Be quick to make friends with the slow worm

Let’s meet the slow worm: despite its name, it isn’t a worm. And it’s not a snake either – although it may look like one.

In fact the slow worm is a legless lizard. Unlike snakes (which have an unblinking eye) the slow worm has eyelids and a flat tongue with a notch at the end (while snakes have a forked tongue).

The slow worm can also detach its tail (like other lizards) when under attack to avoid being captured by another creature for dinner. The tail can move even after shedding to distract the predator!

They are good-natured creatures: non-venomous, so harmless to humans and pets. They’re very beneficial to gardeners because they specialise in eating slugs.

The skin of a slow worm is smooth, with scales that don’t overlap and which cover bony plates; it therefore crawls much more stiffly and clumsily than a snake.

Slow worms are widespread throughout Britain, but absent from Ireland. They favour humid conditions and shaded areas, such as rough grassland, woodland edges, gardens, meadows and heathland.

They are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, meaning it is an offence to kill, injure or sell them.

Slow worms are cold-blooded, but tend not to bask in the sun like other species, although you might spot one basking in the sun on a warm day, in the woods or even in your own garden. Much of their time is spent hiding beneath logs or rocks or within rotting vegetation where they take warmth from their surroundings.

In gardens they may be found within compost heaps where they use the warmth to heat up their bodies, or hiding beneath discarded material such as corrugated iron.

As they are fond of eating slugs, gardeners can benefit by creating habitats for slow worms. They need warmth for basking, shelter for resting and hibernating, and a chemical-free environment that supports the invertebrate prey they depend on.

However, you are unlikely to find them in your garden if you or your neighbours have cats, as these tend to kill slow worms.

The slow worm sheds its skin in parts and will leave a “roll” rather than a complete skin as does a snake.

Females are normally dark brown, with dark stripes along the sides and sometimes a thin line along the back, whereas the paler males develop blue spots that are vivid in spring when they are looking to breed.

Both sexes grow to a length of around 50cm and the scales are smooth and dry to the touch.

The mating season kicks off in May, when the males become aggressive to each other as they seek to mate with females. Females incubate the eggs internally, giving birth to an average of eight young in in late summer.

The young are very thin and are initially around 4cm long, with black bellies and gold or silver sides, sometimes with a stripe running along the length of the body.

They have remarkably long lives and are probably the longest-living lizard, living about 30 years in the wild. The oldest specimen recorded lived in captivity for at least 54 years, from 1892 until 1946, in the Copenhagen Zoo. Its age when it was obtained is unknown so it may have been much older than 54 years when it died.

Get to love and look after slow worms if you are lucky to have them: they’re harmless and worth having around!