Home Page Live Forum Archived Forum Site Search Identify Record Donate Projects Links
Deprecated: mysql_connect(): The mysql extension is deprecated and will be removed in the future: use mysqli or PDO instead in /home/sites/herpetofauna.org.uk/public_html/forum_archive/forum_posts.php on line 73

RAUK - Archived Forum - Slow-worm behaviour

This contains the Forum posts up until the end of March, 2011. Posts may be viewed but cannot be edited or replied to - nor can new posts be made. More recent posts can be seen on the new Forum at http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/forum/

Forum Home

Slow-worm behaviour:
Author Message
Alan Thurbon
Member
Joined: 09 Jun 2003
No. of posts: 1


View other posts by Alan Thurbon 		Posted: 09 Jun 2003

A lady in Portsmouth tells me she has slow-worms in her compost heap. She saw that a large one was holding a smaller one in its mouth, gripping it just behind the head. This lasted for more than a hour, and both survived.
The incident was repeated, and the smaller one was later found dead.

Any ideas on what was going on?

Thanks

 


Alan
Tony Phelps
Forum Specialist
Joined: 09 Mar 2003
No. of posts: 575


View other posts by Tony Phelps 		Posted: 09 Jun 2003

Adult slow worms eat baby slow worms, never mix them in the same bag or container.

 

Tony
betty
Member
Joined: 28 Aug 2003
No. of posts: 3


View other posts by betty 		Posted: 28 Aug 2003
I have never experienced caniballism by slow-worms, despite keeping adults and juveniles in captivity for several years. More likey, the behaviour described is that typical of mating and courthship, when males grasp females around the head and throat. Females and occasionally males (mistaken identity?) often show the tell-tale mating "scars" on the throat throughout May and June. Very rarely, the "matee" can be injured or strangled, which is probably what happened to the smaller individual in this case.
Dr. Renata Platenberg
Reptile ecologist
monobrowmark
Member
Joined: 07 Sep 2003
No. of posts: 1


View other posts by monobrowmark 		Posted: 07 Sep 2003
I found a slow worm on the Cornish cliffs a few days ago.  When I got near to it it froze for a few seconds before slowly curling its tail.  Then it did something really cool; it began to crawl backwards (tail first) giving the impression that the tail was the head.  I assume that this is a behaviour to distract predators from the animal's actual head.  Has anyone seen this behaviour before?

- Slow-worm behaviour

Content here