It was so cool. I was sitting on the patio and heard a strange noise and I went to look. What do ya know, there's a snake head peaking out of the leaves between the patio and the fence.

Can you see him?





I wish that I could have gotten a closer picture and seen more of him but I figured it would be wise to maintain a respectful distance. I don't have any idea what kind he is, probably just a garter snake- but the noise that made me look was the leaves vibrating and I couldn't see enough of him to be sure.

Isn't he cute? I love reptiles and I find snakes fascinating. Summer must be comming soon if they're out and about.

[ April 01, 2005, 12:32 PM: Message edited by: Renee ]

Renee, darlin', your definition of cute and mine differ greatly! I'll have to show your pic to James and see if he can identify your visitor. James' father has a degree in biology, with a specialization in reptiles. I know it had to be a fascinating field. James has told me how when he was small, his dad would have reptile cages all over the house. He said it made his mother a nervous wreck -- I don't think I would have done that well!

I'm always fascinated by snakes, as long as they are a VERY safe distance away!

Maybe cute wasn't quite the right word. That would be cool if James could identify it. Be kind of hard from just the head though. It's a bit hard to tell in the pic, he's a dull grey color, with a narrowish triangular head-definate neck definition-a rather pointy snout and no markings that I could see. All in all rather delicate looking. At first I thought is was a lizard because of the pointy shape and the fact that we have lot's of lizards around here, but he raised his head a bit and I could see that it wasn't a lizard, beside's no lizard would let me get that close- the first sign of movement and they're off. I hope he come's back so I can see more of him.

Be careful! The "triangular head" description is not encouraging. If it looked like it had "pits" or "depressions" behind it's eyes (on top of the head), then stay away. That means poisonous!

It's not likely to be a garter snake. They generally don't get that big. At least not around the Northeast region.
It's not poisonous. The head shape of your snake indicates its not piosonous. PCE is right that triangular shaped heads indicate poisonous snakes. But your snake doesn't have that shape. You can really tell the difference when you actually see one. It's noticeably triangular. The occular ridges are farther apart and more pronounced. It really gives them that triangular shape.

You're lucky. It's not often you get see a snake never mind one so big.

It's wise to keep you distance. Even non poisonous snakes have teeth that make deep holes in flesh which make infections hard to deal with.

I was once lucky enough to find a rattlesnake. Yes lucky. Sure they are poisonous but with a little care you can observe one without danger. They are very, very rare in the wild in the Northeast US.

P.S. I'm no expert. I do like to spend a lot of time outdoors and in the woods. It just behooves one to learn about the wildlife one may encounter. Still waiting to see my first bigfoot though. I'm hoping. =)

[ April 02, 2005, 03:22 AM: Message edited by: nakis ]

He hasn't come back. =( I'm still looking out for him though so that I can get a better picture. I've been looking on the net trying to identify him but no luck so far. The only California native snake that comes close to his head shape and neck definition is a rattlesnake(they are in the area), though Nakis you right that it's not typical of a rattlesnake- but still, one should be careful, it could be a juvenile or I might just have seen it at the wrong angle. Difficult to tell without seeing his body. Fear not, I will be careful. I was bit by a garter snake once when I worked in a pet shop, that was an interesting experience.

Nakis, I hope you have your camera with you when you see bigfoot, I want to see a pic. =)

Cool pic Renee, it would be neat to find out what type of snake this was. Until you know I agree it's always best to keep your distance. I too like snakes and find them fascinating. He is cute. =)

When I get a chance I'll find a couple of links that show the garter snake dens that are not to far from where I live. We are approaching mating season and it is an incredible sight to see. Tens of thousands of snakes emerge from the dens and the ground literaly looks like it's moving. It has been a awhile since I've gone up there in the spring to see the snakes but if I'm able I'd like to venture out there later this month or in early May. If I do I'll be sure to take pics and post them. Scientist from around the world come here to study this phenomenon. They had to build culverts and tunnels under the roadways for the snakes to make it safely across the highways as before they did thousands were killed as they migrated out to the marsh areas. It also helped reduce the number of accidents that occured during this time as well as motorist swerved to miss them, plus the roads can get very slippery when littered with squished snakes. Hopefully if I do get there I will get a pic of one of the mating balls as they are something. I believe there are still four active dens in the area. During our last visit I had no problem picking up the snakes and walking near them but my hubby and boys opted not to touch and keep their distance lol. You have to walk quite a distance through some fields to get to the dens and it's always fun to watch people tip toeing there way there as you never know when you'll run into a slithering group.

Nakis I can't wait to see the bigfoot pics.

Oh heck, I'm with Renee on this one he is CUTE =P !!!!!! I love all living creatures so I think bugs are cut too!

