Americans React to UK's Only Venomous Reptile - The Adder Snake 

There are no snakes on the island of Ireland, but 3 species on Great Britain: grass snake, smooth snake and adder. The adder is the only venemous one.

Slow worms are cute AF. They're completely harmless and always look happy, I don't see them anywhere near as often as I did as a kid. It didn't matter if you were a boy or a girl, almost everyone here would keep one as a pet for a while.

I’m 57 Years Old and spend 99% of my time outside with my Dogs but never seen an Adder in my life. I saw a Slow Worm once when I was about 8.

Pet peeve: not knowing the difference between poisounous and venomous. Poisonous=you bite it and you are in troube, Venomous=it bites you and you are in trouble.

I am a 61 year old Cornish born and bred lady, who aged 7, was bitten on the bum by an adder in Cornwall! Playing hide and seek in sand dunes near Hayle and I sat down in the tall spiky grass and I sat on it! Off to hospital I was carted as parents not quite sure I was telling the truth haha…but yes I was and I then spent a few days in hospital where I was quite poorly. Had anti venom and steroids and daily measurement of the spread of the poison which went down to the back of my knee and up to my waist. Literally! Never seen another one to this day thank god!

Snakes aren't "rare" in the UK. They're actually doing very well. But they are rarely seen. Snakes detect vibrations through their belly and are incredibly timid. Most of the time, they notice a human approaching through the vibration from their footsteps and make themselves scarse long before the human notices them. When people get bitten, it's usually because they've surpised the snake. The adder's first instinct will be to hide in the nearest hedge or long grass. Sometimes that means they'll move towards the person, then the person panics thinking the snake is "chasing them". And that is what scares the snake into biting. I own snakes, and have been bitten many times by non-venomous snakes - and if you ever get bitten by a snake it is always your fault. They do everything they can to avoid conflict with a human because they know they can't win that fight.

I know someone who was bitten by an Adder in Cornwall (hanging the washing out) - it wasn't serious. She went to the hospital as a precaution, but it was just some pain and swelling for a while. Not much to worry about unless you're very young, old and frail or unlucky enough to have some sort of allergic reaction.

I live in north Devon and we have adders here, but they slide away if they hear you coming. It’s usually dogs that get bitten because they’re inquisitive.

You are quite lucky to see an Addee in the wild, they are very shy and sensitive to vibration. They detect you coming long before you know they are there and are long gone by the time you walk by. In the New Forest there is a reptilary where you can see them safely great for educating children about how to tell if it's an Adder or not as grass snakes are much bigger vut are completely harmless.

3:30 At least the fly has got a free ride😅

I'm from Norfolk and we had lots of adders in the dunes we have a wooly mammoth discovered at West runton beach a few years ago

I'm from the UK Devon in the South West of England. In all of my 33 years I've never ever seen any snake species at all in Great Britain! I've seen many slow worms through 😂. They are adorable (lizards not a snake) And thankfully all of our reptile species among many other fauna and flora birds and their eggs etc are all protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

The only folks that get bitten are people who tread on or sit on sleeping/basking snakes. They are super shy and will always leave if given the way out. Not aggressive at all.

When I was a kid (back in the 50s) I used to catch grass snakes and slow worms to keep them for a while as pets. I found them in the wasteland alongside the A12 in Essex. The same ground also had adders but it was very rare to see them. They really avoid humans at all cost. On one occaision I finally got close enough to attempt to pick one up. Even then it merely reared up and opened it's mouth. I realised I was stressing it out so let it go. My friend caught one and got bitten but even then, he had no lasting effects. His arm was aching for a few hours but he was back at school the next day. You have to realise that these encounters were when we were actively seeking them out. That wasteland has now been swallowed up by the expansion of the A12 (it's now a dual carriageway with four lanes and a central reservation, instead of the country lane it used to be). In more recent times I went out with my daughter to attempt to find one. This was in a saltmarsh known to be inhabbited by them. Over the course of a few days we spent hours over there looking for them but all we got was one brief glymps from a distance, even then my daughter missed it so, to this day she's never seen one. As the guy says, you have more chance of being struck by lightning than being bitten by one of these.

