WILDLIFE – SLOW WORM

SLOW WORM – Anguis fragilis

With long, smooth, shiny, grey or brown bodies, slow worms look very similar to a small snakes and can grow up to 50cm long. In fact the Slow worm is a legless lizard , and are quite harmless to humans. Slow worms like humid conditions and emerge from their hiding places at dusk or after rain to hunt for food. They spend the winter hibernating under piles of leaves or within tree roots. Slow worms prefer habitats with plenty of dense plant ground cover. They’re often found in woodland glades, pastures, heaths, scrubland, gardens, allotments and railway embankments.

If attacked by a predator, a slow worm can shed its tail to escape, although it never grows back fully.

Slow worms are polygynandrous (promiscuous) creatures which means that both males and females have multiple partners in a single breeding season. Their mating season takes place in March-May when slowworms emerge from hibernation. During mating rituals, an amorous male slow worm bites the back of his chosen female. Once he has gripped her, the pair entwine their bodies to facilitate copulation. Courtship can be a drawn-out process for slow worms – they writhe around like this for up to 10 hours.

After a gestation period of a few months, the female gives birth to up to 12 baby slow worms, usually in August or September. Most reptiles lay eggs, but slow worms are ovoviviparous, meaning the eggs hatch while they’re still in the female’s body. She later gives birth to the hatchlings, which are usually little more than four centimetres long. They are born still wrapped in their embryonic membranes, which soon burst open. Juvenile slow-worms are very thin and are initially around 4cm long. Juveniles have black bellies and gold or silver dorsal sides, sometimes with a stripe running along the length of the body.

The Slow worms diet consists of slugs , snails, spiders, insects and earthworms.

Protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. Priority Species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework. Slow worms are preyed on by many animals, including adders, hedgehogs, badgers, magpies and lots of other birds. They often fall foul of pet cats too.

WILDLIFE – SEE THE FULL LIST HERE