Hope you find him again. I had one in my yard a few years ago but he is gone now. My husband hates snakes so I took a picture of it and hung it in his office( at home). the following year the snake was shedding its skin so I found it put it in a plastic baggie. I hung it under the picture of the snake with a caption coming from the snakes head that said " I want my skin back you *&#@%$&". Well, he wouldn't touch the picture or the baggie and it stayed there for a yr then he begged me to take it down.

I know some will think I am cruel but, I just had to do this. See, when he was younger he would collect snakes so I find this to be very strange that as he gets older he dislikes them more & more.

HE ALSO HATE MICE!!!! And you guessed it we had them @ one point in our first house due to removing large amount of bushes and brush from our yard.

Ummmmm.... he ain't cute. I was looking up snakes, and took a closer look at the pic, but I can't tell what it is. In GA cottonmouths are really common and I'm scared of all snakes. I haven't like them ever, and there's some reason the devil appeared as one in a tree. LOL Yuck, sorry it's an interesting pic for sure, but if that was in my yard, I'd have gotten his head with a shovel. I would keep my distance from that snake and if I saw him again, he'd become a belt or a pair of shoes. Cool pic, Renee, I'm just squeamish when it comes to snakes. I'm just as scared of ticks too. I'll take my chances with ghosts anytime over a snake.



[ April 10, 2005, 12:22 PM: Message edited by: SavannahSilkie ]

Renee, I had my FIL take a look at the pic. He didn't have his glasses on and couldn't be 100%, but judging from what he saw, he did believe the snake was likely poisonous -- he is able to tell by the way the neck is shaped.

He said it was also possible that this was a type of small boa, native to California. I didn't know there were types of boas!

As a side note, James had to remove two ribbon snakes from under the steps of his office last week. One of the little buggers nipped him, but they are harmless. He said there was quite an audience watching his snake handling, but when he held them up for show everyone scattered! He thought they were mates and released them into a heavily wooded area behind the building. My father and my husband as well always tried to hammer into me about "good snakes" and "bad snakes" -- I've had to tell both of them than unless they stand up and introduce themselves, they are going to meet their end around me. I'm with Pate on this one!

Carrie, thank you for having your FIL take a look. What he said fits in with what my BIL, who's a reptile vet, said- that the head shape did look viperine, though it was hard to tell from such small pictures.

I think that I may have found out what this critter is: The Desert Night Snake[/URL]. Apparently the snake is mildly venomous, though not considered dangerous to humans. The habitat fits, the narrow triangular head fits, the size and shape fits- I had estimated that he probably wasn't much more than a foot and a half and that he was very slender. The only thing that doesn't match up perfectly is the markings, though I had thought that there might have been an indisticnt strip on his face and that the underside was lighter- rather lizardish- the rest I might just have not seen because of the angle I was looking at or, not enough light, or he could be getting ready to shed or something. He seemed much closer to the Night Snake than the Rattlesnake.

kitchenwitch, I didn't think your were cruel, I thought the joke was pretty funny. I love all sorts of critters too and I can find beauty in most creatures if I look close enough, though that doesn't necessarily mean I wan't them to be close to me. I'd much rather view most insects from afar, black widow's are beautiful spiders but when I see them too close- out comes the Raid! Those bites are nasty.

Carrie, those ribbon snakes can be fast! I really had a good laugh at your hubby's audience disappearing.

Cat, I hope you do get to see the snakes this year. That would be so cool. It sounds like an amazing thing to see.

Pate, I'm with you on the tick thing. Uck! They creep me out, just thinking about them makes me itch.

Hi Renee, here's a couple links to the garter snake dens I was telling you about. I was hoping to find a link with pics but at least these give enough info to get a feel for what this phenomenon is all about. So far April has been mostly sunny with seasonal or above seasonal temps (except for today, sunny but cool lol) so I suspect the snakes have started to emerge. Your not permitted to enter the dens just look into them. If your timing is good you can see thousands in the dens along with thousands on the move as they are leaving them. That's when it's important to watch where you walk.

When I was younger my folks took us to an auction sale by there in early May. Us kids headed out to explore and found an old barn no longer being used. As kids are we couldn't resist going in when we found an opening. It was like something out of a horror movie. The inside of the barn was alive with snakes, they were everywhere. I'll never forget that sight nor move that fast again.

http://www.ducks.ca/ohmic/english/special/nrcsnks.html[/URL]

http://www.cnf.ca/magazine/spring05/narcisse.html[/URL]

Cat, thanks for the links. The whole thing is absolutely fascinating.

That barn sounds freaky! As much as I love reptiles, even I would run out of there pretty darn fast. Eeeek! Reminds me of that scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark.