worm they will often move away tail first - this is so that any attacker will assume the moving end is the head. when it is grabbed, the slow worm will drop that section of tail and scamper away.
they also have a tendency to press the tip of their tail into you if you pick them up - this led to their name of Slayer Worm as it was assumed they were trying to inject you with venom. this was then corrupted to slow worm. another theory is that they are slayers of worms.
laurence
Veteran
- Location
- in the aeroplane over the sea
Interesting.
I'd heard and seen pics of them, but never seen one for real. I'm guessing they're a southern thing?
Slow Worms are the most widespread of our native reptiles, they are found all over the country - they are also one of the hardest to find as they spend most of their time in the undergrowth.
they seem to have a lower 'operating' temperature to other native reptiles (although the Adder is very cold tolerant), so they are active for a longer period. we've had some out and about in January at the wetland centre and still around in November.
