Marie and her friend had a big fright on their way home from school. They come across what they think is a snake. They sent us the video of it via the orange Alert us button.
On the way home from school, Marie (assumed name) and her friend chat as usual. The two young girls, secondary 5 students from Grâce-Hollogne, are walking on a small path near the establishment, when they come face to face with what they think is a snake. “My friend is getting much closer, because I’m super scared. I can’t get near any of this“, confides Marie to us. “I freak out, I freak out, I tell her ‘hold the phone and film’“, she adds.
In this video filmed by his girlfriend, the golden reptile moves slowly on the cobblestones, sticking out a thick black tongue.
Faced with the animal, the frightened girls decide to call the police. “We were very scared because it’s right in front of a school where there are a lot of students“, justifies the young Liégeoise. On the phone with the police, they are however not taken seriously: “At first, they didn’t believe us. They thought it was a joke or something“.
Finally, the firefighters arrive on the spot and find, not a snake, but a slow worm. It is actually a lizard, but without legs, thus resembling a snake. “They said it didn’t matter, it was just ‘a big glass of dirt’ that didn’t hurt“, Marie shares with us.
He said ‘you bothered us for nothing’
At the sight of this completely harmless reptile, the reaction of the firefighters is divided: “There was one who laughed, but another who got a little angry. He said ‘you bothered us for nothing’. But we didn’t know what it was!“, s’excuse-t-elle.
This experience, Marie hopes never to experience it once more. Phobic of snakes and other reptiles, the young girl tells us that she has “had trouble sleeping” : “I felt like he was still there“.
An unknown animal
We decided to show the video sent by Marie to Jean-Yves Paquet, the director of the studies department of Natagora. Very quickly, he confirms that it is indeed a slow worm. “It’s a lizard, except it has no legs. It’s not a snake, although it may look like one“, he describes.
The slow worm can measure between 30 and 40 centimeters, has a brown or grayish color and a smooth and shiny appearance. Its head is smaller than that of a snake and is little distinguishable from the rest of its body. Like lizards, its tail can detach in case of danger and then grows back. The slow worm has a habit of hiding under stones or planks to protect itself from its predators, such as cats.
The species is actually “fairly common” in Wallonia, according to Jean-Yves Paquet. “It can be seen quite frequently in quite a few gardens, especially in the Meuse valley. There are probably more there, because like all reptiles, it likes slightly warmer environments.“, he adds.
It is rather a good thing to have some in your garden
Little threatened, but protected, these lizards are the friends of gardeners: “Slow worms feed mainly on slugs, it is rather a good thing to have some in your garden“, points out Jean-Yves Paquet.
The slow worm, despite its appearance, therefore poses no danger. There is no need to worry regarding its presence in nature or in your garden. In case of meeting in a place where he is not supposed to be, it is better to take him to safety. Jean-Yves Paquet advises putting it back in the vegetation, when necessary, to “that he does not get caught by a predator“. He specifies however that it should not be taken by the tail, so that the slow worm does not lose it.
The snakes present in our regions
In order not to be mistaken, like Marie, it is important to know how to differentiate the slow worm from the snakes, which are also present in our regions. “It happens regularly that people get scared and kill him. It is an animal that is not super fast, unlike snakes, so it can be easily killed. It’s really a shame and it’s ignorance“, regrets the specialist. He also specifies that killing the snakes is not a good solution either.
Crossing paths with a snake in our regions is also possible and, according to Jean-Yves Paquet, “it is rather a privilege”, because these are rather rare. There are three species of snakes in Belgium: the grass snake, the smooth snake and the viper. The latter is extremely rare:It is limited to certain nature reserves and is not found in gardens“, he clarifies. The smooth crown snake is just as rare, while the more common grass snake is harmless.