I lived in the countryside growing up, so saw so many things which I just took for granted. Most of my friends had frogspawn and tadpoles in their gardens. We used to catch newts in the canal, which weren't protected in those days. I saw many slow worms, and the occasional adder but I never got too close!! My sister kept a python years ago, and it escaped, myself and my dad avoided her house til it was found!

I've seen 2 Adders. One while walking and one while plying golf!

Got an adder squatting in my shed in London. It’s so pretty, thought it was a joke rubber one at first.

I see a snake of some sort every time I walk around my local wood. Only ever seen one Adder though at the side of the fishing pond where it was soaking up the Sun. Most are grass snakes.

I only ever seen Grass snake growing up but my dad lived in the country side and seen adders growing up

The word worm used to mean what we call worms but also snakes and various mythical serpents and dragons. The Lambton Worm was a legendary serpent big enough to swallow sheep and constrict a grown man. Bilbo calls Smaug a worm in The Hobbit. Satan is sometimes called The Old Worm and so on. Slow worms probably inherited their name from the old usage.

very common this time of year where I live in the UK! there's always warnings to keep an eye out for them especially around your dogs as they're most likely to get bitten.

No snakes in Ireland, Saint Patrick drove them all away. But we do have Leprechauns

We have 3 species of snake in the UK. Grass Snake, Smooth Snake and of course the Adder. I'm 43, lived here my whole life. Never seen one.

I love you 2 !!! ....... only EVER seen one small grass snake in my entire life ! the adder, if bitten u will not die, never known anyone who has ever seen one

There was a great programme i saw about snakes in Britain and Ireland, after the last age, as the sea levels began to rise, and the ice age retreated, very few species of snake (3) made it across that land bridge before the seas rise and permanently blocked access from Europe. And none made it to Ireland. No remains of snake have been found in Ireland.

When I lived in Dover I had a 50ft garden, most of it was wild. My cat used to bring me a variety of gifts, including a grass snake(alive) I had to bop it's tail so it'll slither into the dustpan!!! Two lesser spotted wood peckers (the rarest kind) many other birds, shrews, mice. Running around the lounge with a plastic collender trying to catch them was entertaining I'm sure. It was the toad I couldn't handle. I caught it but had to get someone else around to get rid of him. All these creatures were alive except one shrew & I'd never seen before. Yes she did have a collar & bell btw. I've since moved with no outdoor space for her unfortunately.

Our cat chased an adder out of our yard. I think it liked getting a drink from our pond. We were much more likely to find slowworms in the compost pile. They like it warm.

I'm from the Westcountry. I've only ever seen an adder twice in my entire life and only seen slow worms a couple of times.

Adders seem to prefer areas with lighter, chalky or sandy, soils and particularly like lowland heaths and dunes. I've seen a couple from a distance, but they tend to disappear into the brambles before you get anywhere near. They will hide under discarded wood or corrugated iron, so if moving that sort of stuff you should to be careful and wear gloves. I've seen quite a few grass snakes, which are not venomous. They like damper conditions and can actually swim really well. They will quite often lay their eggs in a garden compost heap because the rotting vegetation creates heat for incubation. They are big, but shy and will avoid people. Most people in the UK have probably never seen either species, it's only because I'm an archaeologist and have spent years working in fields and on waste ground, that I have.

We have 3 types of snakes in the UK. ADDER, grass snake, and the smooth snake. We also have scorpions here. Snakes are not often seen in built-up areas. Marsh land is the best place to see them. We have a lot of deer where I live, and they can be dangerous when they run out into roads. But we don't really have dangerous wildlife in the UK. Unless you come across wild boar, they can cause injuries. We do have a spider called a false widow that can give a nasty bite and is venomous.

I live in quite a rural area and have never seen one, my dad told me that we are too noisy and they make themselves scarce before we even know they're there, I don't even think about them lol I have seen slow worms and grass snakes

Birdwatching/bird-spotting, same thing. I've always said birdwatching. I did it a lot when I was school-aged. In rural areas, especially 30-40 years ago there weren't all the distractions there are now. I spent a lot of time outdoors.

