# poor little slow worm



## serpentseye (Feb 20, 2010)

i saw my first wild reptile today - pity only half of it. Half a baby slow worm was lying on the sode of the feild.there is a road to a swimming pool nearby, and a fox lives nearby too. Do you think either of those killed the poor thing?

And do you think there are more in the area? there is a log pile at the oter end of the feild.


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## hawksport (Dec 27, 2009)

Was it the head end or the tail end


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## serpentseye (Feb 20, 2010)

the tail end had been eaten, the head and half of the body had been left.


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## hawksport (Dec 27, 2009)

They can shed their tails so if it was that end it might have still been alive. The usual culprits are cats, dogs, foxes, and buzzards. If there is one there should be more. It's a shame your first encounter with a native reptile was such a sad one but May is mating time so you might be lucky and see another.


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## serpentseye (Feb 20, 2010)

how can i get somone (or get permission to) relocate them because it is in my school (i am a student) there are sme truly terrible children who will kill anything they find - and do they like log piles? because there are log piles around, is that where they might be? i think all animals from ants to elephants have souls and deserve a decent life, and there is a feild near me with lots of hiding places and food for them, and my garden is overrun with slugs, and i can make a perfect habitat for them, how can i relocate them to somwhere safe?


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## hawksport (Dec 27, 2009)

The law on slow worms is they can't be killed, injured or traded. So you could legally move them or keep them as pets, however if they are in a certain habitat they are there because food sources ect suit them. If you were to move them you would need to do some research on the area you were going to put them to make sure it was suitable.
How about doing a school project with posters ect and educating the rest of the school about them? I am sure there are a few members who could help you out with information and there must be a teacher with an interest in local wildlife.


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## Acacia86 (Dec 30, 2008)

I adore Grass snakes (what we call them!) i 'kept' one once much to my Grans disgust! When she found it she nearly had a heart attack. I was only 6 yrs old!!

I have rescued a fair few, from roads, cats, and out in the open. I really do love them. But then i love all snakes!


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## hawksport (Dec 27, 2009)

I've got a grass snake here, just waiting a few more weeks before we release it again


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## Acacia86 (Dec 30, 2008)

Looks exactly like the last one i 'rescued' from a playing cat!! Except Percy was a little more brown where yours is lighter coloured.


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## hawksport (Dec 27, 2009)

This one was bought in by the cat at the end of last summer. By the time it was healed up and had anti biotics it was too late in the year to release it so we kept it over winter and will release it in the next couple of weeks.


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## serpentseye (Feb 20, 2010)

the ast time there was a pigeon on the ground (injured) people were throwing sticks at it and shouting KILL IT! KILL IT! the teachers managed to get it away somhow, but the slow worm's log piles are at the back of the feild, the teachers may not get there in time.

I won't get any help from the headmistress, who believes the children are well behaved - even after the pigeon incident. The secretary is the teacher's pet, but i might get the other teachers on my side.


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## serpentseye (Feb 20, 2010)

i'm going to search 'homade snake traps' to try and trap the slow worm so i can first see if it has any injuries, then relocateit somwhere there are plenty of hiding places and slugs. (do they eat snails? the place is practically overrun with them)


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