Adder Births 2020

 The female adder from this post on adder courtship from April has been sunning itself all summer at the same place by a local forestry track. I have been checking up on it most days and today it was ready to give birth to five tiny little snakes. They all seemed ready to shed their skin for the first time within minutes of being born.

New born adder - Vipera berus

New born adder - Vipera berus

New born adder - Vipera berus

New born adder - Vipera berus

New born adder - Vipera berus

The mother snake - looking a little bent out of shape, but recovering.

Adder Courtship

Adders - Vipera berus

Here's some video footage of adders flirting and fighting over the last three days:

Adder Newborns

I saw this adder mating back in May. Since then it has been basking in the same place most days. Then this morning there were three baby adders curled up in the grass next to it!

For 1-day olds, they are pretty adventurous...

 ...but still make time for snuggles.

Young Adder Sloughing

I was lucky enough to come across this yearling adder shedding its skin in the rain today. ^_^

Adder Breath

An adder (Vipera berus) sun-bathing on a cloudy day.

Mamushi

Gloydius blomhoffii - mamushi - Japanese pit viper

 

 

 

Gloydius blomhoffii - mamushi - Japanese pit viper

Gloydius blomhoffii - mamushi - Japanese pit viper

Japanese Rat Snake

The aodaisho is mainland Japan's largest snake. It is quite comfortable in urban environments.

Aodaisho - Elaphe climacophora

Aodaisho - Elaphe climacophora

Basking on a Dull Day

Wildlife Wednesdays #5

Adder - Vipera berus

Adders will bask even when the sun is occluded by thick cloud as part of their thermoregulatory regime, though they tend to bunch up into tighter coils as the amount of solar radiation decreases.

Unlike most other European snakes, male and female adders can usually be distinguished by their scale colour - males being greyish with black markings while females are brownish with dark brown markings. However, both sexes show very varied colouration. The female above looking really quite grey,  while males often have greyish, rather than black markings. Below is a male adder for reference.