adders about

[dreamingofsun]

just to forewarn any dog owners....i saw my first adder today sunning itself on a footpath. apparently there were 3 lolling around. just in case you vary your walks in the summer to try and exclude places where they live. it seemed a bit early to me. i live in south england.

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

I'm just jealous anything can sun itself anywhere today. We did our lunchtime walk in the snow here in the frozen north!

[beachyhead]

Gosh that's early... I always think of them as late summer..
Thanks for the warning.

[Scuttlebutter]

I'm sitting here freezing. Would be more worried about polar bears at the moment

[digerd]

Never seen an adder. We had no sunshine either in SE today. Scary as my little dog is always burying her little nose in stuff. Expect they hide in undergrowth, piles of leaves etc.

[dottygamekeeper]

My parents live in the New Forest, and adders appear as soon as it starts to get warm, not just late summer. Some years ago their elderly dog got bitten by one in their garden (they didn't see it happen, but dog started to collapse and they guessed what had happened). She had to spend several days at the vets on a drip and was very poorly but did make a good recovery, so please be vigilant and if you suspect your dog has been bitten, get them to a vet as soon as possible. Adders love to bask in the sun, so are not necessarily hidden and if your dog is curious and goes to sniff or poke them it is very easy for the dog to get bitten, particularly if the adder was asleep and is therefore startled by the dog.

[lotsofdogshere]

same here in the frozen north, not an adder in sight, but lots of frost

[LetThereBeCupcakes]

Thanks for the warning dreaming. A friend of ours sadly lost their dog to an adder bite last year so we are always paranoid vigilent.

[Tintingal]

Blimey! Anyone know if there are any in Richmond Park? Tintindog loves to snuffle around there.

[dreamingofsun]

tintingal - heathland mainly....so doesn't sound likely. we normally see at least one per year, but does seem early this year which is strange since its so cold

[Tintingal]

Dreaming - Thank you. I did a little research and although there are grass snakes in Richmond Park, there isn't any mention of adders.