Trainspotting used to be big in the UK, less so now. After WW2 there wasn't much money about, and not much to do if you were a boy. Going to spot trains was a cheap way of getting out and having a bit of fun. Typically young trainspotters would be armed with a book containing all the numbers and some photos of the various classes of locomotive, and they would be marked off as they were spotted.

They have the grass snake, the smooth snake,and the adder which has killed 14 people in 145 years 😊 Great video folks and love to you both

This guy in the video does lots of British wildlife videos, generally concentrating on an individual animal at a time.

Adders and slow worm's are quite common where I live in Torbay especially this time of the year the adders I see where I go fishing basking in the Sun..one of my previous dog's got bitten by one and just felt ill for couple of days when we were climbing up a Cliff face from sea fishing.

The mainland UK has 3x Snakes: - The Adder (poisonous) - The Grass Snake (not poisonous, but have been known to try give people a nip) - The Slow Worm (not poisonous) Ireland is supposed to be a snake-free zone. I've only ever seen a snake once, as far as I remember. It was on hot day on somebody's driveway. Adders are quite common on the North Yorkshire Moors, and frequently seen around Scaling Reservoir about 15mins out of Whitby along the A171 to Middlesbrough. They are also apparently quite common around Kielder Forest / Kielder Reservoir in Northumberland, right up against the Scottish Border. Whenever I hear a story in the news about someone getting bit by a snake, it pretty much always seems to be near Kielder Reservoir (the largest man-made lake in Northern Europe).

That was filmed not far from where I live. When I was a boy I saw so many adders that they were just a commonplace part of any walk in the countryside. Now it's a real pleasure to see one.

We have 3 species of snake in the UK, The grass snake (Harmless), adder (Venomous) and smooth snake (Not Venomous But Will Strike/bite if cornered & threatened)

we've started to have a few puma sightings over recent years. Not many but some. Some other rare animals that have been spotted in the uk wild are dolphins, wallabies, orcas, yellow tailed scorpions, skunks, golden eagles, sharks, crocodiles, false black widow spiders among some other things. Most of these creatues tend to keep to themselves so they're a rare sight. fox's are as common as cats and youll see them in cities and countrysides. Sometimes fox's will sleep in peoples gardens.

As a north Norfolk boy i never saw an Adder. I miss the smell of Gorse bushes though ( a bit like coconut) there aren't many in Cambridgeshire.

We have snakes in my garden a few times a year the adder is one of the most common snakes around the world it’s a beautiful snake too! never been bitten by one but have often seen them the venom will rarely do any decent damage but would at worst make you vomit a few times

We have these down here in SE Kent. Seem one a couple of times but they are very timid and just slide away. The last death from an adder bite was over 20 years ago so not really something to worry about.

Some facts about UK deaths from snake bites: There are only three species of snakes found in the wild in the UK. The adder (Vipera berus) is the only venomous native snake in the UK. Bees and wasps are more dangerous than snakes in the UK. The last recorded death in the UK from a snakebite was in 1972. 14 people have died from adder bites in the past 145 years. About 100 adder bites are reported in the UK each year, with most between February and October. There are also around 100 reports per year of adder bites to dogs. In about 70% of cases, there is a negligible reaction or only local effects to adder bites.

Only real thing to worry about camping in the UK is bites from ticks which can give you LUPUS which is horrible

I've lived in the UK all my life and in those 21 years I've never seen any snake apart from the ones in zoos and also trainspotting over here particular steam locomotive spotting is a very big thing since we invented the steam locomotives thus making them more sacred and precious to the UK today especially since we have some of the most famous steam locomotives in history like Flying Scotsman Mallard and City of Truro

Many years ago I was on holiday on the Isle of Mull which is on the West coast of Scotland, I was walking with my dad to go fishing at a remote loch and a snake went right over my boot and my dad freaked cause he knew what it was, it was a large female Adder, almost 3ft long, awesome experience 😂

i'm in my 70's and i've only ever seen one, when i was a child. we went to visit my aunty who was on holiday in her caravan in the countryside, me and my two brothers were playing by the river and my brother came across an adder he picked it up and took it back to the caravan to show my mom and dad. i thought my dad was gonna have a heart attack and my mom nearly passed out. lol

Even if the Adder just so happens to bite you, it’s still rarely fatal

I am from Buckinghamshire UK, we used to find slow worms everywhere. I have only ever seen one Adder though and I'm 40+ years old.

