Basking in the Sun: Summer Adventures of the Grass Snake
While many animals retreat to shaded havens during the heat of the August sun, one elusive reptile takes full advantage of the warmth, the grass snake.
These shy yet captivating creatures are often seen basking on sun-drenched rocks, riverbanks, or compost heaps. As cold-blooded reptiles, grass snakes rely entirely on external heat sources to regulate their body temperature. Basking helps them warm up enough to move, hunt, and digest food. But even sun lovers have their limits. When the temperature rises too high, grass snakes will slither off into hedgerows or even plunge into nearby rivers and ponds to cool down. Believe it or not, they are excellent swimmers!
A Summer of Survival and Courtship
Summer is not just about sunbathing for grass snakes, it’s a season of vital importance for reproduction. During the warmer months, males are on the move, searching for females to perform their subtle and fascinating courtship rituals. Once mating is successful, females must then find the perfect spot to lay their eggs.
Between June and July, female grass snakes often choose warm, damp environments such as compost heaps or rotting vegetation to deposit their eggs. These natural incubators provide the steady warmth and humidity needed for the eggs to develop safely. By August, some of these eggs may have already hatched, meaning that lucky observers might spot tiny juveniles navigating their first summer in the wild.
What’s on the Menu?
Grass snakes are skilled hunters with a diet that mainly consists of amphibians: frogs, toads, and newts are particular favourites. They also consume small fish and, from time to time, may snack on small mammals. Their excellent swimming abilities give them an advantage when hunting in aquatic environments, allowing them to glide effortlessly through ponds and streams in search of prey.
A Slithery Fun Fact
Here’s something you might not know: grass snakes are the only snake species in the UK that lays eggs. Other British snakes, like the adder and smooth snake, give birth to live young. This unique trait makes the grass snake a fascinating species to watch, especially during the summer breeding season.
Have You Spotted One?
If you’re out enjoying nature this summer, keep an eye out for grass snakes basking in the sun or gliding through the water. And don’t forget, if you spot any reptiles, amphibians, or even their eggs, make sure to record your sightings on our FREE Dragon Finder App.
Your observations help us track populations and protect the habitats of these wonderful wild creatures.
Potentially as early as January in the South East of England, and up to April in other areas of the UK, the common frog will emerge from their winter hideouts and head back to a pond. Male frogs will ‘piggy back’ on their chosen female using their nuptial pads to hold on tightly. This is a process known as ‘amplexus’. He will then fertilise her spawn as she lays it. Common frog eggs are laid in clumps, with up to 2,000 eggs laid in one single clump. Female frogs can lay up to 4,000 eggs over one breeding season.
Common toads will ritually return to the same pond for breeding each year where possible. They take advantage of warmer, damp spring evenings to leave their overwintering sites and return to their specific pond. This behaviour makes them notorious for crossing roads over night and putting themselves at risk of being run over. Our 
Once the warmer weather of spring hits, newts too will venture back to a suitable pond to breed and lay eggs. Males of each newt species will perform elaborate ‘dances’ to attract the attention of females, who will choose which male gets to fertilise their eggs. Newt eggs are laid in a very different way to toads and frogs. A female newt will lay each egg individually, she will lay the egg on the leaf of an aquatic plant and carefully fold the leaf around the egg to protect it, giving the leaf a very straight edge where it has been folded over. Newts lay less eggs than their toad and frog counterparts, but females will still lay hundreds over the season.
