What was it?

Money_maker

Pick it up, marvel at it then release it into some long grass. Slow worms love the warm weather and can often be found on the top of compost bins soaking up the warmth.

You are priviledged to have some.

Fruittea

Hi Moneys to short


The Slow worm is such a gentle thing - it likes basking in the sun. It can't hurt you at all and it might eat some slugs. What's not to like. Put a finger on it and feel how lovely it is. And don't panic at all -enjoy having them in your garden.

moneyistooshorttomention

It's reassuring to know its harmless, but I'm still hoping it wont come anywhere near me and would prefer it finds another "home" thanks all the same:rotfl:, even though it would be helpful in hovering up slugs.

Maybe its been in residence for a while unbeknownst to me, as I have come across slugs here (including a monster that must have been about 6" long or more and was crawling its way up one of my windows one time:eek:), but I haven't come across nearly as many slugs as I had anticipated (but just came to the conclusion they must be good at going into hiding when I'm around).

Mind you, I wondered why I so rarely spotted worms in my garden and, having gathered they are good for the soil, I summonsed up my courage and bought a load of tigerworms that I released into the garden (yuk!) and I still rarely spot worms here (so am wondering whether Mr Slowworm has been snacking on them too).

Cabbage white butterflies, on the other hand, well...I wont be trying to grow cabbages again any time soon....

Don't know about whether neighbourhood cats are "on it" or no. There are 3 cats nearby to my knowledge. I know where two of them live and the other one is a regular visitor to my road and came "knocking" at my door in the hopes it could add me to its food rota list (though I think its got the message now that I think its got quite enough "food stops" already for one cat).

Hopes I haven't inadvertently created an environment that constitutes Slowworm Heaven....

Davesnave

Slow worms are just legless lizards. I can't imagine where you've been all your life if you haven't seen one before.

Even where I grew up in London, we had them on the banks in front of my house, usually basking near the piles of lawn clippings people would deposit there. That's what they like: warm piles of decomposing material to hide in at night and a sunny place to bask in daytime. I'd guess weed membrane heated by the sun would do very nicely too.

They are shy creatures and certainly worth preserving, as the balance of their activities comes out as helpful to gardeners. I doubt very much if a dearth of worms is down to them, so much as something like the acidity & composition of your soil.

moneyistooshorttomention

Urban 'r us then I guess:rotfl:.

But..nope...never seen one before. Mind you, I've never seen weed suppressant fabric used in the garden of anyone personally I know before now (hence not this habitat they apparently like). Mine is the first garden I've spotted that in ITRW.

Gardens wot I've known of have tended to be the usual boring grass and shrubs set-up and kept pretty "manicured" (unlike mine then...;)).

'Tis all a learning curve for me....'right must get on with reading my latest additions bookwise (swales/hugelkultur/raingardens et al). Knowledge to gather...decisions to make..

Guess I'm in for some frogs taking up residence soon...wont mind them I guess....

I have the distinct feeling my garden is going to be a bit of a wildlife magnet....quite apart from the number of birds who seem to think its lovely....

Floss

Davesnave wrote: »

Slow worms are just legless lizards. I can't imagine where you've been all your life if you haven't seen one before....

Probably living in rural West Yorkshire (1966-75), semi-rural Cheshire (1975-2006) or coastal Lancashire (since 2006) like me, as I've never seen one either, despite walking lots of miles in very rural parts all over the UK.

Davesnave

Floss wrote: »

Probably living in rural West Yorkshire (1966-75), semi-rural Cheshire (1975-2006) or coastal Lancashire (since 2006) like me, as I've never seen one either, despite walking lots of miles in very rural parts all over the UK.

Ah, but I know where money hails from, and it's none of those places.

In any event, while the slow worm is reported more in southern counties, its distribution goes into the nether regions of Scotland, so being 'oop norf' is no barrier to finding one. You just have to work at it a bit harder!