Snakes and snakebite in the UK

03/08/2008 14:51:54 August 2008. Recently, a young girl was bitten by an adder on a nature reserve near Bournemouth and she suffered a severe reaction to the bite. Froglife and The Herpetological Conservation Trust - both charities representing the UK's amphibians and reptiles- commiserate with the ten-year-old victim, Mollie Hawker, and offer some advice to prevent recurrence of a similar event.
 

Grass snake
The snake most likely to be seen is the grass snake, because it sometimes visits gardens. Harmless to pets, grass snakes may frequent garden ponds during the summer, in search of their prey, frogs, toads and newts. Legless lizards, slow-worms, are often mistaken for snakes and can also be found in gardens in some parts of the country. They, too, are harmless.

Adder
Our only venomous snake is the adder. While adder bite should always be taken seriously, the likelihood of being bitten should be kept in proportion and an unnecessary fear of snakes should not spoil our enjoyment of the outdoors.

John Baker, Widespread Species Office for the Herpetological Conservation Trust said, "Adders tend to be found in wild places, such as heathland, downs, moorland and woodland rides rather than in our gardens. They are usually confined to specific areas locally - the countryside is certainly not crawling with adders. Even in ‘adder territory', the chances of an encounter are slim. But there are precautions you can take to minimise these even further."

"Keeping to paths reduces the chance of taking an adder by surprise, and stout footwear, such as walking boots are a sensible protective measure."

If anyone is unfortunate enough to be bitten, then the advice is simple - the casualty should be immobilised, but taken to hospital where a proper medical assessment and any necessary treatment can be given. Although often painful, adder bite is rarely fatal - the last human death in Britain was over thirty years ago. Medical treatment of adder bite is very effective.

Smooth snake
And what about the third native snake? The smooth snake, is such a rare and secretive beast, found only on heathlands in southern England, that there is almost no chance of meeting one.

Froglife's Daniel Piec concludes: "With a bit of understanding, the risk posed by the adder virtually disappears and the unlikely event of a snake encounter should be a positive highlight of the outdoor experience, rather than something to worry about".