AN ENGLISHMANS STORY Keith Werb Natural History Society in Norfolk, 12 Rayner Road, where they were particularly abundant. I Colchester, Essex C02 9AA, was dismayed to arrive there on one Engla.nd occasion when conditions were ideal for the frog and toadlets to leave the water It is a known fact that our earliest child­ in their thousands, and it was impossible hood experiences often stay with us and to walk through the damp grass without influence us for the rest of our lives. standing on them. My earliest recollections were of life in In the mid I 960's, whilst still at school, I Gibraltar in the I 950's where my father used to travel further afield by bus in was stationed in the army and where we search of reptiles. My favourite place was lived for 3 l /2 years. I remember being Tollesbury, a costal village about 15 or so fascinated by the geckos that lived km's from my home in Colchester. I used behind our fridge and appeared every to go there with a school friend with evening to chase the moths around the similar interests, who sadly died a few ceiling light. We used to have wonderful years later. It was nothing to catch 20 - trips across the border to a completely 30 slow worms (Anguis fragilia), on a sing­ deserted Spanish coast-line and my le visit. We used to lay out sheets of cor­ older brothers used to bring me water­ rugated iron in the long grass alongside a snakes that they had caught with the aid disused railway line and turn them over of long sticks. I was also allowed to keep on a sunny day. There would often be terrapins in an old iron bathtub on the three to four slow worms under a single balcony. sheet I saw my first Grass snake (Natrix natrix) under one of these, but I was so Back in England in the I 960's, we lived in surprsed by it that it evaded capture - North-east Essex, and I eagerly anticipa­ much to my disgust. ted the weekend outings to the local woods where there was a large pond in I made several return trips to Tollesbury which I caught Crested newts (Triturus cri­ before I actually caught my first Grass status) and Smooth newts (Triturus vu/ga­ snake on turning over a rotten log. I had ris). Frogs and toads were quit scare local­ no idea that they could feign death and I ly in those days, so I joined the local was very concerned that I had killed it by Grass snake pretending to be dead grasping the animal to tightly as it hung The first species I kept were Green tree limply from my hand with it's mouth frogs (Hy/a arborea), Edible frogs (Rana gaping. escu/enta) and some nice little Anderson's toads (Bufo andersoni), from Pakistan and It was about this time that my friend and which were purchased from the English I started to buy our first foreign species, agent for drs. De Rover from Holland. but I was somewhat frustrated in that I was not allowed to keep snakes at home As my friend's parents were a lot more due to my parents fear of them. I will reasonable then mine (!}, he had a shed of never forget the look of horror on my his own in which he was allowed to keep mother's face when one of my friends virtually anything. I was as eager as he was knocked on the door to return my pride to see the contents of the first box to be and joy - a 120 cm long Grass snake that sent to his house from the importers. We I kept without her knowing and that had opened it in the middle of the lawn as it escaped the previous day. contained I 50 ems of very bad tempered Litteratura Serpentium • 1998 • volume 18 • number 3 Yellow Ratsnake (Elaphe obsoleta quadra­ years later, I moved to London for a while, vittata) and it was lucky we had leather and it was not until my return to North gloves handy. I could not afford £ 5 for a Essex in the early '70's that I started up rat snake, but £ 3 bought me a Diamond­ again. I had my first home of my own, and backed watersnake (Nerodia rhombifer I thought a tank or two of reptiles would rhombifer), which I kept at my friends brighten up the decor of the lounge. I star­ house along with an Adder (Vipera berus) ted with a Grey Ratsnake (Elaphe obsoleta that we had caught on the edge of some spiloides), bought from a local guy who had marshland about 8 kms away. Adders have kept it as a novelty and then lost interest always had a reputation for being delicate in it. With the memory of my friend's in captivity, but this specimen thrived on a Yellow Ratsnake firmly etched in my mind, diet of field voles. this snake was very lucky indeed as I felt very sorry for it because it was confined In 1967, I gave up keeping reptiles for the to an unheated