Gardens are important refuges for slow worm. Rockeries, compost heaps, sunny banks, clumps of heather and rough areas provide valuable feeding and sheltering habitat for this fascinating Suffolk reptile as Conservation Manager, Dorothy Casey, explains.

Slow worms are perhaps the best known of Suffolk's four reptile species. A type of legless lizard, the slow worm used to be widespread and fairly common in the county - some people remember keeping individuals as pets! Sadly, largely us a result of habitat loss, slow worm along with all other species of reptile, have declined drastically.

Despite this trend you still stand a reasonable chance of seeing one if you know where to look. Favourite haunts include heathlands, disused allotments, woodland rides, railway embankments, churchyards and even gardens.

The slow worm belies its name. Often the first glimpse you get of this elusive creature is the tip of a polished shiny tail disappearing rapidly into the undergrowth. Since reptiles rely on the outdoor temperature to control body heat, they are dependent on weather conditions.

The best time to see them is in summer when the weather is warm but not too hot. Sunny days with patchy cloud or a sunny spell after rain, are often the best times to spot slow worms, as they come out to bask on a log or south-facing slope. It is also worth lifting up debris such as wooden or metal sheets and looking for animals sheltering underneath.

The slow worm's hard, cylindrical and smooth body has a fine stripe down the back distinguishing it from other reptiles. The young, with coppery-gold coloration and vivid dark brown sides, are particularly attractive. The undersides are usually black and, unlike snakes, slow worm have distinctive and movable eyelids.

Sometimes called the 'gardeners friend', they are partial to slugs but will also consume a range of garden pests including snails, caterpillars and ants. Slow worm are in turn eaten by predators such as stoats, weasels and birds of prey. In urban areas, cats can kill significant numbers. Cooler autumn weather drives slow worms underground into dens where they hibernate over the winter, either singly or in a group. Inactive hibernation is a way of surviving the colder temperatures and scarcity of food. But winter can still be a dangerous time and many individuals succumb to starvation, flooding, freezing or disease.

The longer, warmer days signal that it is time to emerge and bask in the spring sun once again. Mating now takes place and the young are born from July to October, usually in late August or early September. Young slow worms have just a few weeks of activity before the temperature drops and it becomes time to seek shelter underground.

Due to habitat loss in the wider countryside, urban areas now provide slow worms with important refuges. Derelict plots in towns ('brownfield' sites) are likely to be colonised with open, rough grassland and scrub - valuable reptile habitat. Dumped materials such as garden refuse, concrete or metal act as perfect basking sites.

A recent change in planning policy, which focuses on the need for brownfield development, means that many of these sites may now be under threat. While Suffolk Wildlife Trust supports development at sites where there is no wildlife interest, it is important we do not allow sites to be destroyed which support important reptile populations.

As a first step to protecting these valuable areas, the Trust carried out surveys over the summer at sites in Haverhill, Sudbury, Leiston and Saxmundham in order to provide local authorities with ecological information before areas were allocated for development.