OMG...

Yes...OMG...

I was in the garden with DH and the dogs

when Tasmin was playing with something near the Garage

Hannah went to look and said it was a worm

and it was touching Tasmins nose !!

mmmmm

So myself and DH go to investigate.

A worm... NOT

we have a baby Viper in the garden

and Tasmin was playing with it

How cute is he/she

I have to admit I wanted Paul to pick it up

but we are unsure on whether it can bite

or whether it is venomous

here you can see the lovely red colours of his/her underneith

We have been on google to try and find the species

and we think it could be Lataste's Viper 

INFO

VIPERA LATASTE is a venomous viper species

Grows to a maximum length of about 72cm,

 but usually less

It is grey in colour, has a triangular head

horn on the tip of its nose

and zig zag pattern on its back

it can be seen day or night

but is usually hidden under rocks

Now we have three out houses 

which are full of stones and rocks

so we think maybe mum is in there

We have yet to go and look

The females give birth to between

2 and 13 young on average

Females give birth once every three years

Now this could explain why we have not seen one before

only being in the house for three years

and we are also hoping to see more little ones

This species was classified as near threatened

according to the IUCN red list of threatened species

From 2008 is recognised as Vulnerable listed as such because is it probably in significant decline

(but likely at a rate of less than 30% over 10 years)

due to widespread habitat loss 

making this species close to qualifying as vulnerable.

Further population reduction is expected over the next 10 years.

It is also listed as a strictly protected species

If we do find MUM, or more little ones

then we will look into finding someone to tell

and maybe they can advise.

but with us moving in 5 weeks

they may just have to fend for themselves

this is a pic of an adult I found on google

thought I would share our little find.

thanks for stopping by and have a lovely weekend