Hi group,

I have been recommended to post here from a fellow member.
I have a goldfish pond in the back garden here in the south west of England
and found a long snake in there last night.
Will this scare or harm my goldfish and, if so, what can I do about it
please?
"Reel McKoi" wrote in message
...

"Gary John" wrote in message
...
Hi all, hope i am in the right group as i have a outdoor pond.

$$ There is a pond group called rec.ponds.

My worry is that tonight, I have noticed a snake in the pond. Is this
anything to worry about and will it be of concern to my goldfish.

$$ Yes. All water snakes will eat fish small enough for them to swallow.
I
know from experience. :-(

I live in the south west of England.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

"Gary John" wrote in message
...
Hi group,

I have been recommended to post here from a fellow member.
I have a goldfish pond in the back garden here in the south west of
England and found a long snake in there last night.
Will this scare or harm my goldfish and, if so, what can I do about it
please?

Sounds like like a Grass snake. Is it green ?
If so, they eat frogs and toads and fish.
Adders (or Vipers) which are poisonous are shorter and fatter, and have
black markings.
If you're not sure seek help

Peter

Peter,

Thanks for the reply. The snake is silver/yellow has black hoops and is
quite long, approx 12/14 inches, any ideas - Where do I "seek help"
Thanks
Gary


"2pods" wrote in message
...

"Gary John" wrote in message
...
Hi group,

I have been recommended to post here from a fellow member.
I have a goldfish pond in the back garden here in the south west of
England and found a long snake in there last night.
Will this scare or harm my goldfish and, if so, what can I do about it
please?

Sounds like like a Grass snake. Is it green ?
If so, they eat frogs and toads and fish.
Adders (or Vipers) which are poisonous are shorter and fatter, and have
black markings.
If you're not sure seek help

Peter

"Gary John" wrote in message
...
Peter,

Thanks for the reply. The snake is silver/yellow has black hoops and is
quite long, approx 12/14 inches, any ideas - Where do I "seek help"
Thanks
Gary


"2pods" wrote in message
...

"Gary John" wrote in message
...
Hi group,

I have been recommended to post here from a fellow member.
I have a goldfish pond in the back garden here in the south west of
England and found a long snake in there last night.
Will this scare or harm my goldfish and, if so, what can I do about it
please?

Sounds like like a Grass snake. Is it green ?
If so, they eat frogs and toads and fish.
Adders (or Vipers) which are poisonous are shorter and fatter, and have
black markings.
If you're not sure seek help

Peter



Certainly doesn't sound idigenous to the UK....I'd suggest calling the RSPCA
or a local zoo....sounds like an escapee

Gill

"Gary John" wrote in message
...
Peter,

Thanks for the reply. The snake is silver/yellow has black hoops and is
quite long, approx 12/14 inches, any ideas - Where do I "seek help"
Thanks
Gary


I'd try RSPCA, or local vet.
What I meant was for you to get help, as I wouldn't want you bitten :-)
Might be worse, could have been a very large spider shudder

Peter

"Gary John" wrote in message
...
Peter,

Thanks for the reply. The snake is silver/yellow has black hoops and is
quite long, approx 12/14 inches, any ideas - Where do I "seek help"
Thanks
Gary
======================
Don't you have a wildlife service there in England? What about calling
your local zoo for recommendations?
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

In article ,
"Gary John" writes:
Peter,

Thanks for the reply. The snake is silver/yellow has black hoops and is
quite long, approx 12/14 inches, any ideas - Where do I "seek help"
Thanks
Gary

You could try http://www.petsnakes.co.uk/ - you might find it in the
photo galleries. There's also a mail address for questions.

John.

Get the snake out and take it to the nearest river.

Geezer From The Freezer wrote:
Get the snake out and take it to the nearest river.

really bad advice, this could well be illegal. The RSPCA will come out
and take care of it for you.

Martin wrote:

Geezer From The Freezer wrote:
Get the snake out and take it to the nearest river.

really bad advice, this could well be illegal. The RSPCA will come out
and take care of it for you.

Why would it be illegal? Would it be illegal taking frogs that have found
their way to a pond back to where they originated?

You may be right. I honestly don't know if its illegal or not?

