Last year, before I moved into my house, the seller told me there was a large snake that liked to sun itself on the concrete side porch and stairs. She said it like it was a bad thing, but I was happy about it. I like snakes in general and as a former city girl, wildlife in my yard is cool to me. As it turns out, there are lots of weird and gross bugs living out in my (often unmowed) yard, one part of country living I don’t enjoy, and I figured the snake would eat them. I saw her a few times last year(she looked like this) and she was about 3’ long. Her burrow is under the concrete stairs, according to my tenant who saw her going in once.
Today, when I was walking my dog, I saw the snake again, this time with at least 6 little snakes twined all around her. She must have recently had babies! There were probably a lot more under the leaves and stuff. The little snakes were only about 6" long and I hope they spread out and help control the bug and other vermin population.
But scary, if you’re not prepared. I was picking up sticks from our yard a few years back, when we lived in the country. Picked up one big branch and a gazillion little snakes came up with it. :eek:
Yeah, a garter snake. Definitely harmless, but they will poop some nasty, horrible-smelling stuff on you if you try to handle them when they don’t want you to. One slithered across my foot when I was a kid so I picked it up, and… yuck.
I am the only person alive without a digital camera (don’t have a cellphone either…) I will try to get a shot with my Canon and post if it I can. Unless you’re being facetious… :dubious:
Only a little. Baby threads must have pics, you know.
I actually like snakes quite a bit. Had a ball python for a couple of years. Sweet thing, she was. She died during a heat wave when we were gone all weekend and her water dried out.
I found a little baby ring-neck in front of my door a few days ago. This is the third time I’ve found one, but the first at this particular apartment. Really cool. I have pics of one of the other times, I’ll try to find them.
Very, very cool. I’m envious! You might want to put up a sign or something in case anyone would walk up to your house unexpectantly, meet Mommy Snake and freak out, possibly hurting her.
But then again, such a sign might lure evildoers to come in and hurt her on purpose…
Weird. Here’s a mommysnake in the USA, I’m in Holland, and I feel proterctive of her.
No, no you’re not. I don’t have ANY sort of a camera, as I have learned that I simply cannot shoot pics that will make any sense at all. I blur them, I put my thumbs and fingers over the lens, whatever. I don’t have a cellphone, either. I just never saw the need for one. If I do need one for some reason, I’ll borrow my husband’s or daughter’s cell phone for an hour or so.
Congratulations on your snakelets. Or snakelings. Whatever.
Garter snakes are about the least threatening snakes to have around. I grew up in the Deep South and yet my yard here in Massachusetts has the most I have ever seen on any property. You can just walk across the yard and find them basically at will.
My 3 year old daughter isn’t really scared of anything and loves creep-crawlies. One day she ran across a garter snake, and yelled, “Dad, come get this snake for me so I can hold hold.” Being the good father, I did and it was a perfectly nice snake.
My parents used to have such a snake, and theirs would sun itself on the driveway. Um… after a couple of years… the predictable thing happened, one weekend afternoon when dad suddenly decided to drive to the hardware store…
I have to admit, I was just the same until I got a digital camera. Cause you know what’s nice about the digital? You can keep taking shots of the same thing until you get better, and you’re not wasting any money. Not even on batteries, because I have rechargables. It was my most fun recent purchase, I think.
