Slow Worms adapting quickly

Slow worms are lizards that lost their legs; Anguis fragilis is the only species in the UK. They spend most of their time burrowed in the soil or in rotting vegetation, very elusive. During the middle of the day, they like to bask under cover in sunny spots and that is where they are often seen. They come out at night to hunt for snails, slugs, ground beetles and worms - just what we need during the current plague of snails and slugs, so it is vital to provide a good habitat for them in allotments and our gardens as well.

This season since they came out of hibernation (it lasts from October until March, deep into the soil), there have been multiple sightings in the Colchester Drury Road Allotment site; in particular, around the Hamilton School plot and even further afield. 

Around the school plot area, Ashley was able to capture on camera an interesting courtship behaviour: a male biting the neck of a female.

Yes, yes - some females have love bites. However, during mating competitions when males bite other males, they go for the vent - a cunning strategy. (The vent is a multi-purpose opening for defaecation and reproduction.)

There is even a tail-less adult in that area. I’ve seen it a couple of times under the upturned wheelbarrow by the greenhouse. This wheelbarrow is filled with dry grasses.

This slow worm survived the attack of predator by dropping its tail. They are named after this ability - the 'fragilis' part of Anguis fragilis means 'fragile'. The main predators on the site are cats and foxes.

There are also plenty of juveniles about; one was on the top of a box filled with straw in the school plot greenhouse.

Juveniles seen earlier in the season have overwintered. Females will give birth to live young usually in August to September. They are ovoviviparous, meaning the eggs hatch while they're still in the female's body.

Heartfelt congratulations to Ashley for succeeding in encouraging so many slow worms in the school plot, in a variety of ways - and getting a fantastic response. The school children are absolutely over the moon when they see them.

Moreover, slow worms seem to be spreading. Rachel, plot 23a, recently had a great surprise when she lifted some tarp and was quick enough to capture on camera an slow worm of an impressive length dashing away. Slow worms aren’t slow.

The current situation is a great improvement on what was going on back in 2021; then when I wrote a Wildlife Special about them (included below), sightings seemed to be concentrated in just one plot: Christine’s, number 3.

Tips to encourage slow worms in our gardens

Slow worms like plenty of cover, but even without an overgrown area one can enhance their habitat in cultivated areas, as shown in the above examples: upturned wheelbarrow filled with dry grasses, cardboard box filled with straw in a greenhouse and tarp to name a few. They also like compost heaps with a cover; for example, conical plastic bins.

They will also bask on a variety of surfaces that do not take much room: wooden planks, corrugated roofing sheets and corrugated metal. They will also use roofing felt sheets and even carpet or nylon tarp. Slate roof tiles work well too. All these will not take much room to harbour such a valuable predator of snails and slugs. Some of these surfaces could be placed in non-cultivated plots or around the boundaries of the allotment sites, to enhance their protection from cats and foxes, their worse enemies. Lets’s hope that in the future we will not see many dead tail-less corpses.

Further reading

Slow worms: Britain's most unusual lizards By Lisa Hendry