My Garden

Grass snakes in the compost

Last post 06-07-2009 9:37 PM by Digger. 21 replies.

• 03/07/2009 05:23 PM

  miranda Location: Oxfordshire Joined on: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 2,976

  Reply | Contact We have five compost bays, all filled and rotting down nicely. Recently at least three grass snakes moved in and they appear to have made themselves quite at home. We regularly see them lounging about on the top of the compost or looking out of the burrows they've made in the heaps. I don't mind this at all, they're welcome, but how long will they stay and what do we do when we want some compost?

• 03/07/2009 05:40 PM	In reply to
  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743	Reply | Contact Will you just have to leave the compost alone Miranda? probably the snakes need it more than you do, it might be filled with snake eggs in the middle of the heap or baby snakes that will die if you poke around trying extract the compost digger

• 03/07/2009 05:44 PM	In reply to
  miranda Location: Oxfordshire Joined on: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 2,976	Reply | Contact Oh we'll leave them alone alright, digger, but I was wondering if they stay once they've moved in or if they'll go somewhere else at some point. It's like having squatters. Yes, I'm sure they must be going to lay eggs and it will be interesting to keep a look out for the babies.

• 03/07/2009 05:55 PM

  In reply to

  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743

  Reply | Contact Lots of people won't have seen the snakes or the snakes eggs maybe you could get some pictures and then charge people to use the pictures? then use the money to buy in some compost, the snakes might live there forever now they've moved in and found everything satisfactory and to their liking. The compost heap must be within easy slithering distance to the nearest water hole and food place for them, try not to stand on them when you are near their new house (that you kindly provided) I don't know much about snakes but they might prefer to live in the warmth and dryness of a comfortable heap for years to come, I do know that they hibernate over wintertime so probably they will use the heap for that as well, will you have to put a water proof cover over the top of the heap during winter? that will help keep the snakes warm and dry during the cold wintertime. eventually you will be able to identify each individual snake in the heap, maybe Neil will come and make a film about them for the t.v.? it could turn out to be the ideal habitat for snakes, like a little "snake town" for them all. digger

• 03/07/2009 10:01 PM	In reply to
  Phot's-Moll Location: The sunny South coast. Joined on: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 3,347	Reply | Contact I don't know if they'll move out on their own, but if you decide you don't want them there, maybe they could be encouraged to move on if you gently disturbed the heaps occassionally? Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.

• 03/07/2009 10:51 PM	In reply to
  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743	Reply | Contact Yes but if baby snakes are living there, disturbing their, house  would be cruel and they might die.  digger

• 04/07/2009 04:55 PM

  In reply to

  miranda Location: Oxfordshire Joined on: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 2,976

  Reply | Contact 'the snakes might live there forever now they've moved in and found everything satisfactory and to their liking' That's what we've been wondering, digger! I thought of putting a sign up saying 'Snake Villas'. We already can tell the difference between a couple of them, as one of them is much bigger than the others. We've got some old carpet that we laid over the top of the heaps last winter so I guess we'll do that again - keep the snakes cosy. I think the young ones hatch in autumn, but don't know where they go then. Does anyone know?

• 04/07/2009 05:08 PM	In reply to
  Phot's-Moll Location: The sunny South coast. Joined on: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 3,347	Reply | Contact  There's some info here - http://www.wildlifebritain.com/thegrasssnake.php Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.

• 04/07/2009 05:18 PM	In reply to
  miranda Location: Oxfordshire Joined on: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 2,976	Reply | Contact Thanks, Phot's. I suppose we might be able to get some compost in September then...

• 04/07/2009 09:49 PM	In reply to
  Rosa Location: West Sussex Joined on: 26 Jun 2009 Posts: 13	Reply | Contact  We have grass snakes in our compost heap too but I think they move out into the garden when hatched - I don't usually come across adults in the heap. The one in the pics is about 2' 6" and regulary swims round the pond. Sadly the magpies - NOT my favourite birds - take the young snakes and slow worms too.  I've even once see one take a bat it disturbed from a roost.

• 05/07/2009 09:10 PM

  In reply to

  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743

  Reply | Contact Wow Rosa you are so so very lucky to have those snakes!!!!!!!!!!!! wow they are brilliant and even OH thinks they are aswell, can you not deter the horrible magpies with a catapult or an air rifle? How many snakes live in your garden? are they friendly to humans? do they stick their tongues out and hisssssssss? I wish we had some wild snakes here but it might be too cold or something here. Do you send food out for them? the one in the picture is a splendid snake I'll bet it can swim fast. thanks for posting these pictures they are well good. We have no snakes but down at the back of OH's grazing field we have a badgers sett filled with badgers, but we stay away from it so that we don't disturb them, at night they even come to the stables and go into the nice paddocks and scratch the grass up for worms and we can tell when they've been in the muck heap for worms because they throw muck all over the place!!! I wish we had snakes though digger

• 06/07/2009 08:59 AM

  In reply to

  Rosa Location: West Sussex Joined on: 26 Jun 2009 Posts: 13

  Reply | Contact   Normal 0 Glad you liked the pics, Digger.  Alas, I think I might be in a bit of trouble if I tried air rifle or catapult, tempting though the thought is (squirrels too, LOL).  Also, there are so many of them that I just wouldn’t have enough time.   I’m not sure how many and, no, I don’t feed them – they manage fine themselves.   They are perfectly harmless to humans, though if you pick them up they exude a very unpleasant smelling substance and yes, they do flick their tongues out – it’s their way of testing to see what is about – sort of sniffing.   Now I would really love to see live badgers in the wild.  The only ones I ever see are in the form of hearth rugs on the by-pass…[:'(]

• 06/07/2009 12:14 PM	In reply to
  miranda Location: Oxfordshire Joined on: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 2,976	Reply | Contact What fine snakes, Rosa. They look nice and fat, don't they.  Apparently they will bite if mishandled - this happened to a friend of mine when he was a boy. I've seen pictures of grass snakes pretending to be dead - they lay on their backs with their tongues hanging out.

• 06/07/2009 03:24 PM	In reply to
  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743	Reply | Contact Wow have you got a picture of one pretending to be dead Miranda? Today at the lottie I saw a massive gigantic frog, one of the biggest I've ever seen. I didn't have my camera though! it went under the raspberry bushes in the corner. Today is very warm and cloudy, but it's okay digger

• 06/07/2009 03:48 PM	In reply to
  miranda Location: Oxfordshire Joined on: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 2,976	Reply | Contact There is a picture here, digger: http://www.photographersdirect.com/buyers/stockphoto.asp?imageid=1865708 - this is a good one as it's quite close up. You could buy a copy and keep it forever  I like frogs much better than snakes, to be honest with you.