Reader Alexandre Henriques spotted a snake on August 29 in Águeda, Aveiro, and contacted Wilder to find out which species it belonged to. The reader explained that the snake appeared in his house, having been placed in the backyard, and that the animal tried to bite.
The identification was made by Diogo Parrinha, herpetologist and PhD student at BIOPOLIS/CIBIO. It is a ladder snake (Zamenis scalaris), completely harmless and non-venomous.
This species can reach 160 centimeters in length and is the second snake with the largest distribution area in Portugal, only surpassed by the horseshoe whip snake. It is well distributed throughout the Portuguese mainland territory, especially up to 800 meters altitude, being easier to observe between April and October. Its preferred habitat is open oak or cork oak woodlands, as well as agricultural landscapes, where it seeks vegetation along rivers and edges and walls that divide the cultivated fields.
Ladder snakes face significant threats, including being run over, as they seek the heat retained in the asphalt at night to warm up, and the destruction of their natural habitat.
