Can Snakes Climb Hardware Cloth?

[KiwiandPeachthePigeons]

I found this the other day. Little baby gopher snake. View attachment 1560629

Awww! I have a pet gopher snake!

As a snake owner, and a former garter snake owner, snakes are pretty good climbers. If the cloth has little folds, sure as sun they’ll be able to climb up it. You need something like flat tin that they can’t climb.

 

[KiwiandPeachthePigeons]

Larger snakes will eat chicks and eggs. These tiny things that were getting in my run aren't anything more than a nuisance. But it just brought to my attention that baby Rattlers can also get in and baby Rattlers are worse than adults when it comes to venom. I've never had this trouble in all these years, for some reason this was a banner year for baby Garter snakes!

Actually, they aren’t any better or worse. They have a smaller amount of venom, but it’s the exact same potency as the adults.

 

[cmom]

I have electric wire around my coops and pens. I had a couple of large Coachwhip snakes, they were quite long, attempted to climb my fence but were electrocuted because part of their bodies were on the ground when they were climbing the fence and part of them touched the electric wire.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Had to google the Coachwhip snakes lots of data on them
Thankful not out here

 

[Ginmary]

I found this the other day. Little baby gopher snake. View attachment 1560629

Is that a fluffy blue blanket you made for it?

 

[casportpony]

Is that a fluffy blue blanket you made for it?

It's a cheap Walmart towel!

 

[Shebee444]

Hello! I agree, your coop is sure pretty! About snakes. Some climb better than others, garters aren't the best climbers but they certainly can and do if they want to. I have one in captivity here at work. I would say they can't climb straight up 1/4" hardware cloth but if it is slanted, wavy, or a little imperfect, they will certainly try. Also, garter snakes aren't known for eating chicken eggs, so may be after worms, insects, frogs, and small mice. They are great hunters...also, chickens will sometimes eat small snakes so good luck to the babies that wander in! Garter snakes give birth to live young so the mom has to give birth nearby for there to be a lot of them, and around here, late summer and fall is baby snake season.
That said, many other snakes are most excellent climbers, as you stated. Especially black rat snakes and black kingsnakes. Those two are well known for climbing and eating baby birds, eggs and also chicken eggs if they can get them. I would definitely try to keep the big ones out. These "black" ones can climb nearly any rough surface so minimizing gaps and holes will go a long way in keeping them out. Also, keeping mice out will help. So having them "around" is good! " IN " the coop, is not so good. As for rattlesnakes, you're on your own there... not the best climbers I think, but I'm not a rattler expert! Best of luck to you!

Rattlers don't have to climb, they spring where they want to go lol