Creature identification please
Discussion
Anyone any good at identifying a creature from a description without a pic?
Just been on a coastal walk in Lincolnshire and saw two creatures out enjoying the sun.
A snake like creature about 18 inches long and about the thickness of a little finger, bright green colour but a gold underside.
The second was a mammal, a little larger than a hamster, no more than 4 inches nose to stubby tail, with a chocolate brown back and a white belly.
Any thoughts would be welcome.
Just been on a coastal walk in Lincolnshire and saw two creatures out enjoying the sun.
A snake like creature about 18 inches long and about the thickness of a little finger, bright green colour but a gold underside.
The second was a mammal, a little larger than a hamster, no more than 4 inches nose to stubby tail, with a chocolate brown back and a white belly.
Any thoughts would be welcome.
Would have to be an unusual morph of either one of the UK snakes or a slow worm. Don’t really get bright green versions of any of em.....maybe a baby grass snake but still unusual. Or an escapee of some sort.
And if very noticeably brown and white tummy I’d go a field vole if it has stubby tail
And if very noticeably brown and white tummy I’d go a field vole if it has stubby tail
Nightmare said:
Would have to be an unusual morph of either one of the UK snakes or a slow worm. Don’t really get bright green versions of any of em.....maybe a baby grass snake but still unusual. Or an escapee of some sort.
And if very noticeably brown and white tummy I’d go a field vole if it has stubby tail
Thank you.And if very noticeably brown and white tummy I’d go a field vole if it has stubby tail
I have looked at the UK snake pics online and couldnt find a match, an escapee sounds like an option.
A field vole looks the right size, although what I saw had a smooth dark brown fur and a very clean white belly, the field vole pics I have seen are not quite the same. This one had more stoat like colouring but was not the right size or shape of a stoat.
Edited by Robbo 27 on Tuesday 9th October 09:51
You can get some weird random colours on snakes which you’d be very unlikely to find a pic of (we have a buzzard at our stables that is Exactly osprey colouring. Even fooled a rather famous twitcher!). Even in non-UK snakes I can only think of a handful which are bright green and none of em have gold tummies! Very cool thing to have seen whatever 
Re: furry. I know what you mean and initially I’d have said wood mouse as they tend to be much more définies colouring - but def don’t have stubby tails (unless it had been damaged of course. Hmm). Always tricky this kinda guesswork!
Re: furry. I know what you mean and initially I’d have said wood mouse as they tend to be much more définies colouring - but def don’t have stubby tails (unless it had been damaged of course. Hmm). Always tricky this kinda guesswork!
The mammal could well have been a young weasel: even adults are only about 7" long, nose to tail. The young are not quite so elongated as the adults in form.
If it was a native snake, in coastal Lincolnshire, it was a grass snake.
Slow worms aren't common in coastal Lincolnshire, and neither are adders, but there are plenty of grass snakes; they have a yellowish underbelly, and can be quite a bright green, albeit more of a grass green, tending toward olive, rather than emerald green, particularly when they've just shed their skin.
It wasn't anywhere close to the coastal nature reserves near Boston, was it (Frampton Marsh or Freiston Shore)? I've encountered both grass snakes and weasels at both.
If it was a native snake, in coastal Lincolnshire, it was a grass snake.
Slow worms aren't common in coastal Lincolnshire, and neither are adders, but there are plenty of grass snakes; they have a yellowish underbelly, and can be quite a bright green, albeit more of a grass green, tending toward olive, rather than emerald green, particularly when they've just shed their skin.
It wasn't anywhere close to the coastal nature reserves near Boston, was it (Frampton Marsh or Freiston Shore)? I've encountered both grass snakes and weasels at both.
Thank you all for your advice and guidance.
I can go with the snake being a grass snake, I have read that their behaviour is one of calmness rather than flight or attack, this snake was happy to stare at us as we had to step over it, quite unconcerned. I took the precaution of carrying a large dog over the snake too, I didnt want her to bite and/or get bitten.
Appreciated your comments, thanks again.
I can go with the snake being a grass snake, I have read that their behaviour is one of calmness rather than flight or attack, this snake was happy to stare at us as we had to step over it, quite unconcerned. I took the precaution of carrying a large dog over the snake too, I didnt want her to bite and/or get bitten.
Appreciated your comments, thanks again.
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