Taken on Saturday. Yes there is loads of grass etc but thats where the snake was, in its environment and NO I have no intention of lifting it and placing it somewhere "nicer" or moving bits of grass from around it. Take it or leave it. I took it and I'm happy
D300 Sigma 150mm 1/320s f11 ISO400 handheld
Posted by simon manning on April 26, 2010 at 5:53 PM
i think its fine Maggie after all wildlife lives in the wild and its where it was ;)
Simon
Posted by Andy Shepherd on April 26, 2010 at 6:06 PM
Firstly, it's an Adder Maggie and secondly hats off to you for using the 150mm near this beastie, like the shot, it's very natural.
Maggie, that looks like quite a big female adder, just as well you didn't lift it
Posted by Brett Lewis on April 26, 2010 at 6:49 PM
Nice female Adder their Maggie and I bet your pleased to have encountered her.. In relation to what's around here I'd suggest different to Tom and say she wasn't that old at all.. How big was she..?
Oh lord I was actually looking for adders but thought the two snakes I saw were grass snakes. Just as well I wouldn't touch a snake of any kind. This one stayed so still while I took about 6 photographs I actually thought it was dead. Got a bit of a shock when it moved. It went uphill into a clump of deep grass where a certain person who shall be nameless tried to grab it. The mind boggles as to what could have happened next but Kato's new Beach Rolly might have come in handy
Posted by John Robinson on April 26, 2010 at 7:59 PM
Maggie
These can be fatal if you;re unlucky !
Why try to grab it ? We don't want to loose you do we ?
JR
Posted by Pete Ansbro on April 27, 2010 at 12:44 AM
Maggie, I'm sure you know this - and the experts may come and hiss at me for generalising but grass snakes have got yellow patches where you think their ears should be, adders dont.
Maggie, if the eye pupil is a vertical slit it's an adder. Both grass and smooth are round pupils. What size was it - 2ft? Where you where (assuming around BM or LB ) isn't known for grass snake really but there is always a first time.
Tom and Brett. It was only a tiddler I would say about 8-10 ins.
John - it wasn't me who tried to grab it. I wouldn't touch any reptile (Mr A excepted)
Posted by Mark Davies on April 27, 2010 at 4:28 AM
Well done Maggie... far better than I have and far nearer than I would even contemplate .
Thanks for you kind words on Minky .And no he aint appearing here just yet .
Posted by Andy Astbury on April 27, 2010 at 5:01 AM
Now come on Maggs - you've photographed Grassies before (post 07/09/09) - how could you get them mixed up
You scare me indeedy
Posted by David Sewell on April 27, 2010 at 5:03 AM
Hi Maggie,
8-10 inches would suggest an immature rather than an adult, a full grown female would be roughly twice that size, maybe even slightly larger. Looking for the vertical slit in the eyes, as Tom suggests, is the easiest way of telling the species apart from other British snakes. Don't make the same assumption abroad though - some of the deadliest snakes have round pupils to their eyes. Cobras are but one example.
The photo itself is a very nice effort. If possible, a slightly lower angle might have helped, and I do wonder if a little fill in flash might have helped to improve the lighting on the flanks of the animal.
Posted by Brett Lewis on April 27, 2010 at 6:13 AM
LOL! Tom, still some lessons to be learnt.. She is probably about 2-3 years old at that size and will probably start breeding next year.
I must stress that these animals are NOT deadly unless you are likely to suffer some sort of anaphylactic shock episode. You may suffer quite a lot of discomfort and may even be feverish over a couple of days. Some people have had limbs swell up and a certain amount of hemorrhaging around the bite area.
In most cases adders will strike with a 'Dry' bite as they do not want to expend venom on a non-prey item as it costs a lot of energy and time. If you are unlucky enough to be bitten by one and suffer the side-effects it's usually because you are handling them incorrectly, or happen to come by one without noticing and it defends itself when stood on..! This happens rarely and the former is the most likely cause of a bite..
Should you get bitten, no need to panic but you should attend casualty and explain the situation. It is best to avoid anti-venom as this can cause more problems than the bite itself, instead you will be monitored or possibly given other medication in the event you have some underlying condition.
PLEASE DO NOT SCARE MUNGER PEOPLE ABOUT THESE ANIMALS, IT'S NOT GOOD FOR THEM AND THEY ARE PERSECUTED ENOUGH ALREADY...!!
If you are not experienced with them and do not know what you are doing then leave them well alone and find another subject to photograph..!
Posted by Pete Ansbro on April 27, 2010 at 1:57 PM
" If you are unlucky enough to be bitten by one and suffer the side-effects it's usually because you are handling them incorrectly, or happen to come by one without noticing and it defends itself when stood on..! This happens rarely and the former is the most likely cause of a bite.."
Sound advice from Brett. Why would you be handling a wild animal in the first place? You wouldn't handle a mink.
Posted by David Taylor on April 27, 2010 at 3:16 PM
A good image of a reptile and its environment. Nice to see.
Discussion
21 repliesD300 Sigma 150mm 1/320s f11 ISO400 handheld
Simon
Firstly, it's an Adder Maggie and secondly hats off to you for using the 150mm near this beastie, like the shot, it's very natural.
Andy...
Brett
These can be fatal if you;re unlucky !
Why try to grab it ? We don't want to loose you do we ?
JR
John - it wasn't me who tried to grab it. I wouldn't touch any reptile (Mr A excepted)
Thanks for you kind words on Minky .And no he aint appearing here just yet .
You scare me indeedy
8-10 inches would suggest an immature rather than an adult, a full grown female would be roughly twice that size, maybe even slightly larger. Looking for the vertical slit in the eyes, as Tom suggests, is the easiest way of telling the species apart from other British snakes. Don't make the same assumption abroad though - some of the deadliest snakes have round pupils to their eyes. Cobras are but one example.
The photo itself is a very nice effort. If possible, a slightly lower angle might have helped, and I do wonder if a little fill in flash might have helped to improve the lighting on the flanks of the animal.
David
t
I must stress that these animals are NOT deadly unless you are likely to suffer some sort of anaphylactic shock episode. You may suffer quite a lot of discomfort and may even be feverish over a couple of days. Some people have had limbs swell up and a certain amount of hemorrhaging around the bite area.
In most cases adders will strike with a 'Dry' bite as they do not want to expend venom on a non-prey item as it costs a lot of energy and time. If you are unlucky enough to be bitten by one and suffer the side-effects it's usually because you are handling them incorrectly, or happen to come by one without noticing and it defends itself when stood on..! This happens rarely and the former is the most likely cause of a bite..
Should you get bitten, no need to panic but you should attend casualty and explain the situation. It is best to avoid anti-venom as this can cause more problems than the bite itself, instead you will be monitored or possibly given other medication in the event you have some underlying condition.
PLEASE DO NOT SCARE MUNGER PEOPLE ABOUT THESE ANIMALS, IT'S NOT GOOD FOR THEM AND THEY ARE PERSECUTED ENOUGH ALREADY...!!
If you are not experienced with them and do not know what you are doing then leave them well alone and find another subject to photograph..!
Regards,
Brett
Matt
Mark.G
Sound advice from Brett. Why would you be handling a wild animal in the first place? You wouldn't handle a mink.
Bob.