[Closed] Slow Worms - anyone know much about them?

Homing Slows, they were used during WWII to spy on the enemy they would fit them with transmitters to so they could listen in on enemy plans.

Legless lizard, this is their mating season and perhaps you have some kind of lizard pheromone coming out of your arse? 🙂

Mayb you took such a long detour in the hope of it not following you, that it beat you back?

If it did three miles in two days, they can't be that slow 🙂

[i]If it did three miles in two days, they can't be that slow [/i]

Yup as 1.5 miles per day is almost light speed.

Yup as 1.5 miles per day is almost light speed.

but that's assuming it followed the roads back to my house and encountered no obstacles on it's way

[i]but that's assuming it followed the roads back to my house and encountered no obstacles on it's way [/i]

I take it the roads are Roman roads?

They are most wonderful creatures; hold one for a while and watch it curl through your fingers! If you catch one by its tail it can shed the tail and f*****f leaving you with a tail that carrys on wriggling for a few minutes to distract you while its former owner finds somewhere safer to be (and grow a new tail). Absolutely harmless, unless you're a slug. They eat slugs.

Absolutely harmless, unless you're a slug. They eat slugs

Bring it to our house. Major slug/snail problem in our garden. It'd get a warm welcome and be well fed!

They're not worms but they are fairly slow. A sign of a healthy environment.

LOL at this thread but

Eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww

at genghispod for picking them up!

You've got snakes in your house? Cool!

If you catch one by its tail it can shed the tail and f*****f leaving you with a tail that carrys on wriggling for a few minutes to distract you while its former owner finds somewhere safer to be (and grow a new tail)

Almost makes me want to catch one, to find out (although it would freak me out), but I woon't want to inflict unnecessary suffering on any animal.

girls run away when I stick my worm through the floorboards as well 😳

mrmichaelwright if i saw your worm sticking through the floorboards i'd stamp on it.

i might enjoy that

but i'm not SFB

so i wouldn't

mrmichaelwright if i saw your worm sticking through the floorboards i'd stamp on it.

Ha ha! Nice one!

I'd pour boiling water on the bastard. Or set a crow loose on it.

lol michael

separated at birth.. glen quagmire from family guy and??? answers on a postcard.

[i]You've got snakes in your house? Cool![/i]

Nope he hasn't.

Ah don't be such a grumpyknickers! Same thing, more or less.

[img] http://byfiles.storage.live.com/y1p_XnwX8pZEYXZmZih_GHBRBybznurv65befDU6j6zl2z4tN_ZC7ZaKskS9GwIexBHb-OyPLdXYWk [/img]

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Not a great deal of difference, I'm sure you'll agree?

Eyelids.

They're not fast!

"Not a great deal of difference..."
Well, they're both reptiles, if that's what you mean, other than that slow worms are smooth and shiney and have eyelids, and grow to a maximum of about a foot, and are about as big around as your middle finger,whereas the grass snake there will grow to about three feet, has rough skin and can swim, and will spray you with foul-smelling liquid in defence. Other than that they're both the same...;0)
Annabananna, slow worms are really lovely creatures, they feel like incredibly fine quality leather to the touch, and baby ones are a beautiful golden bronze colour on top.

JUst put them in the garden, where they'll eat the slugs and feed the birds. We've at least one living in our compost bin - lovely creatures.

We've got a fair few in the garden and they're the most fantastic little critters - just wish the damn cats would stop eating them.

Definitely no more cats once these two have had their full lives and passed on, far to much natural carnage. 🙁

You could possibly have a nest of them, just create a patch in your garden of long grass, a few stones or tiles and some bits of old decaying wood and they'll happily stay there and much all the nasty slugs that attack your veggies. The best way to relocate them is in a cloth bagt (eg pillow case) with some cut grass it can hide under this reduces the ammount of stress you put it under.

Just BTW they are protected so you're not allowed to kill them, and once lost their tail it never fully grows back to it's full glory so if you do handle one be gentle with it as any firm grip will make it drop its tail, and it then loses it's natural defence against predetors until a new shorter stub grows back.

They are Ovoviviparous

I'll have a pint of whatever muddy's drinking.

I have a few on my allotment, only spotted them recently:

[url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/spotted-my-first-slow-worm ]http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/spotted-my-first-slow-worm[/url]

Apparently they love eating slugs, are totally harmless, they are a lizard and not a snake, as Drac mentioned they have eyelids among other none snaky things.

I have a few nests of them, they love to hide under log piles, give birth in September.

I think they are amazing! But then again they don't live in my house 😉

Hitman, you could always move to Ireland 😉

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Fabulous little creatures. Only picked these up to rehome them, as we had already rehomed their parents and then found these.

Moved them down to the riverbank at the bottom of the garden and they haven't come back. We would have loved to leave them be, but were afraid the neighbours would go 'eeeuuu, snake', and kill them.

I used to live in a snake infested environment in North Queensland and I can't understand why they attract so much revulsion. They're really interesting beasts.

BTW there's 2 reasons not to try to kill a snake.

1. It might not be venomous and can't defend itself
2. It might be venomous and will defend itself

Most snake injuries in Oz are because people don't obey rule 2 🙂

Unfortunately some peoples parents and peers have made them afraid of snakes and lizards, its a great shame. They are wonderful little critters, really interesting. Reactions like annabanana's initial one are quite depressing 😥

Start them young, not the best pic of my little one:

[img] [/img]

She found this one at my allotment. We have also been very lucky to spot a adder and a few grass snakes as well, snakes are amazing things.

At least she knows what the difference is between them now.

annabanana's initial one are quite depressing

uh oh, I was waiting for this, thought I'd got away with it. Don't be depressed on my account, Mr King. For the record, I don't eeewwww, I don't run away from stuff, I would like to hold a slow worm, I'm not scared of them, I wouldn't dream of killing one, or anything.

It was late, I was being silly, I was very slightly vaguely teasing genghispod as well. Guilty of omitting the prerequisite emoticon.

Don't want no DezBkillerdogmisunderstoodbyall furore here..... 😉

We have quite a few in our garden, unfortunately most of them have been got by our two cats who don't try and eat them but bring them in as presents for Mrsjova and our two daughters.

I think they're great and am really pleased to have them around as we also have large numbers of slugs.

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ski, is your daughter able to turn her head a full 360 degree rotation, by any chance?

I have some in the garden and they better stay in there.

Do they bite?

so how do snakes sleep??

so how do snakes sleep??

I kept one as a pet for a few weeks when i was a kid (dark ages). Then it escaped. They are lovely to handle, smooth dry and warm, and do that twisting round fingers stuff.

zaskar - Member
I have some in the garden and they better stay in there.

Do they bite?

Slow worms don't bite, not humans anyway.

Only adders are venomous, and even they probably wouldn't do much harm to a healthy adult.