barred grass snake

Natrix helvetica

The barred grass snake is a friendly snake that loves to swim and bask in the sun. It has beautiful stripes and is often found near water, making it a fun creature to spot in nature!

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The barred grass snake has a grey-brown to olive-green body with distinct dark bars or spots along its sides. Its most striking feature is a bright yellow and black collar just behind its head, making it unique.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumChordataClassSquamataOrderSerpentesFamilyColubridaeGenusNatrix

barred grass snake

Interesting facts

Even though they have 'grass' in their name, they are excellent swimmers and often hunt underwater.

They love composting! Females often lay their eggs inside warm, rotting heaps of leaves and plant material.

When threatened, this snake might hiss very loudly and even pretend to strike, but it rarely bites!

Young barred grass snakes start life eating tiny slugs and worms before growing big enough for frogs!

Special abilities

barred grass snake can act completely dead, even lying upside down, to trick predators into thinking it's not worth eating.

barred grass snake has glands that release a foul-smelling liquid when scared, making predators quickly lose their appetite.

barred grass snake can swim very well and quickly catch fish underwater, thanks to its streamlined body.

Measurements & details

Length: 70-140 cm
Weight: 0.2-1 kg
Lifespan: 10-15 years
Top Speed: 8 km/h
Swim Speed: 2 km/h
Clutch Size: 10-40
Incubation: 42-70 days

Diet & Feeding

They love feasting on amphibians like frogs and newts, plus fish, which they cleverly hunt in water.

Age differences: Young snakes start with smaller prey like tadpoles, slugs, and worms, gradually moving to larger amphibians and fish as they grow.

Primary Foods

Frogs
Toads
Newts
Fish
Tadpoles

Foraging Method

Pursuit

Ecological connections

eats

Common Frog

Rana temporaria

A favorite meal for both young and adult snakes.

eats

Common Toad

Bufo bufo

Often eaten by larger barred grass snakes.

eats

European Perch

Perca fluviatilis

Skilled underwater hunters catch this fish.

eaten by

Common Buzzard

Buteo buteo

These birds of prey are a main predator.

eaten by

European Badger

Meles meles

Badgers sometimes hunt snakes in their habitat.

Traits

Striped

Marked with parallel bands or lines of color.

Solitary

Solitary animals live alone for most of their lives, only interacting with others for mating or parental care.

Piscivorous

Piscivorous organisms are animals that primarily subsist on a diet of fish.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.