Barred Grass Snake | Barrenringelnatter

Die deutsche Version ist unten.

It was an amazingly beautiful spring day at 22 degrees Celsius. Lucky and I were sunbathing on the terrace between the house and the BBQ hut today, which is flanked by a wall of breaking slate from the hillside. Roots and baby pine trees have pushed through the broken slate in persistent growth. All of the sudden, just before I drifted off, a little pile of dry leaves rustled behind the stairs. Lucky tucked his nose down towards the sound, barking and wagging his tail. Such a directed gaze of attention gave me pause. Perhaps I should check it out. As I approached the slate cliffside, I saw a grey snake staring back at me through the twigs and dead leaves.

I definitely didn't expect to see a snake around the house. I have been concerned about wildlife that our neighbors have mentioned seeing, such as a wolf couple that lives toward the top of the hill. But I hadn't thought about snakes. After some thought, though, it's not too surprising that Lucky and I discovered a snake exactly in that spot. They love frogs, and we've often spotted frogs along the slate wall. It's a bit too far from the creek, in my opinion, for a frog or grass snake to be content. But the frogs likely attracted the snake to that spot.

After spotting the snake, I picked Lucky up and put him inside the house. I had no idea if it were venomous or if venomous snakes lived in Switzerland, so I quickly did some googling. The specific pattern and color of the snake eventually led me to a description of the Barred Grass Snake (Natrix helvetica). Luckily, it is not venomous. Lucky and I returned to the terrace, and I took some pictures. My nap, however, was definitely interrupted. I couldn't exactly fall asleep on the terrace after that.

•

Heute war ein wirklich schöner Tag (22 Grad). Mittags genossen Lucky und ich den Sonnenschein auf der Terrasse. Plötzlich fing Lucky an zu bellen und wedelte mit dem Schwanz. Dies ist nicht ungewöhnlich. Aber seine Nase war zwischen der bröckelnden Schieferwand und der Treppe.

Ich ging zu ihm hinüber, um zu sehen, was er anbellte. Zu meiner Linken war eine dünne, graue Schlange, die mich ansah. Ich nahm Lucky auf und legte ihn ins Haus. Ich habe Google nach einem ähnlichen Bild gesucht.

Zum Glück sah die Schlange genau wie eine Barrenringelnatter (Natrix helvetica) aus, die nicht giftig ist. Deshalb ging ich wieder nach draußen, um ein paar Fotos zu machen.