found a snake in my house

[spanish_lad]

are there poisunus snakes here in spain ? its a small brown one, with diamond shapes on its back, could it be a diamond back water snake ?

its only 30cm long.

[mhic]

According to my neighbors there are no venomous snakes in Spain,, but!
We had one a few weeks ago in our bathroom which was about 2 ft long and was mostly black and white and very pretty. A search on the web came up with several different types of adder, and they are poisonous.

I told the tale of the snake to several of the wife's female relatives and stories about Dave, our resident rodent,and for some reason they decided to put of a threatened visit. Shame!

Mhic.

[Bongtrees]

are there poisonous snakes here in Spain ? its a small brown one, with diamond shapes on its back, could it be a diamond back water snake ?

its only 30cm long.

I was taught that the smaller the snake the more dangerous it is, however the viper with the diamond pattern on its back which I have seen many times in Spain can be 2ft-2ft6ins long. Another poisonous one to be aware of which is small, thin, very fast, black asp/snake and unlike the others is aggressive.

A huge snake fell from a brick ivy clad arch in our garden in front of someone last year, never thought I would see a man in such a panic.

This year we saw a 3.2m snake skin in the lane to our house.

Looking on the Internet I found www.iberianature..com, not a fantastic site but states that there are 13 snakes in Spain. 5 of which are poisonous.

Mike

[Nige]

www.wild-spain.com is a good source of knowledge and information. A couple of years ago the editor answered the question: What snakes if any can be found in spain? And the answer was: (I have aded the Spanish name )

Ok, this seems a popular subject. So here goes a 5 minute guide to the Snakes of Spain!

Spain enjoys the presence of 13 species of snake, including 3 vipers. Some are common, others are very rare. Only the vipers are of any danger to man. Fatality statistics are negligible, maybe 2 or 3 a year. Sightings are likely only in the warm summertime months. Usually on roads, even at night (they need the warmth to keep going). Also in or near water or disappearing into a thicket, grass or hole in the ground. Enjoy but don't touch - handling can be foolhardy, unnecessary and illegal.

Unless specified the following are found more or less throughout Spain. Maximum sizes are approximate.

- Montpellier snake (Malpolon monspessulanus) - Sp.: Culebra b a s tarda
Up to 240 cm. Common. Venomous, but not dangerous to man.

- Horseshoe Whip Snake (Coluber hippocrepis) Sp.:Culebra de herradura
Up to 150 cm. Striking black and yellow markings.

- Western Whip Snake (Coluber viridiflavus) Sp.:Culebra verdiamarilla
Up to 170 cm. Only in Pyrenees.

- Ladder snake (Elaphe scalaris) Sp.:Culebra de escalera
Up to 160 cm. Common. Two parallel black lines on back.

- Aesculapian snake (Elaphe longissima) Sp.:Culebra de Esculapio
Up to 180 cm. Pyrenees and Picos.

- Grass snake (Natrix natrix) Sp.:Culebra de collar
Up to 200 cm. Near water.

- Viperine snake (Natrix maura) Sp.:Culebra viperina
Up to 90 cm. Common near water. "Pretends" to be a viper.

- Smooth snake (Coronella austriaca) Sp.:Culebra lisa europea
Up to 70 cm.

- Southern smooth snake (Coronella girondica) Sp.:Culebra lisa meridional
Up to 75 cm. Northern Spain.

- False Smooth snake (Macroprotodon cucullatus) Sp.:Culebra de cogulla
Up to 60 cm. Centre and south. Venomous, but not dangerous to man.

- Common viper or Adder (Vipera berus)
Up to 90 cm. Northern Spain. Venomous.

- Asp viper (Vipera aspis) Sp.: Víbora aspid
Up to 75 cm. Northern Spain. Venomous.

- Lataste's viper (Vipera latastei) Sp.: Víbora hocicuda
Up to 75 cm. Everywhere except northern Spain. Venomous. Distinctive upturned snout.

For pictures or more info try a search on Google or other major search engines (Tip: Use the latin names as keywords).
Directory Member: Wild Spain Editorial Team, June 23, 2003
Organisation: Wild Spain

[spanish_lad]

ok, i´ll take a look at that, thanks.

(ps. can i not post pictures linked to my own webspace either ? )