Snake in my pond!

oooooh yukky, i really dont like snakes. it cant be an eel can it????

Definitely a snake!! Hope the dogs don't get wind of it....I can envisage a massive pond destruction and waggy tails if they do!

tell me when its all over please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ps. i might not be digging a pond now ~ i dont want snakes!!!!

I have grass snakes which visit my pond when it is very hot, but they are not totally black, but fast, I shall put a picture up for you if you want me to, they do eat small fishes sometimes I am afraid to say, mine usually get out of the pond when I am about for too long and go back to the very long grass garden next door. Does it have any marking on it at all? Mine has.

I too had a big grass snake (3-4ft with a big V marking on its head) in my pond during a very hot dry spell some years ago it just sat there, but the fish and newts survived. Dont try and remove it as I did, they move very fast and straight back in to the water, why I ever thought I could get it to stay in a net while I chucked it over the fence Lol.
I do stomp around in the shady grassy areas as they will scuttle off at noise.
Sticky T in 14 years have only ever seen one in my pond and that was in the very prolonged hot weather.

thank you Drc, i might have to be brave!! doesnt look like prolonged hot weather any time soon!!!

Drc726, if mine were 3-4ft, I don't think I would be brave enough to hang about at that size, mine are quite small about just over 2 feet maybe, that was last summer. I used to be petrified but I had to overcome very quickly as I could not keep away from the garden for too long :))) I did not tell the children about the snakes for a very long time as they would not have wanted to go out there, when I eventually did, knowing that I have been out there all this time, they are ok now.

They can grow to 6ft Mich.

They eat mainly Amphibians....are they there for your toads Lulu? But will eat fish as well.

Wow Lulu excitement, sounds like it could the black version of the adder, and would have come from that forest area
http://seeker7.hubpages.com/hub/The-British-Adder
the other normal version is easy to recognise due to the diamonds

However do NOT attempt to catch or pick it up as thats when it will go for you. You could try just beating the ground with a stick so it'll move off.

Grass snakes on the other hand are easy to identify and handle (but you can get the odd black one as well), they will play dead, but again if you pick one of those up they will eject their panic scent which I can assure you sticks to high heaven. One stank out my car when I rescued it (from a fence) and took it to the vet, its a good defense.

If needs beating the ground with sticks doesn't ward it off I'll come and help you move it, but if its an adder i would er on the side of caution

But get a photo if you can ; )
(our thoughts are with you perry)
If you can get it to move off you could take the fish out as a precaution

Adders are rare Stevie much more likely to be a grass snake.

ah but if its black black then its more likely to be a black adder, rare as they are they are still there.

The darker grass snakes are more brown/darker brown.
If lulu can brave a photo safely

Thanks for all your comments folks.....just been back to the pond and can't see it, so can't tell if it's just black and or any markings.
Maybe it likes the long grass I've left.
I do hope it's not an adder because of the dogs mainly.
Funnily enough, I went to visit a friends pond today and saw another snake...which...I did manage a sneaky picture of.

Oh poor perry.

It was quite black Stevie....

there are still some slight diamond markings on a black one it seems
http://www.crislis.co.uk/adder/about_adders.htm

theres a pic of a melanistic grass snake here
http://www.surrey-arg.org.uk/SARG/08000-TheAnimals/SARGSpeciesData.asp?Species=Grass_Snake

I would just check with the zoo or if there's a report of an escaped black mamber ; )

I saw a british snake a while back, will do a blog soon ; )

Black Mamba would not be funny!!

How am I going to get to see if it has any markings when I can't find the blasted thing. Still no Perry :(

Those adders look fatter than the my black one!

i can hardly look!!!

Lol..A pic would be great...I would be pondside all day.

it would eat the picnic!!!

Pimp, I've sat there for ages...no snake! I might invest in a wildlife camera!!

Dont worry lulu its probably gone in the house, probably under the bed ; )

BAD stevie!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ooh Lulu!!
My dog has been bitten on the nose by one of our "non-toxic" snakes (European whip snake)...and he was quite poorly for a few days. His nose went white around the fang-marks and it took ages to go back to normal.

Last year he went to investigate another one which appeared in the garden. Luckily I saw it, just as it was about to strike, and as I had the hose in my hand, I turned it on the snake. I've never seen anything move so fast!!!

We can buy snake repellent to put around the perimeter to discourage them.

Oh no Karen, how awful.
I still can't work out if it's a rare black grass snake or an adder!!?
Stevie...it is not in the house..it would have to get past Milliepuss first!

A grass snake wnt to sleep in my cousins garden inbetween the garage wall and the slabs, it seemed to had made a hole in the sand under the slabs....thankfully gone now but it was very long, she daren't leave the doors open....

I just read that a grass snake has round pupils and an adder has v shaped ones...
...not that I'd want to get that close...

I saw a black mamba in the bush in Africa...and it wasn't even black!!! lol!

Oh lord, can imagine the ensuing chaos when dogs jump in pond to go snake hunting. Good luck!!! Jx

I ran over a black mamba in Oz. We went to look at it and I said to my mate "careful, it's a mamba and it may not be dead" and it wasn't!
Yeah, dogs thinking they can smell snake near the pond...lots of chaos!

Whoa! What excitement! I hope it's not some exotic snake that's escaped from some cage somewhere Lulu! ;) only winding hun! I expect it will be a long way away now...no more fish to nosh...poor perry....that's really sad :(

Oh gosh if the dogs are as excitable as they look then you won`t have a pond left, lol....

I don't know what snakes eat but I hope they leave your fish alone Lulu. I'm not frightened of them but I don't think I'd want one in my garden...

Sorry to hear that Lulu :( know nothing about them - wouldn't like to see one either - I guess me having a grassy area near pond could be asking for snakes to come round though

Well folks, this morning I still have 3 fish!!!
Snake either gone away or hiding in my bonfire, compost or the long grass!!

Oh dear..so is one of the fish Perry? i hope so!