Britain's rarest reptile

Charlotte Owen
, 19 August 2020
Britain's rarest reptile
Smooth Snake by Derek Middleton

By Charlotte Owen, WildCall Officer

The Smooth Snake is Britain’s rarest reptile. It lives on sandy heathland - another rarity - and is only found in Dorset and Hampshire, with a handful of sites in Surrey and a single, precious location in West Sussex. This extra-special resident still takes some finding, even when you're in the right place. It is extremely secretive, rarely emerging from the dense vegetation of its heathland home and hiding under sun-baked stones and logs rather than basking in the open. When it does venture out, its cryptic camouflage blends seamlessly into the dry leaves and stems underfoot.

Smooth Snakes look a bit like Adders but slimmer, and without a venomous bite. The name refers to their scales, which are smooth in comparison to the keeled scales of Grass Snakes and Adders. The keel is a central ridge like the quill of a feather or the main vein of a leaf, and keeled scales feel rough to the touch – not that stroking a snake is ever recommended. Without these ridges, the Smooth Snake’s scales lie flatter and have a sleeker, almost polished appearance. This is an adaptation to help them move smoothly through the tangled jungle of heather and grass, and while they may be slower as a result they are much more manoeuvrable. This is a valuable trait for an ambush predator, able to glide silently into the perfect position before lying in wait for as long as it takes, entwined and invisible in the undergrowth. More often than not, their prey is another reptile – a Common Lizard, Sand Lizard or Slow Worm. They will even eat other snakes as well as small mammals, birds and anything else they can swallow, grabbing them with a lightning-fast strike before coiling around them to apply a crushing squeeze.

Late summer should see a boost in numbers as this year’s young emerge. Females incubate their eggs internally, eventually giving birth to between four and 15 live young – perfect, pencil-sized miniatures with a distinctive black crown. They will stay with her for a few days before disappearing into the heather, bolstering one of the best-kept secrets of the heath. 

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1792400217.96730 [907] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1792400218.00790.0406Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1792400218.00810.0002Server address: 216.73.216.236
1792400218.00810Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1792400218.00810Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/britains-rarest-reptile
    [s] => britains-rarest-reptile
    [1] => britains-rarest-reptile
)
1792400218.00850.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1792400218.00990.0014 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1792400218.01250.0026 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1792400218.01370.0012INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1792400218.01910.0054 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=25093219
1792400218.02010.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=25093219
1792400218.02110.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-10-19 08:56:00' AND saleTo>'2026-10-19 08:56:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1792400218.02360.0025 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='britains-rarest-reptile')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-10-19 08:56:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1792400218.0290.0054 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1792400218.03010.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2294 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-10-19 08:56:00'
1792400218.03150.0014 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1792400218.03250.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1792400218.03360.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=181 LIMIT 1
1792400218.03490.0013 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=78 LIMIT 1
1792400218.03580.0009Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1792400218.0360.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1792400218.03740.0014 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-10-19 08:56:00' AND postSlug='britains-rarest-reptile'
1792400218.06940.0319Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1792400218.06990.0005 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1792400218.07460.0047Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1792400218.07480.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1792400218.07620.0013 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1792400218.07810.002 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1792400218.08320.0051 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1792400218.08440.0012 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1792400218.09520.0108Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1792400218.09530.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1792400218.09620.0009 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1792400218.09680.0006 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1792400218.09980.003 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1792400218.1010.0012 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1792400218.10180.0008 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1792400218.10480.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1792400218.10590.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1792400218.10910.0033 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1792400218.10960.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1792400218.110.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='16' LIMIT 1
1792400218.1110.001Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1792400218.11140.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='britains-rarest-reptile')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-10-19 08:56:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1792400218.11450.0031 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1792400218.11540.0009 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1792400218.11780.0025Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1792400218.11850.0007 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2294 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1792400218.20930.0908 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1792400218.20960.0003Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1792400218.20990.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='16' LIMIT 1
1792400218.21120.0013 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1792400218.21240.0011 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1792400218.21330.001 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1792400218.21710.0038 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1792400218.21810.0009 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1792400218.22120.0031 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1792400218.22230.0011 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1792400218.22330.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1792400218.22410.0008 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1792400218.2280.0039 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1792400218.22890.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1792400218.23220.0033 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1792400218.23590.0037 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1792400218.2370.0012 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1792400218.2380.001 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1792400218.24210.0041 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1792400218.2430.0009 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1792400218.24670.0037 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1792400218.24960.0028 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1792400218.25080.0013 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1792400218.25170.0009 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1792400218.25560.004 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1792400218.25660.001 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1792400218.26070.0041 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1792400218.26250.0018Request time: 0.2971
1792400218.26250Process time: 0.297
1792400218.26250Memory: 1.6229