Slow Worm

Description:

Males and Females show a marked difference in colour when fully grown. Females very often have a dark vertebral (back) stripe, the flanks are flecked or striped with dark brown or black, the ventral surface is nearly always uniform black. Adult males are more uniform in colour dorsally and on the flanks, the belly is usually mottled black or dark grey, they also have proportionally larger heads. Occasionally males have very distinct blue spots. The upper parts of the body vary from light or dark brown, grey, bronze or brick red.

Habitat:

Very widely distributed in Britain, adults spend much of their time under ground in burrows they make for themselves, they are highly elusive yet not uncommon. They may be seen along railway embankments, in wooded areas, church yards, waste ground and allotments. They very often live in gardens unnoticed, making use of compost heaps for their burrows and feeding on slugs and snails.

Notes:

Emerging from hibernation in March, the slow-worm may be seen to bask in the early morning and evening sun, as the animals come into condition for breeding, which occurs in May. The young take 4 - 5 months to develop, being produced in late August to early September. The Slow-worm is ovi-viviparous, meaning that the young are born in an egg membrane that breaks soon after birth.