25 September β 24 October
the coastal calendar, unshifted
Old olive groves, stone heaps and ruins; slow, heavy, and largely diurnal.
Europe's heaviest snake and completely harmless, which does not save it. Juveniles are blotched rather than striped and are routinely killed as vipers; the adult stripes only appear in the third year.
photos, sightings and recordings, off this site
where this species is on the list
| Phase | When | Length | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| wintering in cover | 25 October β 19 March | 146 days | Reptile dormancy β sluggish rather than truly asleep, and broken by warm spells. |
| going about the year | 20 March β 24 April | 36 days | Feeding, holding territory, doing nothing the calendar singles out. |
| courting | 25 April β 9 June | 46 days | Song, display, fighting, scent-marking β pairs forming or reaffirming. |
| on eggs | 10 June β 24 August | 76 days | Clutch laid and being incubated, or buried and left to the sun. |
| raising young | 25 August β 24 September | 31 days | Dependent young in the nest, den or burrow, being fed. |
| young dispersing | 25 September β 24 October | 30 days | Young leaving for good, looking for a territory of their own. |