Lindsay would be happy. I'm from Ireland and there are no snakes there, other than politicians. Living in England now - 42 out of my 62yrs - and have yet to see one, though.

I'm 72 and I've lived most of my life in rural areas. I've only ever seen one snake and it was a grass snake which is not venomous..

Ireland doesn't haven't venomous snakes!

Snakes are generally fast if they've allowed their bodies to warm up in the sun. Otherwise they're sluggish which is when they become more dangerous as that is when they don't react fast enough to slither away. Mostly they bite people because they feel threatened though there are a few exceptions. I've known two people who were bitten by adders. One ended up in hospital for a few days and another went to his GP and was allowed to go home as it had only managed to put a small amount of venom into him. It might have been a youngster or its bite was reduced by clothing. They're surprisingly common in some areas such as the Eastern Highlands of Scotland and I've spoken to people who say they've seen a dozen in a single sunny day in some areas.

I've only seen one wild snake and that i assume was a baby grass snake. It was small and bright green and was in my garden. About 30 years ago now.

On the topic of strange hobbies: I do something called "Peak Bagging" which is all about trying to find new Mountains and larger Hills to climb in the Spring and Summer. It can get a bit expensive because it's hard to get to the best places from where I live in the South. Scotland is a gold-mine for Peaks.

We were near Killamarsh England fishing 🎣 and dad had to go into some gorse bushes across the pond we were fishing.,mum was always a bit overzealous when casting in lol. Dad got to line and suddenly jumped over the bushes,he could have completed on the Olympics with that jump but kept moving .when he got back he said it was a snake and the description was definitely an adder!! Normally he would have sorted the line and tackle but not that day. He was in Singapore at the end of the war a brave man, but not stupid.

No natural snakes in Ireland. Britain has adders, relatively small snakes, quite shy. Slow worms are lizards without legs, non venomous. We also have smooth snakes, non venomous. Train spotting is wierd and we also have people whose hobby is watching aeroplanes. You can see many people in the fields on the flightpath into Heathrow. The airport is so busy that planes are landing every few minutes.

My brother’s cocker spaniel was bitten by an adder several years ago, though they didn’t realise it at first. The first symptom was a swollen and very hot to the touch paw, so my brother took him to the vet, he was triaged but crucially they didn’t notice the puncture wounds, and because they were dealing with a couple of emergencies he was placed in a crate as a low priority. It was only when he eventually collapsed that the bite was discovered, by which time the effects of the venom had caused cardiac arrhythmia as well as issues with the paw and leg due to the long time between the bite and treatment beginning. The vets told my brother and his wife that they would most likely lose him, and if he did survive he would lose his leg, but he was made of sturdy stuff and pulled through, not even losing so much as a toe, although he was left with cardiac problems as a result. He survived a further 4 years until September last year. I’ve only ever seen one once, when I was about 20, and I almost trod on it while out for a walk. I’m 59 now and have yet to see another adder.

Adder bites are very rare, in fact very few hospital have anti venom for them.

I've only ever seen a few adders, but two of them were seen whilst walking the south west coastal path, i almost stepped on one of them.

I haven’t seen a snake since I was about 6 years old. We had one in our garden. Perhaps it’s because I don’t play in bushes anymore.

The RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) ask people to see how many species of birds they see on one day in their gardens. Today I spotted 21 and heard a cuckoo! I’m 76 live in the countryside in an area that is supposed to have lots of adders, I have only ever seen one!

Train spotting, you have to check out Francis Bourgeois the most wholesome human.

I'm a 63 yo Brit and I have only seen one snake. It was in a canal swimming along quite happy.

I'm 55 and never seen one. Actually, only ever seen a grass snake twice in my who life.

We also Adders, Vipers, Cobras, various non poisonous snakes and the African Rock Python all in one country the size of Texas

Fun fact. It used to be nǣdre in Old English, which became nadder by Middle English. Over the centuries since a nadder has became an adder.

I've seen an adder twice in my life- both on the Isle of Wight, but about 50 years apart! They are very shy creatures, and if they see you they slither quickly away. I have also been lucky enough to see a grass snake and slow worms on a few occasions.

