There are a few people posting on this forum who may be able to help with this. I'm a daily visitor to a forested lowland heath just East of York well known to herpetologists. It seems to have been a good year for adders this year as I've seen far more than over the last decade (this could be because of more effective habitat management). I've never had a problem with them and even my six year old son stays calm and moves quietly away when we stumble across them. However I don't like the idea of waking up face to face with one, or worse finding one inside my bivvy bag. After spending a pleasant afternoon disguising an ugly bit of visqueen left lying around by untidy campers with the intention of bivvying under it this evening I was frustrated to find my discrete shelter had been occupied before I could even move in myself. Hissing snakes put me right off snuggling down on the floor for some reason. Am I being unnecessarily squeamish? This adder showed no sign of clearing off. Has anybody any experience of adders as bedside companions? Is my gut instinct to avoid sleeping on the floor in a high adder zone rational common sense or would they find some place else if I'd sat it out for the evening?
Adders as overnight companions
- Thread starter Hare Brain
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I'm a herpetologist and sleep with snakes for a living. Most of this Spring/Summer has been spent out and about sleeping in hammocks, bivvis and under tarps right in all the major hotspots around the country. Makes early morning and late night surveys that much easier and fun too. I even get to do it with deadlier species overseas.
The important thing to do is to look for a place where you think no adders are present, so that rules out your chosen spot already. I don't say that for your safety as they won't bother you, but at this time of year, the adders will be using the same spots and your presence will cause them to vacate the area. Not good if it is a birthing ground.
As for your safety, you have nothing at all to worry about. They will easily scent you from several metres away and go in the opposite direction. But, be very careful when waking up and walking around your spot, as they may be basking a short distance away. They won't come near you or your bivvi, but if you are camping in amongst scrub and heather, you do need to be careful when wondering about in the early hours. But as you know, they will turn tail and head off as soon as they detect you.
At this time of year, if heavily gravid, some females may be more reluctant to move off as their movement is restricted from all of the young they are carrying, and so, they will coil up and defend themselves.
It has been generally accepted that adders are completely diurnal. But given the iris shape, this suggests otherwise. I've been studying the nocturnal behaviour of adders for the last two years after encountering and watching a few of my local individuals out in the late evening some years back. From that study I've found that they are very active in the evening up until quite late at night when the weather is warm. Less so in Spring and Autumn. I haven't published the results yet as I still have a way to go. But adders are very active hunters at night. So be aware of this if you go around an adder hotspot at night. If it is a controlled area like it seems to be though, I wouldn't have thought camping would be allowed there anyway. But laws in protected areas like this are all over the place and unclear. Certainly fires would never be allowed due to the habitat alone.
In short, you will be OK all tucked up in the bivvi. It's walking about in the dark and early hours when you may come across them.
The important thing to do is to look for a place where you think no adders are present, so that rules out your chosen spot already. I don't say that for your safety as they won't bother you, but at this time of year, the adders will be using the same spots and your presence will cause them to vacate the area. Not good if it is a birthing ground.
As for your safety, you have nothing at all to worry about. They will easily scent you from several metres away and go in the opposite direction. But, be very careful when waking up and walking around your spot, as they may be basking a short distance away. They won't come near you or your bivvi, but if you are camping in amongst scrub and heather, you do need to be careful when wondering about in the early hours. But as you know, they will turn tail and head off as soon as they detect you.
At this time of year, if heavily gravid, some females may be more reluctant to move off as their movement is restricted from all of the young they are carrying, and so, they will coil up and defend themselves.
It has been generally accepted that adders are completely diurnal. But given the iris shape, this suggests otherwise. I've been studying the nocturnal behaviour of adders for the last two years after encountering and watching a few of my local individuals out in the late evening some years back. From that study I've found that they are very active in the evening up until quite late at night when the weather is warm. Less so in Spring and Autumn. I haven't published the results yet as I still have a way to go. But adders are very active hunters at night. So be aware of this if you go around an adder hotspot at night. If it is a controlled area like it seems to be though, I wouldn't have thought camping would be allowed there anyway. But laws in protected areas like this are all over the place and unclear. Certainly fires would never be allowed due to the habitat alone.
In short, you will be OK all tucked up in the bivvi. It's walking about in the dark and early hours when you may come across them.
Thanks for that really helpful reply JD. Very reassuring. I wouldn't have considered more than a very closely controlled meths burner brew and heat a can of something if the ground was damp. I regard it as a privilege to be able to observe such rich wildlife on a daily basis and try to be discrete to facilitate that. I will hand the bivvy over to her happily! I wish everyone respected the place more. I more than suspect the black plastic was left by Rambo lads on an overnight deer killing spree. My son and I spent three hours in July picking up broken glass and cans after a wild and very un Bushcrafty party. It's a miracle the forest is still there - the fire had a five foot radius and melted most of the beer bottles! All dug out and recycled now but we're still finding stuff and clearing up after them away from the main site!
You'll be fine. Sounds like your presence there will actually be protecting them too. Enjoy them, they are beautiful timid animals, and it's a rare treat to see them. Most people never do.