aquarium in a garage with first time when I left school. A couple of winter fast approaching. Elaphe situla The following year I ventured abroad for The problem was, though this was an the first time since my childhood and in amazing number to find on one trip, they the spring I returned from Morocco with were all males and I had to wait another a couple of Montpellier snakes (Malpolon two years before I could get to Yugoslavia monspessulanus monspessulanus), and an myself. My delight at catching my first assortment of lizards, which included Leopard snake on that trip quickly turned Berber skinks (Eumeces a/geriensis), to dismay when I caught my first female Bibrons Agamas (Agama impalearis) and a on a dry-stone wall. helmed gecko (Geckoria chazaliae). Three Four-lined snakes (Elaphe quatorli­ In late August the same year, having well neata quatorlineata), another favourite of and truly bitten by the travel and collecting mine, were caught on the same trip, along bug, I drove down to the south of France with a very nice male Nose-horned Viper and, when I caught a juvenile Ladder snake (Vipera ammodytes ammodytes). (Elaphe scalaris), I began a love affair with the European Elaphe that has stayed with Over the next couple of years the Greek me ever since. The capture of a gravid islands were visited several times and female Aesculapian snake (Elaphe longissi­ interesting captures included dwarf ma) on a subsequent trip quickly enhanced Nose-horned Vipers (Vipera ammodytes that affair, and when I saw my first photo of meridionals), Leopard snakes and a leopard snake (Elaphe situla) I was well Cyclades Four-lines, (Elaphe quatorlineata and trnly hooked. muenteri), including the stripeless form from Amorgos. About this time I joined the British Herpetological Society and one of the Apart from the previously mentioned first magazines I received, in July 1976, snakes, I was also interested in the contained an article by Chris Mattison American Milk snakes which had just on the reptiles ofYugoslavia, in which he started to be imported but were very described catching a juvenile leopard expensive. I bought the first pair of snake on a dry stone wall. From that Honduran Milks (Lampropeltis triangulum moment on I dreamt of visiting hondurensis) to be imported into England. Yugoslavia and catching my own, as they Along with a friend I also bought six were totally unobtainable from any Sinaloans (Lampropeltis triangulum sina/o­ other sources. ae) and three Jaliscan Milks (Lampropeltis triangulum arcifera). The following year a good friend visited Yugoslavia and returned with four Personal circumstances in the I 980's led Leopard snakes, all of which I purchased. to my giving up reptile-keeping for the Litteratura Serpentium • 1998 • volume 18 • number 3 second time and though I still maintained a have also resumed and I have been parti­ passing interest it was not until 1994 that cularly interested in Turkey, but although I started keeping them in earnest again. I have found many species there, inclu­ ding Eastern Four-lines (Elaphe quatorline­ Though many species were new to me ata sauromates), Leopards, Sand boas and I was fascinated by many of them, (Eryx jaculus turcicus) and the delightful particularly the Asian Elaphe species, I little Asian Minor Dwarf Snake (Eirinis found myself drawn to my old favourites, modestus), I have not been successful in The European ratsnakes and especially finding the Transcaucasian ratsnake Leopard snakes. I count myself very lucky (Elaphe hohenackri). that, at the time of writing (February 1998), of the 60 or so snakes in my col­ As to the future there are still so many lection I have 29 Leopards, including I I things I would like to do and places to go babies that I bred in 1997. The travels if only I had the money to do it! ANNOUNCEMENTS • ERRATUM Unfortunately a mistake appeared in issue no. 3 of this volume in the article by Keith Werb, 'An Englishsmens story' ( 18-3, page 68 - 72). The meaning of one sentence was quit significantly changed because part of it was deleted. Fortunately the author poin­ ted out this mistake to use and we are more then happy to correct it here. It con­ cerns the last sentence of the first para­ graph in the second column op page 71. This sentence should read: My delight at catching my first Leopard snake on that trip quickly turned to dismay when I realised it was yet another male, but all of that was forgotten a couple of days later when I caught my first female on a dry-stone wall! Litteratura Serpentium • 1998 • volume 18 • number 6 .