The Long And Short Of It

Looking after reptiles and amphibians is an important part of the conservation process. But you can help them to survive

- Mike Swan

Since I was eight years old, I have been fascinated by reptiles and amphibians. It was then that my family moved from the Kent coast to heathy west Surrey, where snakes and lizards abounded. Catching and keeping lizards and slow-worms would be frowned upon these days — and all our native reptiles are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 — but back then they offered a fascinating new interest for me.

Catching them in the first place was not without its sporting element. Common lizards are quick, so pouncing on them when they were basking in the sun was never a racing certainty, and if your shadow fell across them you were scuppered.

They were sometimes easier to catch when lurking under one of the sheets of corrugated tin that littered the local military training area. However, lifting the sheets was held a hint of danger, for many would have an adder coiled up underneath, as well as a lizard or two.

Slow-worms were a special interest and I still love the feel of their smooth, shiny skin when I find one in the garden (Pretty legless, 14 August). Those who have never handled one before are often surprised that they are not slimy, as well as by the way in which they use their muscular coils to push against your fingers as they slide forward.

Keeping a pair in a vivarium for a full year and seeing them complete a full breeding cycle and produce their young was quite special. Tiny golden baby slow-worms are beautiful.

Vulnerable