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Hiss-teria over snake video
Wednesday 20th May 2009, 9:01AM BST.
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What is this slippery customer which was spotted wriggling across a road in Shropshire?
The snake, about 3ft long, with a slender body, grey/green markings and a yellowish ring round its neck, has caused something of a stir.
It can be seen slithering along the carriageway and crossing the central white line.
Users of the community website forum www.Telford-Live.com have been surprised and amused such a large snake has been spotted.
The person who filmed it, identified only as jumpinjackjones, saw it up the road from the Wren’s Nest pub in Ketley, Telford, emerging from a field where a couple of ponies are kept.
He says: “It was slithering across the road towards the residential area so I corralled it back to where it came from. It moved a lot quicker in the undergrowth.”
Rob Breeze, a forum member, believes it is a common grass snake.
“The white/yellow collar round the neck is the giveaway,” he said.
Grass snakes, which can grow up to 6ft long, can give a painful bite, but are not poisonous.
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It is indeed a common grass snake native to England and Wales. Don’t worry, it cannot give a painful bite as the article states, as it has no teeth in its jaws with which to do so. It feeds mainly on small frogs, and occasionally mammals swallowing them whole.
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Rob also mentioned he has Adders in garden too.
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About 6 yrs ago I took my children and a friend to Telford town park. We visited a lake where there were lots and lots of young grass snakes.
We found one with a frog half swallowed, just the legs sticking out of it’s mouth. The snake panicked and regurgitated the frog and slithered off. The frog, which was surprisingly large, lived to see another day!
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Shakewell said:
“Don’t worry, it cannot give a painful bite as the article states, as it has no teeth in its jaws with which to do so.”
Shakewell – Google “grass snake” – or better still, have a look at one. They DO have teeth – I agree, not massive fangs, but they can certainly draw blood. Exactly how stupid you’d have to be to end up being bitten by one is another matter.
I dread to imagine just how many of them (and adders) have been beaten to death by the ignorant.
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“It was slithering…”
Yes, that’s what snakes do.
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