Slippery snake: the scales are smooth, ridgeless and shiny, and there are dark horizontal lines on the head side. Habitat in dry heather wasteland or open woodland. Body length is generally no more than 65 cm (26 inches). Feeding on small vertebrates and insects such as lizards. It is one of the most common snakes in Central Europe. The European snake and the water snake are the only two kinds of swimming snakes in Scandinavia and the British Isles.