Smooth Snakes

The Smooth Snakes is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

Historically, smooth snakes were more widespread, but disappeared from a wide area of southern England because of habitat loss. In Devon the last recorded sightings were in the 1950s. More

Smooth snakes use this method because they lack the venom to to subdue prey with a solitary bite. More

In Britain smooth snakes are very rare, occurring only in Dorset, Hampshire and Surrey. Previously they also occurred in Devon, Wiltshire, Berkshire and East Sussex, where it is still conceivable (but doubtful) that some remain. More

Smooth snakes average the size of 46cm's in Britain. They are coloured Brown, Black, Grey and Reddish. They don't have any ridges and are very smooth hence their name, they only have 19 rows of scales. More

Conservationists hope to reintroduce smooth snakes to the Devon countryside to boost numbers. + Details Description: Conservationists hope to reintroduce smooth snakes to the Devon countryside to boost numbers. More

that smooth snakes feed on lizards and small mammals. Today, knowledge of the species is growing, largely through the work of the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust. More

The male Smooth snakes colour pattern consists of a brown, grey, reddish colour with two rows of small, dark spots running down the back towards the tail. In some cases, each pair of spots may be united towards the neck area, forming a series of cross-bars over the back. More

Smooth snakes are non-venomous and feed mainly on common lizards, slow-worms and small mammals (especially shrews and nestling rodents), which are captured and constricted in the coils of its body. Live young, which look very similar to the adults, are ‘born’ in September. More

mammals, and snakes (including other smooth snakes), which are caught by a quick strike and subdued by being squeezed in coils of the body. Prey is then swallowed whilst alive. More

Smooth snakes are slender and are covered in flat scales that vary in colour from grey, brown to reddish-brown. They have a pattern of dark spots running along the back and typically have a dark stripe that runs from the neck through the eye to the nostril. More

Smooth snakes are only found in Dorset, Hampshire and a few places in Surrey so they are pretty rare. On top of that they are also difficult to see. More

that jagged snakes are harder to detect than smooth snakes that follow an arc of a circle. The advantage for smooth snakes, and several other findings, suggest that the primitive features detected by snake-integration mechanisms are fragments of contour with constant sign of curvature. More

the HCT has brought smooth snakes back to Sussex and several parts of Surrey and Hampshire where it had become extinct. The largest area of heathland occupied by the smooth snake is the New Forest, though it is by no means ubiquitous across the area. More

In Devon the last recorded sightings of smooth snakes were in the 1950s. With the gradual restoration of heathland over the past two decades, conservationists are now hoping to return the smooth snake to much of its former range, including Devon. More

Smooth snakes feed mostly on lizards and other reptiles, including small snakes such as young adders and grass snakes. This liking for other cold-blooded creatures means they can never be found in the cooler regions of the UK. More

Smooth snakes to be reintroduced to Devon = 30/07/2009 00:48:14 Smooth snakes in Devon & Dorset July 2009. Smooth snakes will be re-introduced to Devon after an absence of 50 years. More

Smooth snakes are active during the day, and spend most of their time either basking in the sun or lying in water. They are slow moving and rather secretive. They are also extremely rare in this country, so you are unlikely to see one. More

Common names

Common King Snake in English - English
common kingsnake in English - English
Culebra-real común in Spanish - español
Ketten-Konigsnatter in German - Deutsch
Kettennatter in German - Deutsch
Lampropeltis getula in French - français
Smooth Snakes in English - English
コモンキングヘビ in Japanese - 日本語