OT: Snake ID assistance requested

[J Miller]

Our three boy kitties are mousers extraordinaire, but lately they've taken to catching snakes.

At least Slick the black one does. He's turned into a snake retrieval technician.

Here's some pics, if anyone can ID this snake I'd appreciate it:

Elaine, Charlie, Slick and the snake.JPG

Obie with the snake.JPG

First snake b.JPG

Snake.JPG

Today's snake is a wee bit different than the other snake, it has red on the body. Other than that I think they are the same kind.

Lunatic kitties.

Joe

[Mike D.]

Common garter snake, very good for vermin control. Around here they go to 5'+ and eat a lot of frogs and voles. They like to spend time in wetter areas and can often be seen sunning themselves along mountain streams and lakes. I have seen larger ones catch 8" trout, no problem.

[Ji in Hawaii]

Is that what they make garter belts from?

[kimwcook]

Yep, garter snakes.

[Griff]

Appear to be Garter snakes; non-venomous.

[mouthpiece]

Watching NatGeo. Egyptian cobra killed lion mother & two cubs on a show 10 minutes ago.

[Blaine]

Appear to be Garter snakes; non-venomous.

Actually, they have a mild neuro-toxin, but no fangs. It's produced at the back of the mouth, and not injected. Since they can't inject it, and it's mouth is small, for all practicle purposes, it can not harm anything very large. I suppose I've handled dozens, and they are not aggressive.

[Old Ranger]

Ya'll can have my copperheads! Plugged the first one this year last night not 10 ft. from the house. I know some folks like snakes, or at best don't hate 'em, but I shoot every snake I see. They give me the "willies" and thus I give them a chunk of lead...But that's just me....others may think differently and I won't argue with them about it one bit.

[vancelw]

I'd almost rather have the garter snakes and lose the cats. Snakes like those eat a lot of crickets and other things I detest.
Poisonous snakes get sent to Hades (from whence they came) but I usually leave the non pit vipers alone (unless they invade my personal space-the definition of which varies depending on my heart rate)

[Mokwaw]

Hi Joe, like the others said it's a Garter snake. If you are bothered by crickets and such around your house or basement, that little fellow is your friend. I usually find one or two under my house when I go there to inspect plumbing and check for termites and stuff. I have a big rock at the south/west corner of my house, and new crop of those Garters usually show up from under it every year when the weather warms. I just leave them alone, don't have much problem with mice or other small vermin.

[J Miller]

Mokwaw,

They don't bother me. I just wondered what kind of snake it was. I tried to rescue the one caught yesterday but I think he/she/it was still too cold to make a get a way.


The only snakes that bother me are pit vipers: they remind me soooo much of one of my sister in laws.

Joe

[gak]

Tis the season. Friend in NW Az saw a 4 foot Mohave rattler Saturday - appropriately in Mohave Co. ...but unfortunately they range wider into southern/eastern Az. He dispatched it with a .38 CCI head shot. Diamondbacks (east and west) are bad enough, but Mohaves are the most dangerous rattler (or all the pit vipers) we have on this continent, having the cobra-like neurotoxin. He said it was sunning but had a bad temper and very quickly got aggressive when he came upon it. Aggressive no more . We have the California Kings (b&w banded) and bull snakes here...both good guys that will kill rattlers (as can racers). Unfortunately in my 45 years experience in the Az desert, the good guys seem to be outnumbered by the bad guys--or you encounter them more--and we could use a lot more of the bulls and kings! We don't need no stinking pit vipers!

+1 Garters are very much one the good guys. When kids in northern Virginia we used to catch (and release) them. Hang 'em around our necks and all that. Not aggressive at all.

[J Miller]

I do not harm snakes regardless of what kind they are when I'm out in the boonies, UNLESS:
A: They get into my camp and cop an attitude.
If I'm just walking or hiking and run up on them I simply go around them. There is no need to kill them there.

I do not harm snakes regardless of what kind they are when I'm in the city, UNLESS:
A: They are a venomous snake on my porch and it cops an attitude.
B: It's in the garden by the front steps and posing a danger to us or the kitties.

Just my way of doing things.
I don't kill it unless it's in self defense (and if I see the snake first there's no offense to defend against), the animal is suffering, or I'm gonna eat it. No exceptions.

Joe

[El Chivo]

I grew up catching garter snakes like that one, or full grown, around our house and creek. One of my early memories was making a rabbit trap out of a kettle, propped up with a stick, and carrots inside as bait. When the stick gets bumped, the kettle falls and shuts the "rabbit" inside.

I set it up before bedtime, and got up at dawn the next morning to check it. When I got out there, I saw the kettle was down - it had been tripped. I was very excited, and went to recover my rabbit.

Well, the "rabbit" was the biggest garter snake I'd ever seen, curled up inside the kettle. When I touched him he shot out of there. I was used to catching snakes, but I couldn't believe his strength. I finally got control of him, and he slimed me with some sort of musk.

I kept him around for about a week and them let him go, as per my standard procedure. He was about 3 feet long, and quite fat.

[AmBraCol]

A while back I read about some kid that got bit by a garter snake. He was "playing" with it and apparently the snake got fed up with the kid's idea of play. It latched onto his finger and gave it a working over. The kid's arm swelled up with symptoms similar to those of a rattler bite. Moral to the story, treat 'em gentle and let 'em be and you won't end up sorry. As noted above, they are not an aggressive type of snake so for one to be provoked into biting that kid had to have been handling it way to roughly. There are parts of the country where you'll see balls of garter snakes in the spring time, it will be a bunch of males trying to service one poor female. If someone's got a fear of snakes seeing that would be enough to give them the screaming heebiejeebies.

[J Miller]

Many years ago, probably around 30 or there about, before I was married, my mom and I were poking around the desert west of Phoenix.
We were driving down a road out in the boonies when we spotted the biggest snake I've ever seen outside a zoo.

This snake was longer than the road was wide and bigger around than my arm. It's color and pattern was similar to a regular rattle snake, but it wasn't a rattle snake.
We stopped, got out of my Land Cruiser and just watched this thing move across the road. It headed into a hole which was maybe 6 feet or so off the side of the road. When it's head went into the hole it's tail was just clearing the far edge of the road. Best guess maybe 14' long. Not kidding or exaggerating.
Neither of us had a camera so no pics. I have no idea what kind of snake that was.

I do know one thing, it didn't give the two of us a second thought, didn't even act as if it cared that we were there.

Ahhhh, the great old days. I'd rather be living them than remembering them. Sigh ............

Joe

[Pisgah]

Garter snakes. Wait 'til you find a bunch of them in a mating frenzy. Gives the phrase "gang bang" a whole new dimension...