To ask you to look at the snake I found in the garden today? (title amended by MNHQ)

[Mycatsabastard]

Seriously excited! It's still in the pond, it's about 18 inches to 2 feet long and just beautiful!

You have wild snakes?! Just outside in your garden?! I'm in Ireland, we don't have snakes. I knew they were a possibility in Britain, just never thought they would be quite so...free range.

I also did not know snakes liked to swim. Every day is a school day.

That is so cool 😀

I'm so jealous. I've never seen a snake in the wild. I always keep an eye out but they must all be hiding from me. I love snakes.

Jealous! I'd love a snake. We have two ponds, and frogs, toads and newts, plus badgers and hedgehogs in the garden. We even have corrugated Iron but no snakes. Wah! What else can I do to encourage them?!

Stunning photo desolate

Dp thinks the snake we have is longer than my estimate. Here's another couple of pictures I took today

I think ours live in next door's garden which they haven't set foot in for 3 years. That and backing onto a woodland seem to do it. We've had two dead baby ones on the lawn too this year.

We had this little beastie at work today. Not as impressive as yours. Still went for me when I moved him!

Our garden is sadly too small for anything like that, I grew up in South Africa though and we once had a cobra in our garden .

My friend told me that if the snake had still been in the pond when I got back from taking DD to swimming then I needed to get it out as it's cold blooded and would get sluggish and then drown. So they only go in for a dip seemingly. And possibly to eat the frogs.

I don't know why we have the snake, we have done nothing to encourage it but because the garden was unattended for so long I think it's just made itself at home. Garden is pretty overgrown in places, huge compost area (which we keep adding to) and with the garden backing onto a cycle path which leads to woods which is all undergrowth and grasses I think we are just lucky to have the right environment.

I had a google earlier and they tend to be mainly in the south of England, prefer gardens with ponds (and therefore a good food source), a nice compost area to live in (and lay eggs) and obviously minimal predators. We have three cats but two of them would definitely run a mile and I'm not sure whether boy cat would take on something that big!

Oh it's beautiful. I've never seen a grass snake, I don't think they're common in my area. We do have lots of lovely Slow worms living in the compost heap though - we put a carpet on top of the compost, and when you lift it up, we usually find one or two of them basking.

With regards them being a protected species - all that means is that it's illegal to disturb or kill them (ahem QOD ) but it's great that you have notified the Wildlife Trust anyway because they can record it.

As I was typing this DH just came to the window with a Toad in his hand to show me it was gorgeous, and it pissed all over his hand to boot.

Now as much as I love snakes, even I would baulk at going near a cobra.

I'm not completely daft.

What about an anaconda?

m.youtube.com/watch?v=gLUwQtQkD5A

Beautiful OP. I have never seen a wild snake and would probably be a but scared at first but I do let my pet snakes have a slither when it's nice.

:o at the pissing Toad!!

I love that so much can be going on in our little gardens every day and mostly we are unaware of it.

I suspect it can get itself in and out of your pond just fine OP - as long as there's a ramp / ladder (I think you said there was?) or rough enough sides that it can climb up. If you find it in there again, just keep an eye on it - you don't want to frighten it away trying to 'rescue' it.

No thanks to the anaconda. That would possibly eat DD2 never mind the cats!

There are stones round the end of the pond and the net is over the top. We've made a tunnel under some stones at one end for the toads and frogs to use (and they do use it, we've seen them sitting in it) and we saw Mr/s snake with his/her head up there earlier so hopefully is now out and awake back to the house in the compost.

I'm on a school trip tomorrow and then taking the old lady next door to the doctors but will try and get some pond viewing in and hopefully see our new friend again.

I helped relocate an anaconda once. It didn't want to move and released its foul smelling slime.

It is genuinely the worst smell I've ever smelt in my life.

Ah he is cute. Do you know if they bite

Really not sure why I opened this thread.
If that was in my garden I'd be packing my bags and moving out, seriously.

Aww, how cute! :) Their little face is adorable.
I'm so jealous about the foxes, too. I've only ever saw them around here twice. :( We get bats flying around every night during summer though.

The more I see snakes the more I like them for some strange reason.

We watched this fella in the garden for 20mins digging in the mulch to get toads underneath. I though it was squirrels leaving all the holes in my beds. Really fascinating, and 9yo DS correctly told us it was non venomous. A ribbon snake or something (in the US)

That's very cool. I'm nervous of snakes but they are stunning creatures. We have a lot of snakes where I live. They enter the house sometimes. On a recent holiday in the uk I saw a snake crossing the path ahead. As I'm used to snakes it didn't register at first, but then I remembered I was in Cambridgeshire and said "shit, that was a snake". By the way are you pregnant? In the Southern USA they say snakes turn up when women are pregnant.

I wish I was dizzy. Hopefully one is on the way! We had another in the bush the other week, loads of kids over trying to look at it. I might let the cats out and see if they bring one in for more baby luck!

I wouldn't let the cats loose on them. Our cats have killed snakes. Sadly snakes are no match for cats. We have some of the most venemous snakes in the world too and a psychotic cat that is on borrowed lives

Could have sworn id posted on this - possibly ive left a snake related post on another thread somewhere - ahh tramadol, how you enrich my life.

Lovely grass snake, and they can get to 4 or 5 feet long (generally that will be a female and a pretty old one at that) - definitely bigger than adders though, adders are diddy things in comparison.

Nurture your snek, and she or he will repay you by scoffing mice, rats and frogs n things and by being all snek-ish and elegant around the place :)