Geezer From The Freezer wrote:

Martin wrote:

Geezer From The Freezer wrote:

Get the snake out and take it to the nearest river.

really bad advice, this could well be illegal. The RSPCA will come out
and take care of it for you.


Why would it be illegal? Would it be illegal taking frogs that have found
their way to a pond back to where they originated?

You may be right. I honestly don't know if its illegal or not?

The snake was not identified (could have been a grass snake with a bit
of imagination) the release of non-native wild animals into the wild is
illegal (Wildlife & Countryside Act). Same goes for some frogs which are
imports, some shrimps, assorted escaped exotics, some exotic fish.

Infact it's strongly recomended never to release any wild animal back
into the countryside because of the possible transmission of disease.

"The Act also makes it an offence to deliberately release any non-native
species into the wild. This includes releasing any of the non-native
species already established in the wild in the UK.

A number of species are listed in a schedule to the act as being
established in the wild. Release of these species is an offence in the
same way as release of any other alien species. These taxa a....."

http://www.threadnaught.net/~caleb/uklaw.html

including your frogs/toads

Midwife toad Alytes obstetricans
European tree frog Hyla arborea
Marsh frog Rana ridibunda
Edible frog Rana esculenta
African clawed toadXenopus laevis
Yellow-bellied toad Bombina variegata

"Martin" wrote in message
...
Geezer From The Freezer wrote:
Get the snake out and take it to the nearest river.

really bad advice, this could well be illegal. The RSPCA will come out and
take care of it for you.

Actually, this is exactly what our local animal control people told us. If a
snake is NOT poisonous and a threat, they will not come and remove it, but
they told us to catch him, and relocate him into a nearby stream or lake.

If it is a animal not native to the area, I can see that being an issue, but
if it something native to the area, and not a threat, then I don't see an
issue at all.

--
Gareee's Homepage:
http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine.../mainframe.htm

Remove Delicious spam to reply

Gareee© wrote:
"Martin" wrote in message
...

Geezer From The Freezer wrote:

Get the snake out and take it to the nearest river.

really bad advice, this could well be illegal. The RSPCA will come out and
take care of it for you.


Actually, this is exactly what our local animal control people told us. If a
snake is NOT poisonous and a threat, they will not come and remove it, but
they told us to catch him, and relocate him into a nearby stream or lake.

Are you in the UK?

If it is a animal not native to the area, I can see that being an issue, but
if it something native to the area, and not a threat, then I don't see an
issue at all.

How do you know whether it's native or not unless a good identification
has been made? Equally whether or not it's poisonous? The poster said he
lived s/w England and had an unidentified snake.

The RSPCA will come and shift it for you, or at the very least come and
identify it and tell you what the law is regarding it. Again, it could
well be illegal to move it out to the countryside.

From the act "Further protection is offered to the rarest species. Any
form of deliberate or reckless disturbance to these species is a
criminal offence, as is possession of these species at any life stage.
Licences may be granted for the handling of these animals, for
scientific or conservation purposes."

If you try to move one of these protected species you can be prosecuted
for it, whether you want it in your pond or not. Draining the pond would
also be illegal, fencing it in, cleaning or most other things if it
disturbs the protected species.

If you try to move one of these protected species you can be prosecuted
for it, whether you want it in your pond or not. Draining the pond would
also be illegal, fencing it in, cleaning or most other things if it
disturbs the protected species.

Green politics run amuck! Property rights trump all this environazi
invasion into your property. Send the snake packing, I say, just don't
tell anyone... even if it's "protected". Meanwhile, send the environuts
packing out of your local congress, if they're passing laws that make
it so that you can't maintain your own pond and land!!!

C//

Courageous wrote:
If you try to move one of these protected species you can be prosecuted
for it, whether you want it in your pond or not. Draining the pond would
also be illegal, fencing it in, cleaning or most other things if it
disturbs the protected species.


Green politics run amuck! Property rights trump all this environazi
invasion into your property. Send the snake packing, I say, just don't
tell anyone... even if it's "protected". Meanwhile, send the environuts
packing out of your local congress, if they're passing laws that make
it so that you can't maintain your own pond and land!!!

C//

Wait until we start talking about bats! lol