Diet

What does the Grass Snake eat?

Grass snakes are carnivores. They are at home in the water and will regularly enter this to find fish or amphibians to feed on. Small birds and mammals may also be consumed.

Learn more about the Grass Snake in this video from Sally Le Page on YouTube

Range

Where do you find the Grass Snake?

Europe and Asia is the native home of the grass snake. Here they can be found in the following countries - Albania; Armenia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; China; Croatia; Cyprus; Czechia; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; Georgia; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Iran; Kazakhstan; Latvia; Lithuania; Moldova; Mongolia; Montenegro; North Macedonia; Norway; Poland; Romania; Russian Federation; Serbia; Slovakia; Sweden; Switzerland; Syrian Arab Republic; Turkey; Turkmenistan and Ukraine.

Parts of their range overlap with another species also known as the grass snake (Natrix helvetica).

Habitat

Where can the Grass Snake survive?

Grass snakes are found in forest, shrubland, grassland and wetland habitats. They tend to favor damp habitats and are regularly found near water.

Where water is available they are able to remain in areas which have been subject to modification by humans.

Credit: Public Domain

Reproduction

How does the Grass Snake produce its young?

Breeding takes place from March to June. This leads to egg laying occurring during June and July.

Each female may produce as many as 100 eggs in each clutch. Only larger females will produce these large clutches with most females producing just 10 eggs.

Hatching tends to take between 6 and 8 weeks but is variable with the weather.

Their eggs are often deposited in piles of decaying vegetation which provide warmth to assist with the incubation of the eggs.

At hatching the young are independent.

Males achieve sexual maturity by three years old but in females this typically takes four to five years.

Behavior

What does the Grass Snake do during its day?

These animals are able to swim well and will make their way in to the water to find food.

This species of snake is considered to be non-venomous.

At least once per year this snake will shed the outer layer of scale revealing a fresh layer underneath. This helps to refresh any damage to their skin. During the few days that this is occurring they will take on a milky white appearance.

Like most reptiles they take their warmth from the environment and use it to generate the energy they need to survive.

Credit: Public Domain

Predators and Threats

What stops the Grass Snake from surviving and thriving?

A number of species prey on the grass snake including birds of prey and mammals such as foxes or cats.

If a predator approaches the grass snake it will dive in to nearby vegetation.

When they are caught by an attacker they have the ability to squirt foul-smelling liquid to try and prevent the attack. If this is unsuccessful the snake is able to play dead.

This species is considered common with a population which is remaining stable despite having become fragmented. In some localized areas such as Mongolia numbers of the grass snake are in decline.

Threats facing this species include reduction in prey availability through water pollution and habitat loss or alteration such as the draining of wetlands.

In some areas of their range heavy gold mining can lead both to habitat loss and pollution.

Small numbers are collected across their range for the pet trade but this is not considered to have a major effect on their population.

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Quick facts

This species may also be known as the ringed snake or water snake.

Their Latin name 'natrix' comes from a word for 'to swim.'

They were first described for modern science during 1758.

The population of similar snakes found in the United Kingdom have been split in to their own species known as the barred grass snake (Natrix helvetica) since August 2017 following genetic analysis.

A number of subspecies of this species are recognized but the exact number is debated and some have recently been elevated to full species as discussed above.

Credit: Public Domain