Baby adders set to brave winter

Baby adders at a wildlife park in Kent are about to leave their indoor nursery for a hibernation box where they will spend the winter.

Keepers at the Wildwood Trust have spent two years hand-rearing them and will now have to wait to see if their 12 infants survive the cold.

The hibernation box has been specially built in the park's adder enclosure.

Head keeper Paul Wirdnam said: "We've taken every precaution we can to make them as ready as they can possibly be."

He said keepers had tried to feed the adders up and give them a natural dry habitat to hibernate in.

"It's fingers crossed and hope for the best," he added.

'Underground kingdom'

The hibernation box has been filled with straw and dead leaves to keep the adders warm and safe from the weather, he said.

Leaf litter has also been used to create a "natural underground kingdom of self-draining tunnels" underneath the box, so the snakes can choose where they want to spend the winter.

Keepers trained the baby adders to be fed by tongs and recorded the snakes' diets during their time indoors, in a bid to find out how much food they would need to survive hibernation during the cold weather.

Adders are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/8351906.stm

Chees Owen, interesting post.

If they are two years old how are they "baby adders"?

Not sure, BBC's words.

I was not sure if trained to feed by tongs meant strike feeding or assist/force feeding...

slippery42 wrote:If they are two years old how are they "baby adders"?

I would of thought sub-adults would be more appropriate for two year olds.

They should do ok if it’s a cold winter, young adders have heavier losses in mild winters because they use up their reserves quicker and starve to death.


Nice read though Owen



Tony

So we need to keep 'em warm in winter do we?

Looks like I have a lot to learn!

That does make me chuckle Graeme.
V.berus has adapted to the cold in its northern range and at its most western point in, Scotland, through to the East, Scandinavia Russia and to the island of Sakhalin North of Japan, they experience much lower temperatures ie –20 to-30, the sea freezes around Sakhalin in winter. I’m not saying V.berus can survive being frozen at those temps! it cant, but they have adapted to live in those environments.


Tony

As many of you will know, we have no snakes here, and so nothing to compare like for like... but would V.berus return to the hibernation spot year on year, and would the actual depth of these places be dictated (in nature) by the more Northern (or colder) they are?

V. berus do usually return to the same hibernacula every year, that said, they will some times abandon the hibernacula and disperse.

You ask
“Would the actual depth of these places be dictated (in nature) by the more northern (or colder) they are”

Well the simple answer is yes.
V. berus needs to find the correct thermal gradient to hibernate successfully through the coldest part of the winter, and for them that’s around 2c to 5c, any colder and they can die from the frost any warmer and they cant hibernate.


Tony

That is kind of hat I thought, given the spread of the species over Europe.

I have often wondered why none of the reptile species, managed to make it here... the conditions are similar. I think I remember reading that it was all about timing, and basically when Ireland split from GB, the temps stopped certain species being that far west (or North West?). I might have made that up actually...anyone care to put me out of my misery, and end my years of cursing St Patrick