Grass snake
Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758)
The grass snake (Natrix natrix) is a snake in the family Colubridae and subfamily Natricinae, part of the reptile order Squamata. It falls in the small size class, with adults weighing from 96 to 300 g and a representative adult weight of 198 g.
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Quick facts about the grass snake
Its main food is amphibia, and its lifespan is given as 15 years, with values up to 20 years reported. It produces 1 clutch per year with 15.5 young or eggs per clutch, eggs incubate for 45 days, and it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 96.3 g – 300 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 15 years – 20 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Main food
- amphibiasrc for Main food
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Egg incubation
- 45.4 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 15.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 3.5 years – 5.5 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the grass snake
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the grass snake live?
Not recorded
What is the grass snake?
The grass snake (Natrix natrix), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian semi-aquatic non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians.
From the Wikipedia article “Grass snake” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grass_snake&oldid=1380718564), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the grass snake endangered?
The grass snake is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the grass snake classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderSquamata
- familyColubridae
- genusNatrix
- SpeciesNatrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Coluber minutus, Coluber natrix, Coluber natrix var. dalmatina, Coluber persa, Coluber scutatus, Coluber sparsus, Coluber torquatus, Natrix megalocephala, Natrix natrix cypriaca, Natrix natrix fusca, Natrix natrix gotlandica, Natrix natrix persa, Natrix natrix schweizeri, Natrix persa, Natrix rubetaria, Natrix vibakari continentalis, Natrix vulgaris, Tropidonotus ater, Tropidonotus natrix, Tropidonotus natrix bithynius, Tropidonotus natrix bithynus, Tropidonotus natrix britannicus, Tropidonotus natrix bucharensis, Tropidonotus natrix cephallonicus, Tropidonotus natrix cypriacus, Tropidonotus natrix dystiensis, Tropidonotus natrix moreoticus, Tropidonotus natrix schirvanae, Tropidonotus natrix syrae, Tropidonotus natrix syriacus, Tropidonotus natrix var. bilineata, Tropidonotus natrix var. colchica, Tropidonotus natrix var. lineata, Tropidonotus natrix var. minax, Tropidonotus natrix var. moreoticus, Tropidonotus natrix var. murorum, Tropidonotus natrix var. nigra, Tropidonotus natrix var. picturata, Tropidonotus natrix var. subbilineata, Tropidonotus natrix var. subblineata, Tropidonotus viperinus var. bilineata
Other names and names in other languages (73)
- Common grass snakeEnglish
- Cyprus grass snakeEnglish
- European grass snakeEnglish
- ثعبان مطوقArabic
- ثعبان العشبArabic
- ثعبان الماءArabic
- Adi SuilaniAzerbaijani
- Вуж звычайныBelarusian
- Жълтоуха водна змияBulgarian
- Обикновена водна змияBulgarian
- Serp de collaretCatalan
- užovka obojková pruhovanáCzech
- Neidr y GwairWelsh
- SnogDanish
- KukGerman
- Gemeine RingelnatterGerman
- HausschlangeGerman
- RingelnatterGerman
- SchnakeGerman
- SchwimmnatterGerman
- WassernatterGerman
- ΝερόφιδοGreek
- NatrikoEsperanto
- Culebra de CollarSpanish
- Culebra de collar orientalSpanish
- NastikEstonian
- Harilik nastikEstonian
- Suge gorbatadunBasque
- rantakäärmeFinnish
- SnákurFaroese
- Couleuvre à collierFrench
- Couleuvre à collier nordiqueFrench
- Cobra de colarGalician
- נחש מים אירופיHebrew
- bjelouškaCroatian
- VízisiklóHungarian
- Սովորական լորտուArmenian
- Biscia dal collareItalian
- Natrice dal collare eurasiaticaItalian
- natrice dei BalcaniItalian
- ヨーロッパヤマカガシJapanese
- ჩვეულებრივი ანკარაGeorgian
- Chveulebrivi AnkaraGeorgian
- Кәдімгі сарыбас жыланKazakh
- RéngelnatterLuxembourgish
- Geltonskruostis žaltysLithuanian
- ZaļktsLatgalian
- Parastais zalktisLatvian
- БелоушкаMacedonian
- Khar MogoiMongolian
- Usni MogoiMongolian
- buormNorwegian Bokmål
- RingslangDutch
- Oostelijke ringslangDutch
- БурхъусгалмOssetic
- zaskroniec zwyczajnyPolish
- Cobra-de-água-de-colarPortuguese
- Șarpe de casăRomanian
- Персидский ужRussian
- Обыкновенный ужRussian
- Obyknovennyi UzhRussian
- užovka obojkováSlovak
- BelouškaSlovenian
- GotlandssnokSwedish
- snokSwedish
- vanlig snokSwedish
- vattensnokSwedish
- Гади тузбашTatar
- Küpeli Su YılanıTurkish
- Yarı Sucul YılanTurkish
- Вуж звичайнийUkrainian
- Rắn cỏVietnamese
- 水游蛇Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the grass snake
Other species in the same genus Natrix.
Dice snake
Natrix tessellata
Viperine snake
Natrix maura
Grass snake
Natrix helvetica
Iberian grass snake
Natrix astreptophora
CompareGrass snake vs Dice snakeGrass snake vs Viperine snakeGrass snake vs Grass snakeGrass snake vs Iberian grass snake
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the grass snake?
The grass snake is a reptile, a snake in the family Colubridae and subfamily Natricinae.
How heavy is a grass snake?
Adult grass snakes weigh from 96 to 300 g, with a representative adult weight of 198 g.
What does the grass snake eat?
Its main food is amphibia.
Is the grass snake endangered?
No. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) in the global IUCN assessment, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a grass snake live?
Its lifespan is given as 15 years, with values up to 20 years reported by sources.
How many young does a grass snake have?
It has 15.5 young or eggs per clutch, with 1 clutch per year, and eggs incubate for 45 days.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Grass snake (Natrix natrix). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/natrix-natrix
“Grass snake (Natrix natrix).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/natrix-natrix.
@misc{natrix_natrix_2026,
title = {Grass snake (Natrix natrix)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/natrix-natrix},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}