Ice Age snakes are living in walls of UK homes & laying eggs

The Aesculapian species grow up to seven feet long and are one of Europe’s largest types of snakes but they are not native to the United Kingdom.

Despite disappearing from British shores in the last Ice Age, researchers have now warned that the invasive species are surviving in the warmer areas of the country.

These snakes were accidentally introduced to Colwyn Bay in North Wales after some escaped from the Welsh Mountain Zoo during the 1970s.

Snakes are in the walls of UK homes (stock image). (Image: Pexels)

Older research found that the reptiles were also living around the London Zoo area of Regent’s Park as well as close to Bridgend in South Wales.

But as a cold-blooded species, snakes usually need warm climates to survive, so their presence in these areas raised questions about how they were surviving.

A study was conducted in the UK with researchers performing the daily tracking of 13 male snakes and eight females over two active seasons between 2021 and 2022.

The New Scientist reports that the data found snakes to be using “human features” including “attics and wall cavities of houses” to find warmth.

“We observed Aesculapian snakes actively seeking and returning to use inhabited buildings and were observed climbing large structures to access the attics and wall cavities of houses,” said scientists.

Male snakes seemed to have a “distinct preference” for buildings whereas the females of the species flocked to woodland areas.