Slow worm

I've always wondered why they are called Slow worms when there is nothing particularly slow about them.

This was hiding under a warm stone by the side of the pond. I lifted her out carefully and, with help from James, managed to get her to stay still enough for a few shots before putting it back in it's hidey hole. Slow worms are wonderful creatures and I was really pleased to find it in the garden.

They aren't snakes, or worms, but legless lizards. They spend most of their time lapping up the warmth of stones or, another favourite haunt, under discarded sheets of metal. Their bodies are so soft and silky to touch and although they have a full set of teeth are very unlikely to bite unless you hurt them. This one is a female. The males don't have stripes as you see this one has running down the centre of her back and they tend to be more grey than the copper or browns of the females. You can also see she has lost a chunk of her tail. If threatened a Slow worm will drop it's tail, leaving it thrashing around on it's own to divert a predators attention whilst it escapes. The tail will never grow back to entirety but it will grow enough to drop again if necessary. It's believed they can live to about 50 years in the wild but in captivity the record is 64 years!

Having had a couple of years of slug hell, my little friend is very welcome, and I hope she has a mate. They mainly eat slugs as they really can't be bothered to run after fast prey but they don't say no to the odd spider or insect that happens in their path.

The secret to enticing them into a garden is to leave areas untidy. They like warmth, humidity, long grass and stones. A compost heap with a sheet of corrugated iron lying on it is a magnet for these little creatures. Their worst enemies are slug pellets and cats.