S NAKE in my garden! So said a reader and it was in fact a grass snake which is quite harmless to us and our pets. Unless of course you have a pet frog, say. Slow worms are legless lizards and not snakes at all but both species frequent gardens whereas adders, our only venomous snake, tends not to. Snakes are timid and usually flee from people and pets but if molested or accidentally stepped on they may respond.

Leave well alone is best and as we are coming to summer's end they will soon remain hidden for the autumn and winter anyway. Remember it is illegal to kill or injure native snakes. In addition to our native British reptiles escaped or abandoned pet snakes may sometimes be found in gardens, particularly in urban or suburban areas and may well be brightly coloured.

Grass snakes are very good swimmers and may hunt garden ponds for amphibians such as frogs and newts. Quite a lot of reports of lizards in gardens turn out to be newts and it often surprised people to learn that they live much of their lives hidden on dry land. Though they occasionally eat small goldfish they only take very small numbers of prey items, thus if you have observed a sudden large loss of fish the culprit is more likely to be a cat, heron or rats.

If you want to attract reptiles leave some wild areas but have short areas for basking. A log pile helps, or a few rocks and be sure to have some ground level access. Rockeries and banks with crevices are good, whilst grass cuttings or a compost heap may attract grass snakes. Grass snakes lay their eggs in warm, moist areas. There should be no need to introduce reptiles. Lizards tend to occupy restricted areas and are fairly sedentary. Reptiles generally emerge from hibernation in March and are active until October. Some may be active later or earlier if weather permits. Grass snakes have been tracked over 4km (2.5 miles) so they do get around a bit.

Only the sand lizard and grass snake lay eggs and do so in June and late June and July respectively. The other species give birth to live young, in some instances inside a transparent membrane. Mating occurs from April to June, and birth or hatching from July to September. The exact timing of reproduction varies between species and depends a great deal on weather conditions.

Natural predators include carrion crows, magpies, hedgehogs, foxes, badgers, kestrels and buzzards as well as other reptiles. Pheasants eat young snakes and cats will also prey on reptiles.

Trevor Beer will answer your countryside and wildlife queries. Drop him a line at 38 Park Avenue, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 2ES