Grass snake

Natrix natrix Today, 3 October

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

now wintering in cover 179 days

wintering in cover Reptile here all year

The whole year

1 October – 31 March

dates recorded for this region, not shifted from anywhere

Sitting the year outGetting readyYoung aboutYoung leaving

Where to look

Any water with frogs — ditches, ponds, the sea itself on the coast; swims with head up.

Worth knowing

Plays dead convincingly, including a foul smell and an open mouth, rather than bite. The yellow collar is the field mark, and its absence in Dalmatian animals is why so many are killed here as vipers.

Look it up

photos, sightings and recordings, off this site

iNaturalist — photos and where people are seeing it Wikipedia — Natrix natrix

Regions

where this species is on the list

Dalmatian coastKvarner and IstriaVelebit and the DinaridesSlavonia and the Pannonian plainTukhlia, Ukrainian Carpathians

Phase by phase

dates as they fall in the region chosen above

Phase	When	Length	What it means
wintering in cover	1 October – 31 March	182 days	Reptile dormancy — sluggish rather than truly asleep, and broken by warm spells.
going about the year	1 April – 24 April	24 days	Feeding, holding territory, doing nothing the calendar singles out.
courting	25 April – 14 June	51 days	Song, display, fighting, scent-marking — pairs forming or reaffirming.
on eggs	15 June – 19 August	66 days	Clutch laid and being incubated, or buried and left to the sun.
raising young	20 August – 14 September	26 days	Dependent young in the nest, den or burrow, being fed.
young dispersing	15 September – 30 September	16 days	Young leaving for good, looking for a territory of their own.

Other reptiles in this region

Aesculapian snakeCommon adderSlow wormViviparous lizard

← All species