Grass snakes protection

​​Why they are protected

The grass snake is  the only type of snake found in Jersey. The grass snake is entirely harmless and is the rarest of Jersey’s reptiles.

They are only seen in the countryside because they can sense people approaching and they disappear into the vegetation.

The best 2 places to see them on Island are:

• the sand dunes of St Ouen’s Bay
• Ouaisne Common

Grass snakes are protected by the Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2021.

Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2021 guidance

Grass snake on Jersey Biodiversity Centre

Habitat, breeding and diet

Grass snakes are a dull green and brown colour. A lot of them have a distinctive yellow and black collar. Although this isn’t always the case, especially for larger ones.

Adult grass snakes grow to about 80cm long, some can grow as long as 120cm.

Grass snakes are diurnal, which means they’re active during the day. Their active season is between March and October. They hibernate away from the cold for the rest of the year.

They can move fairly large distances in search of food and other resources.

Mating takes place between early April and June. Females would normally lay eggs from the beginning of June to the beginning of August. Each snake can lay 10 or more eggs, larger females can produce up to 40 eggs.

Threats and decline

There are various reasons for the decline of the grass snake in Jersey:

• they face predation pressure from pheasants, cats and potentially polecats
• loss of habitats because of road network, developments and agriculture
• loss of egg laying sites such as compost heaps

Conservation efforts

As part of our conservation efforts we:

• create good quality nesting habitats
• provide the 3 main key habitat features close to each other to reduce the distances grass snakes need to travel. This is:
• ​hibernation sites
• egg-laying sites
• ponds or prey sources​

The status of Jersey’s grass snake population is monitored through the Reptilewatch JE scheme.

Reptilewatch JE on Jersey Biodiversity Centre

How you can help

Ponds are important for grass snakes and their preys such as newts and toads. 

To attract grass snakes into your garden or farm you can provide:

• compost heaps
• manure piles
• other warm rotting vegetation
• a pond

Reptilewatch JE

Reptilewatch JE is a project by the Jersey Biodiversity Centre (JBC). It aims to gather sightings of Jersey’s reptiles to assess their:

• level of conservation
• distribution on the Island
• habitat requirements

Everyone can be involved depending on your interest, available time and experience.

Reptilewatch JE on JBC

Report your wildlife sightings

Reporting your wildlife sightings helps us understand our species, supports our research and informs decision-making.

Report your wildlife sightings