You should watch the movie "Trainspotting", it may change your outlook of life in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🤔

52 years of age. I live near farming fields which I have played in and walked for years. There are also redundant roughage banks, which used to surround the old colliery (mining pits). We used to walk at the top of the embankments. All these places were near small ponds. Not once have I ever saw a snake! Not that I was ever looking for one, bet there were a few that saw me.

As a child we always had loads of slowworms in our garden, but hadn't seen one for years until I visited my brother a couple weeks ago and he showed me the family of them living in his disused compost bin.

When I was a kid growing up in rural Hampshire my friends and I would see adders frequently, and slow worms. I haven’t seen a slow worm for probably 30 years now.

The thing about the Adder is you could live a full life in the UK without seeing one yet we have thousands of them, Reason being the Adder likes to hide and avoid pretty much anything that isn't food so you will never see one near pedestrian areas but rather in heavy brush areas. the fact of the matter is, You are more likely to be struck by lightning than to be bitten by an adder.

Adder is one of the words that has entered the English language from Welsh - Welsh for snake is neidr

We have the adder or viper, the grass snake and the smooth snake in the UK

Walking home from work stumbled across a young female adder. Lucky I stopped walking and let her slide past into the undergrowth. Seen a few grass snakes too they are a lot smaller a pretty timid but my god the move fast.

I'm 54 and have never seen a slow worm or a snake in the wild. Most people are probably never going to see a snake., and no one worries about them either.

They are rare. I'm 40 and have only ever seen a wild adder once (in the New Forest). The largest snake we have is the grass snake and I've seen those about half a dozen times. Never seen a smooth snake. But you might be surprised by Britain's most dangerous animal. The creature that kills more people each year than any other (apart from humans killing humans) is cattle. It's people who get trampled by cows and bulls. Most are farm workers, but occasionally walkers; particularly those with dogs. I've been chased a few times and had to jump gates to avoid the more aggressive bulls.

When a lizard sheds it's tail, the tail still wiggles about. So the predator is attracted to the tail, while the lizard makes it's escape.

Adders are more scared of us tbh. When I was on exercise with the British Army some years ago I accidently stepped on one. It just shot off into the undergrowth and yes they are very fast indeed..They are also an endangered species.

An adder nearly bit my mum when I was a kid. She was showing someone some flowers and looked down and a snake was following her hand as it moved.

I'm 64 years old and have only ever seen one adder in my life,like most wild creatures they avoid humans if possible.

We are lucky in the UK that nearly all wild animals and many plant species are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. All reptiles in the UK are protected by law and it is illegal to harm or kill any of them including Adders. You can move them and destroy their habitat but the creatures themselves are protected. There are some animal and bird species that it even illegal to handle or disturb without the correct license. All of our native species of bats for example. Britain biggest carnivore is the European Badger but they are not likely to attack you, but like any wild animal, if cornered might try and bite you. Badgers are also protected species.

There is one animal we have to worry about , have you ever heard of the squirrels that carry flick knives 🤣🤣

No, British earthworms are just a few inches. Just normal worm size. But giant earthworms do exist. Down in the southeast corner of Victoria in Australia there’s the Giant Gippsland Earthworm which can reach 3 metres in length. Because Australian just has to be weird. By the way, you’re right about snakes in Ireland. None at all there, and according to legend it’s a result of St Patrick banishing them forever. But Britain has the adder and a number of non-venomous grass snakes. I’ve seen a few grass snakes and one adder growing up as the type of kid that goes clambering through bushes and undergrowth. I also used to play golf where a couple of holes had strict out of bounds areas with signs asking you to accept a lost ball because they didn’t want the adders living there to be disturbed by bad golfers looking for wayward balls.

Legend has it, Saint Patrick banished snakes from Ireland so they don't have snakes.

I know one area where there are adders and at the appropriate time of year there are usually signs up saying not to let dogs run through the long grass because if they run over a nest they might get bitten. Otherwise, adders are of little danger. An adult being bitten will probably survive with treatment but a small child or a dog could be in more trouble. Most UK people have never seen an adder and never will.

