adders in scotland

[andy m]

thats a good picture tony, looks ready to spring forward on a attack. fishing the morn up at loch laidon you never no might see one. seen something just recently cant remember where and this man seen two adders think he was on holiday and picked both of them up by the tail to get a picture, it was a bad idea as he got bitten and had to get taken to hospital and spend a few nights cheers andy m

[Laxdale]

I have a fishing mate who was bitten by one (through his waders) on the banks of the Spey at Easter Elchies. He was still feeling the effects a year later.

[corsican dave]

If you know how to handle them they're surprisingly docile. Much more so than grass snakes. But of course it's far better to leave them alone and just watch. Very beautiful creatures.

[corsican dave]

You'd have to be pretty naive and frankly stupid to think you could pick one up by hand

well, thanks for that vote of confidence  :lol: i'm an experienced reptile handler with a lot of field research under my belt. but generally speaking you're quite correct and they're best left to get on with their lives. my point was that they're actually not especially aggressive, and given the chance will just slink away. Laxdale's mate must've unknowingly sat on one as that's one of only a very few cases i've heard of one penetrating clothing

British Snakes by Leonard Appleby is the seminal (and IMO unsurpassed) work on the subject and is a cracking read. worth looking up!