Snakes are often considered exotic creatures to be admired (or avoided) on holidays in hotter countries, but Britain is home to three native species.

To cope with harsh British winters, our native snakes typically hibernate from October to March before emerging in spring to bask in the sun. Courtship begins and by late summer, young pencil-sized snakes start to appear.

The biggest: grass snake

The grass snake is our longest snake, growing to well over a metre. They're usually a grey-green colour and most easily recognised by the black and yellow collar behind the head. They have dark eyes with round pupils, whereas adders have elliptical pupils in their bright red eyes.

Grass snakes occur across England and Wales, in areas with long grass often near water, including garden ponds. They’re excellent swimmers and feed on fish, frogs, toads and newts. Grass snakes are non-venomous and are our only egg-laying native snake. They lay up to 40 eggs in warm, sheltered places like compost heaps with young hatching in August and September.

The most misunderstood: adder

Despite being our only venomous native snake, adders aren’t an aggressive species and rarely bite people. Most bites happen when an adder is handled or accidentally stood on.

Adders are our most northerly snake, found across England, Wales and right to the top of Scotland. They prefer wilder habitats than grass snakes, like heaths, woodland and coastal dunes and are rarely found in gardens.

They’re usually grey-brown with a distinctive zig-zag pattern along the back. Instead of laying eggs, females incubate them internally and ‘give birth’ to up to 20 live young.

The rarest: smooth snake

Snakes are elusive and hard to see at the best of times, but smooth snakes are rare and only found on a few sandy heaths in southern England, including in Hampshire.

Smooth snakes grow to about 70cm long, are slender and usually grey or dark brown, with dark markings along the back.

Smooth snakes aren’t venomous. They catch prey with their teeth and coil their body around their victim like a constrictor, most often feeding on lizards and small mammals.

The imposter: slow worm

With long, legless bodies, slow worms are often mistaken for snakes but are in fact lizards. They’re much smaller than adult snakes and have eyelids (unlike snakes) and a fatter, less-forked tongue. Like other lizards, they can shed their tail to escape predators.

Slow worms are found throughout the UK except Northern Ireland. They live in various habitats, from heathland and woodland to gardens and allotments, where they often hunt around compost heaps.

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