When I was out walking the dog on the moors it grabbed a Salamander and it shed it's tail instantly and it just keeps wiggling so whatever is trying to eat the "lizard" will go for the moving tail. My 99 year old nan who passed away last month told me tales of seeing an Adder on the moors but I've never seen one and I'm on them everyday.

Train Spotting just became more popular over here Steve due to the interesting Steam Trains before WW2, many Steam Trains are still in Service BTW. The Trains in our Town in Cornwall has its own working Steam Trains.. The ultimate achievement of the Spotter is to of ‘Spotted’ every Train in the UK. The Spotter writes down the last 3 Numbers on the Train and also looks for various characteristics.

I have always wanted to see an Adder but have, as yet I've not been lucky enough. We do have Slow Worms in our garden and they are a most welcome addition. My wife and I have been lucky enough to have a fleeting but close encounter with the U.K's largest snake, The Grass Snake. We were fishing at a lake when a five foot long Grass Snake passed between us as it headed to the water, probably on the lookout for some frogs to eat. It was no more than two feet away from either of us and was absolutely stunning with its dark green scales, black bars down its side and its gorgeous creamy yellow collar. It slid into the water, right in front of us and swam across the lake to the other side.

We found a slow worm i our compost bin .alot of british wildlife videos miss out hundreds of animals and birds of pray are never mentioned.

Sitting in the garden with my daughter (2 years old), my parents and my husband. Our garden bordered on a sandy, gorse forest (a preferred environment for adders) and were having a pre-lunch drink. Luckily our siamese cat was in the garden too and had seen the adder heading straight towards my daughter. I screamed (useless reaction) and my husband rushed into the garage and with an axe chopped off the adder's head - it was a close calamity.......

Me and my sisters used to catch Slow Worms in the back garden all the time... They usually hide under rocks and other stuff where it's cooler... They don't have teeth but their bites still hurt... For their size, their gaw strength is incredible... We also lived near a beach so we used to go Crabbing and would get pinched alot... I'd compare the strength of a Slow Worm bite to a Crab's pincers...

I saw an Adder just over a week ago. A brown adder, likely female. It looked like a stick and almost stood on it.

Three species of native snakes: Grass Snakes; Smooth Snakes and Adders. Adders and Smooth snakes are heavily protected species and it is against the law to interfere with them or kill them. Grass Snakes are a lot more common and possibly not protected, I'm not sure about that. We also have a European immigrant that has set up shop in part of London near the Regent's canal and at two locations in Wales - the Aesculapian Snake; this is also non-venomous.

Hi Steve & Lindsay I have actually swam with Adders in river. They are actually quite prevalent all over the UK and in early spring to late summer they bask in the sun early in the morning to go about their day. The reason bird spotting or twitching as it is known is popular in the UK is because the British Isles is a very important archipelago of Islands for migratory birds. As for sharks I did actually watch Jaws when I was about 7 yrs old and it actually made me fascinated by sharks so that philosophy didn't quite add up. If one comes across an Adder in the wild they will invariably try to get out of the way very quickly. They are very shy animals. But if one is out for a walk in the UK where Adders are then stomp your feet or walk heavily then the Adders will feel your vibration through the ground and disperse. The UK does have two types of snake one is the Adder the other is the Gras snake which is non poisonous. As for other wildlife we have got wild boar in our forests again very shy towards humans there are also areas where timber wolves have been released in certain areas of the UK and there is also talk of bringing back he European Brown Bear back to the UK too we also have Red Deer in the UK too and a fully grown Red Stag in the Rutting season is one animal to respect because they can do some serious damage. There are two more animals for which you need to look out for too one is the Capcali which is the UK's largest Grouse. During the lech or it's breeding season these birds have been known to attack humans. Then comes the last one to be very careful of and that is the wild haggis this animal is vicious towards humans in its Rutting season and it actively goes out of its way to attack and seriously wound people so steer clear of any wild mountains in Scotland during this time

We have a lot of bored neurodivergent people LMAO. The Cyprus Authorities refused to believe anyone would go to another country just to "watch their trains" so the poor people were arrested for spying!

Loads of adders near where i live on the old peat moors and coal pit

I saw a king cobra come out of a rice field very similar to the one I had been in the day before. Also saw a large python near a lamppost. I don't live in the UK though these days!