Minsmere's adders have proved extremely popular over the last few years, so we opened a dedicated adder trail this spring to make it easier to watch these amazing snakes without disturbing them. We also trained many of our guides to give them more confidence to find and talk about adders. Here's what one of our guides has to say about Minsmere amazing adders.
Guest blog by Davene Everett, Minsmere volunteer guide
I’ve always liked reptiles since owning a corn snake a few years ago, so leapt at the chance to be one of the volunteer guides on the Adder Trail. This is the perfect time of year to see adders as the males are searching out females and fighting for the right to mate with them. The Adder Trail at Minsmere is near a hibernaculum (where adders hibernate over winter) which is why it’s a good place to see them, especially on warm sunny days where, for a few short weeks, they forget their shyness and are very visible.
Early morning is a good time to catch them basking, curled up on a pile of leaves, ideally on a slight slope to get the maximum benefit of the morning warmth. Use your binoculars to scan the undergrowth systematically, concentrate on the sunny spots and you’ll soon spot one. They can flatten their body to get maximum exposure to the sun’s rays and in the earlier months, it isn’t uncommon to see a number of males curled up together. Once they’ve warmed up, they’ll be off searching for food.
Typical prey items are mice and voles, but small frogs, lizards or other snakes will all be taken. An adder only needs to eat a few times a year – once a month during the months they’re not hibernating is typical, as they don’t waste energy keeping warm as mammals have to. An adder is venomous and catches its prey by biting and injecting venom into the unfortunate victim. It will then follow the dying animal until it is safe to eat, swallowing it whole, head first normally as fur and legs don’t catch and cause problems that way (think how smooth an animal’s fur is when stroking head to tail rather than tail to head).
An adder will shed its skin occasionally, especially when it grows, normally by rubbing its chin on something rough to get started, then wriggling out of the skin as it turns inside out, like a lady taking off a stocking. In the run up to shedding (or sloughing) its skin, the adder will appear dull in colour and if you’re close enough to see its eyes, they’ll be opaque. Once the cloudiness clears from the eyes, it will shed within a few days. Coming up to a slough, snakes will be very grouchy and irritable, so best to keep out of their way at that time!
Adders don’t see particularly well at the best of times, but they’re virtually blind when going through the shedding process (hence their irritability). Their best senses are smell/taste – the flickering tongue is taking scent to the Jacobson’s organ inside their mouth allowing them to track prey or a female’s pheromones – and vibration. A snake doesn’t slither away when it hears you coming, it feels you coming from the vibrations you make on the ground. So generally speaking you don’t have to keep silent when watching adders, but you do need to avoid stomping around.
A male adder "tasting" the air by Steve Everett
A female will only breed every 2-3 years and can mate with a number of males. The pair can be joined for 30 minutes or so and are quite vulnerable at that time, so they tend to be discreet and hide away so you’re very lucky to see it. The female bears live young in September and doesn’t look after them; the young are venomous and perfectly capable of feeding themselves as soon as they are born.
Adders do get attacked by other species: herons, corvids and large gulls will have a go at them, but surprisingly their biggest enemy is the pheasant, which seems to go out of its way to attack an adder if it sees one. Adders are not large snakes, 2-3 feet is the maximum you’ll find (females are generally larger than the males) and can live for 30 years (if they can avoid predation).
They won’t attack a human except in defence, but a bite will be extremely painful and the venom can be fatal, so it’s important to not antagonise them. If a snake rears up and hisses at you, you’re far too close and should back away. Photographers should use telephoto lenses, not macro, and no matter what the temptation, please do not try and take close up shots with a phone, you’ll be putting yourself in danger. Stay a respectful distance and enjoy watching these fascinating creatures in safety.
Two male adders "dancing" as they compete for a mate - note the variation in colour of males, which can also be melanistic, or black adders. Females are brown and black. Photo by Steve Everett
(Note: these photos were taken with a large lens, from a safe distance)