I moved a big log today, and underneath I found a snake. A big scary venomous snake with fangs and…Okay, it was just a little snake.
I was able to scoop it into a 5-gallon bucket. I threw in some dry leaves and grass, and covered it with some mesh screen. I hope that’s okay for a temporary home.
First of all, I would like to identify this snake. It has really cool markings on it. I doubt it’s poisonous or anything, but I would like to know. Are there any good online sources
Second, what should I do with it?
Releasing it into the garden is probably not the best option, unless I am sure it is harmless. I came across another snake earlier in the year, and it slithered away into the ground cover. I know it’s lurking there, just waiting to jump out at me! Well, maybe not, but it kind of creeps me out to know there is probably a snake around. I could easily release it elsewhere, but I’d like to know what kind of environment it will like.
Are you familiar with the head structure of a pit viper? You’re sure it’s not one of them?
How about a coral snake? It’s not a viper and needs to chew to inject it’s poison but it’s neorotoxin is equally troubling. Please make sure it doesn’t fall into either category before getting in close proximity to it again.
Can you describe (from a safe distance) the snake for us?
From here it says:
The rattlesnake and copperhead, both relatively common in northern parts of the State, are the only poisonous reptiles. The great mountain blacksnake, entirely harmless, attains a length of eleven feet. Among the handsomest of New Jersey snakes are the yellow and brown-banded king-snake, and the pine snake, with a whitish body marked with brown black- margined blotches. As the name implies, it is a native of the pine barrens.
Course, there’s always the chance someone’s nonindigenous venomous pet has run amock.
It has a wide gray stripe down its back.
At the sides of the gray stripe are tiny black triangular dots.
On either side of the gray stripe, it is dark brown, fading to a lighter brown at the sides of the snake.
Its head is not wide. It is about as narrow as its “neck.”
The head has a dark brown marking on the top of it. The marking is split by a narrow line of gray.
My husband just got home and took a look at it. He said “Awww! It’s just a little bug-eating garden snake!” I would like to know exactly what variety of snake it is in any case. I’m geeky like that.
My brother happened to be around. I ran in the house screaming “A snake! A snake!” My brother came out and looked at it and said, “Yes, it’s a snake.” Gee thanks. Then the snake just slithered away.
*Northern Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi)
…The brown snake can be found in urban areas and it exists in “colonies” in large numbers. You will be able to find these snakes under old bark slabs, strips of linoleum and tar paper. *
Yup. He was under a log, so that fits with the description of these snakes under things. And I am in an “urban” area. The thought that they might be around in large numbers is a bit scary!
Semi-related story. I grew up in an small town that was halfway between Camp Lejeune Marine base and Cherry Point Naval Air Station in North Carolina. Because it was convenient to commute, a lot of Marines lived there. Sometimes the Marines would all be gone at the same time so an entire block of houses would be inhabited only by Marine wives.
One day one of the Marine wives was mowing her lawn and discovered a snake. ** All** of the Marine wives gathered to help kill the snake. The poor snake which had already been wounded by the lawn mower ended up being killed with a hoe - being killed with a shot gun and being killed with a gallon of burning gasoline.
You can but you shouldn’t. Small snakes like this eat insects, but to stay healthy they need a variety of different insects, not just the same one or two kinds all the time. It is very difficult for most people to supply that year-round.
Let it go.
~
Seems like you’d be doing both you and the snake a favor by turning him loose again in your yard. His diet is almost entirely garden pests (plus a few non-pest insects, I’m sure). Protect those tomatoes! Set Alfonso after all who would eat your garden growings!
