Do grass snakes bite?

Grass snakes do not bite. If cornered, they inflate the body, hiss and strike with the mouth closed. Grass snakes are similar in appearance to the adder, and the two snakes are often confused.

The grass snake has an olive green body, with dark spots or streaks on the sides. It has a distinctive yellow and black collar behind the head. The grass snake is native to England. It favors rough land and pastures, open woodland, wet heathlands, gardens, parks and hedgerows. The grass snake's diet consists of frogs, small mammals, young birds and some fish. Habitat loss due to urbanization has reduced the number of grass snakes, adding them to the list of priority species for conservation.