Species Guide | Slow Worm (Anguis fragilis)
Slow Worm
Appearance
Despite their name, slow worms are reptiles and not worms. Their overall body color is a shiny grey-brown, often with thin longitudinal stripes of a darker shade. Older males develop a series of small blue spots. An adult slow worm typically measures around 30 centimeters in length and has a uniformly cylindrical body. It is noted that, unlike snakes, they don’t have a slight narrowing of the body behind the head. Additionally, Slow Worms can be distinguished from snakes by their eyelids, which blink regularly. They also have smooth and shiny scales that give them a polished metallic appearance.
Diet
Slow Worms eat slugs, earthworms, spiders, and various insects.
Habitat
Slow worms require two main things in their habitat: access to sunlight and thick vegetation. This adaptability has enabled them to thrive in various environments.
Behavior
They are typically not seen during daylight, preferring to seek shelter under logs, stones, or other objects. They Emerge at night in search of food.
May is the start of the breeding season, and at this time males are aggressive towards each other. Courtship can last up to 10 hours with the male and female intertwining their bodies.
Females internally incubate the eggs and “give birth” to an average of eight offspring during the summer. Females are ovo-viviparous. This means that the eggs hatch either immediately or shortly after being laid. The young ones become independent immediately after being laid and are tiny replicas of their parents, measuring only 6 to 9 centimeters in length.
Did You Know? The oldest recorded slow worm was over 50 years old. On average though, they live up to 20 years in the wild.
Slow worms hibernate during the winter.
Predators
Slow worms are predated upon by many animals including other reptiles such as the Adder, mammals including badgers and hedgehogs, and some of the larger bird species such as corvids. They also fall victim to domestic cats.
They have developed various ingenious defense mechanisms. These include playing dead and fleeing at speed. Despite being named slow, they are quite agile when they need to be. They also produce a smelly and sticky excrement to deter predators. Finally, if they do get caught, they can shed their tail! The detached tail continues to wiggle, to hopefully allow the Slow Worm to make a hasty getaway.
Did You Know? The tail of the slow worm grows back, but it is no longer able to be detached.
Conservation Status
Slow worms are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981. If you want to give them a helping hand, then why not add suitable habitat areas in your garden? They love long grass and are especially fond of compost heaps. You can also help them by leaving stones and logs so that they can shelter.
Global
Conservation Status
