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Slow worm behaviour

KO1
11/08/2019 10:46

Been meaning to join the community for ages and eventually got round to it!

End of June this year, I saw the most bizarre behaviour by a slow worm. I was out walking alongside the local river and noticed something wriggling in the water on the far side. Had my zoom lens on the camera and could see it was a slow worm. I thought it was in difficulty but after watching it for a few minutes realised it was actively hunting in the a calm shallow area in the river (which was quite low at that time). Watched it for about 20 minutes altogether. There was plenty of opportunity for it to easily get out the river but it didn't. At times it would move its body slightly to enable it to stay stationary in the gentle flow of the river then would suddenly dart off swimming towards the water line of a rock and seemed to be picking at ???lavae (I couldn't see that much detail) at the waterline or stretching just above and occasionally ducking below the waterline to get whatever had caught its interest. Only lost sight of it after 20 minutes when it let itself be gently taken further down the river and rocks then occluded my view. Got a few poor quality photos as heavily cropped and ISO was at 8000 at some points as it was in quite heavy shade much of the time.

When I got home I googled swimming slow worms and quite few sites had people saying yes they can swim though don't do it by choice but this one most certainly was.

  • 11/08/2019 11:14
    Hello KO1 and welcome to the community forum; thanks for sharing your photos and story about this slow-worm; must have been interesting to watch, especially swimming as it hunted for food. Keep your camera handy, we love hearing about all forms wildlife on here and extra bonus if we get photos too.
  • 11/08/2019 12:30
    Hi KO1, that was an interesting spot. I didn't know Slow Worms could swim either, although most animals can if they have to. I've only seen them in compost heaps or somewhere else nice and warm.
  • 11/08/2019 13:03
    Yes, I don't think I will witness slow worm behaviour like that behaviour ever again. We do have plenty of slow worms here in the Highlands. In fact a friend of mine has had to restrict her hens to a run as they were picking off slow worms in the garden. She has a family of them living in a pile of bark chips. None in my compost heap I'm afraid though I did have a mouse visiting it that seems to have been replaced by a toad - not quite sure how I'm supposed to turn the compost with the wildlife living in it!
  • 11/08/2019 21:29
    Hi KO 1 good to see your pics, I also didn't know that the slow worm could swim, interesting and well spotted. As to how to turn your compost - very carefully by the sound of it!!!
  • 11/08/2019 21:38
    A very interesting spot and well-caught on camera. I've not managed to see any of our reptiles for years.
  • 11/08/2019 23:35
    Have you laid down a piece of old carpet or corrugated sheet Nige ... usually find them underneath at local nature reserve but have to have cam at the ready when lifting the sheet, they can disappear at a rate of knots! Lol
  • 12/08/2019 21:33
    As far as I am aware, there simply aren't many reptiles in this part of the country - "few records in recent years" for most UK reptiles according to distribution maps of the ARC. There should be Common and even a small Sand Lizard colony on the coast but very little elsewhere. Some say that Common Lizards were up on the moors too but I've never seen one.
  • 13/08/2019 07:02
    Sadly the local neighbourhood cats, have a field day, with the Moles and many Slow worms,BUT having said that still several survive. When lifting some decking a few years back, was amazed to see at least six families of slow worms.

    Grandson loves to see them and enjoys , the fact that, when he picks them up, they freeze ( assume for protection), then places them on his outstretched arm, to watch it slowly slither .Always gently returning to the ground.He has yet to master inspecting Grass snakes , they have a really fast reaction .CHOL:):)
  • 10/09/2021 10:49

    Hello just joined this forum and would love to have some slow worms in my garden but alas its walled all around , apart from some wooden gates which allow hedgehogs to enter. I have a total of x6 ponds one is quiet large and several log piles . I've been putting all my grass cuttings in piles in the undergrowth to provide habitats. I would be overjoyed if I saw one .

  • 10/09/2021 11:02
    On another topic , since the cold spell in the winter of 2018 , I have not had any frog spawn in my garden . The spawn was there in march of that year but the pond froze for several days even when I kept braking the ice .There has been no activity frog wise since ? My neighbour had some chickens which encouraged a bit of a rat problem in our garden as they were after our bird seed. I have nothing against rats but I wondered if they predate on frogs / froglets? The pond they used to use for spawning has not changed with easy access and is clean and still . Anyone have any ideas?