john gault
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Re: A SNAKE! What kind is it?

BTW, here's a recent shot of the legless lizard.


Image

jedson303
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As has already been suggested, it is almost certainly a garter snake. Completely harmless. I caught lots of these when I was a kid. I think its a good thing to have in a garden.

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applestar
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Yeah did I mention how happy I am about having it in my garden? :-()

No frogs in sight again yesterday, so I suppose the snake was out and about... but I couldn't spot it. :|

@john gault, that legless lizard is unreal. Looks like a fat snake but the eye looks WRONG.

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applestar
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When I was watering day before yesterday (for no reason as it turned out because it rained all day yesterday :roll: ), the snake slithered out from under the insect screen hoop tunnel protecting the Asian greens in the SF&H bed, so it does roam around. DD saw it on the patio a little while ago.

I'm REALLY hoping the little garter snake was taking care of the slug problem in the greens.... ...though it's jut as possible it was after the moles that enjoy the earthworm feast under the cardboard mulch (yeah ideal hiding place for slugs, I know)

Those Green Frog are GONE. Have not seen them for a week or more. Don't know if they decided to go walkabout, something went wrong with the pond water ecology (it looks very clear) or the snake stems them all one by one… or maybe the heron that overflies my garden once in a while on its way to the community pond about a mile away stopped by for a snack? Maybe it was raccoons?

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pinksand
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My neighbors informed me of a snake living in my wood pile next to my compost bin! They showed me a photo and he's tan with a brown stripe down the back and fairly sizeable... probably getting fatter every day from the abundant vole and mouse population that we have in our yard this year. I'm really hoping he helps me out by taking care of these problems for me! The voles are wreaking havoc on my plants :(

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Greywolf
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This is a topic that doesn't need a new one opened even a year after it started! And I just happen to live in a state where one of the favorite license tag designs says: "Watchable Wildlife", as in Raccoons that can tear up a pit bull dog...

In getting some things arranged for this year I met a new 'visitor', see video below!



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applestar
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I love it! Thanks for sharing :()

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applestar
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I just saw a snake in the pond from upstair’s window. :-()

It looks just like the the one in the photo collage on the 1st page, so maybe it’s the same one? By the time I came back with my iPhone, it was gone— I don’t think I could have captured it on the cell phone camera anyway, even though I did attach the telephoto lens.

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applestar
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The snake was active today —

- First saw it in the Kitchen Garden (BOTTOM) — later noticed a badly chewed up Brussels Sprouts, so hopefully the snake had found a lovely slimy slug.
- then (CENTER) it was on the log, intently testing the air with its forked tongue
- then (TOP) I noticed the frog first, then the snake — very unusual to see them this close to each other... normally only see one or the other, or they are on the opposite sides of the pond or even far away in the garden.

Image
... I estimate at least 20 inches long, maybe 22”.

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applestar
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Since the Carolina Wrens nesting in the back of the patio had fledgedyesterday, I though I would get back in the intentionally neglected area and clean up a bit, ....but!

Image

...I don’t know if it was already there, maybe attracted by the fledging day excitement, or I had scared it away from the pond with my digging and hauling, splashing around testing my pump models, etc.

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applestar
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The Snake was on the patio again this morning. Maybe it was trying to stay warm.
Image

...but does it look like it had come OUT of my bucket of sticks/kindlings? I wonder if I should be being careful about putting more sticks in there....?


. . . DEFINITELY not seeing any mice, voles, moles, or chipmunks on the patio, running across or running along the base of the housewall like I used to . . .

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TomatoNut95
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Yep, that looks like a Garter. I have snakes to. Early this spring I have found two itty bitty snakes-which look like little garters. I picked them up(with my gloves on, and a rag wrapped around it) and took them out of my yard.

A few years ago I was confronted with a copperhead in my greenhouse....SOOOO SCARY!! I crept out and using my hoe....whammo!! Bye-bye, copperhead. :>

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applestar
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Oh! Forgot to mention — Came across a snake on Friday, and then Sat. Then my hubby saw one — presumably the same one — on Sunday. Most likely our resident Garter Snake is still alive and well and is patrolling the perimeters.

A big Green frog has been taking refuge on the patio in/near one of the reservoir buckets, and ribbit-ing day and night, and I’ve heard something smaller splashing into the pond when I walk by, so maybe more little frogs are in there. :D

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TomatoNut95
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I've seen a coachwhip in the backyard twice so far. Snakes are not my friends, I need to get some of those snake away granuals...

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applestar
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I realize there are too many venomous ones in your region, but I would be endlessly fascinated. I’ve only seen two kinds of snakes in NJ. The garter snake (one of which is now living in my own garden - yay!) and a large black one that crossed the parking lot at a nature preserve — the guide said it was a Corn/Rat Snake. There are only two venomous snakes in NJ — copperhead and rattlesnake.

I looked up the coachwhip —
“ The swift-moving coachwhip captures lizards, small mammals, large insects, and occasionally rattlesnakes “ ... also another quick summary mentioned coachwhip can reach 8 FEET! :shock:

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TomatoNut95
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applestar wrote:
Thu May 06, 2021 2:19 pm
I realize there are too many venomous ones in your region, but I would be endlessly fascinated. I’ve only seen two kinds of snakes in NJ. The garter snake (one of which is now living in my own garden - yay!) and a large black one that crossed the parking lot at a nature preserve — the guide said it was a Corn/Rat Snake. There are only two venomous snakes in NJ — copperhead and rattlesnake.

I looked up the coachwhip —
“ The swift-moving coachwhip captures lizards, small mammals, large insects, and occasionally rattlesnakes “ ... also another quick summary mentioned coachwhip can reach 8 FEET! :shock:
Speaking of venomous snakes, I saw a cottonmouth in the backyard. About 2 1/2 or three feet long, fat body, stubby tail, triangular shaped head, yellow patterned belly and dull, black gold tinted top.
It slithered off into the woods, I really wish I had gone and gotten my gun.
What else scary am I gonna find in my backyard??? Wait, better not say anything and jinx myself. 😂

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applestar
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Sliding in between forum testing cycles to report — I saw the snake!

It evidently spent the winter in the compost pile again. :-()

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applestar
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Saw the Garter Snake again yesterday — not at the compost pile but hanging out close to a garden hose by the fence. I’m glad to see it roaming around — hopefully will help to keep down the vole and chipmunk pilfering around the garden during the spring planting season and then later when the crops are closer to harvesting :-()

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applestar
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Sooo, I needed to top up the Vegetable Garden SIP with more potting mix, so I reached for an opened bag that had been accidentally left only loosely twisted closed under one of the patio chairs — I’d been avoiding it to use in the house since anything including ants could have moved in….

As soon as I dragged it out from under the chair and opened it, there it was — a tiny checker-patterned Eastern Garter Snake, coiled and poised, looking up at me from the top of the mound of potting mix.

After a wild brain storm burst of possibilities including “what if it hatched among a pile of eggs?” — I carefully and gently dumped the bag out in a shallow storage tub.

It was the only one with no other siblings. It did not appreciate the rough handling and losing the cozy home, and immediately scrambled out of the tub on its own while I was trying to figure out how to get it out :lol:

Hopefully it was able to find a different place to hang out.
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Tiny Eastern Garter Snake 5/23/2022©️applestar
Tiny Eastern Garter Snake 5/23/2022©️applestar
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