Can you guess what this is? Sister's food dish was on the porch, just outside the kitchen door.
I opened the door to pick up her dish, and this was curled around it! (That's just a bit of it's tail end).
My hand was reaching for the dish when I spotted the snake and an involuntary bad word came out of my mouth.
He's about 2 feet long and skinny. In fact he was skinny enough to go behind the siding on the house. And no, we didn't catch him, so he's still out there somewhere. I think it's just a garter snake. (Please God, don't let it be a rattlesnake. Amen)
7 comments:
I found a site called desertusa.com that explains a lot about rattlesnakes. Here's a quote from the site about the babies in particular:
"The young are born between August and October. The newborn rattlesnake is about 10 inches long and has a small horny button on the tip of its tail. Rattler babies have venom, short fangs and are dangerous from birth. In fact, they are more pugnacious than the adults. Although unable to make a rattling sound, the youngsters throw themselves into a defensive pose and strike repeatedly when disturbed."
Does your bug man deal with snakes too? I hope it's not a rattler but with the luck you've been having lately I'd make sure and try to get rid of it before it bites one of the kids or the pups! :(
That's exactly what I'm worried about, that one of the grands or the puppies could be bitten.
I've been keeping an eye out for it. I'm afraid there may be others.
We've had Texas rat snakes in the yard before, so it may be one of those.
I looked at its tail and it looked smooth and pointy, no horny button that I could see, although it was moving pretty fast.
I'll check with Herb to see if he deals with snakes. Dad wanted to spray wasp killer in the crack where the snake went, and I wouldn't let him. Maybe I should have. :o(
Not a rattle snake. You could see the rattle if it were. That's a nice smooth tail.
I can't see the sides clearly, but if the side of the snake looks like chocolate kisses standing side by side, it's a copper head. The color of this snake looks like a rat snake, which is not only harmless, but good to have around... they eat the venomous snake babies. I can't tell unless I see the side. (we live in the woods... had to learn snake identification with the children early on!)
Thank you, Linda! I was pretty sure it wasn't a rattlesnake, but not 100%. I've been searching the internet to see if I can find a picture of one that looks like it, and the closest seems to be a patched garter snake, although some of the rat snakes are close, too. I don't think it's a copperhead, judging by your chocolate kiss description. That's good info to have, though!
Do you see many snakes in the woods around your house? I suppose you learn to look carefully where you step.
That looks like a checkered garter snake. The yellow/orange line along its back is common to garters (it probably has two more faint lines, as well -- one on each side).
Oh yes, that's what I meant to say, "checkered garter snake," not "patched" garter snake. I think you're right, Jason. It did have some faint lines as well as the yellow one down his back. Thanks, honey!
Post a Comment