Identify This Snake!! [pics]

[Stina]

That is 100% guaranteed a garter snake. There are quite a few different garter snake species and they do not all look alike. They do not eat other snakes that I'm aware of...but they do eat fish and worms and the like. Most garter snakes do not stay 1-2' either...ribbons do...garters mostly get ~3'...some even 4-5'. I would not see a garter as much of a threat to anything unless you have a pond with small fish. Also, we DO have garters very similar in coloration to that snake in the Northeast US.

 

[DiVon80]

I have to agree garter snake. Be careful if they get scared they will also pee on you. Really!

 

[Stina]

lol...yeah that's called musking and it STINKS. It is not normal pee but a self-defense mechanism....with a HORRIBLE smell.....really really nasty...hard to get off too...lol Many of them won't musk though...I couldn't even tell you how many garters I've caught and I've only been musked a few times. ...bitten a little more frequently... lol Some of them are very docile...here's some photos of a very docile (and photogenic!) little one that my dad caught in their yard while he was mowing and I was at their house 2 years ago...

 

[Rootball]

I've been "musked" practically every time i've picked up one of these littel suckers but rarely ever been bitten. And When bitten, they cant even get their mouth around your finger, so it doesn't really hurt, wont break the skin.


Cool fact about garter snakes.....They give birth to live young. I had one as a kid that had a baby.

 

[Fanny]

It's amazing the things you learn on BYC...
I didn't realize there were many kinds of garter snakes - I'm most familiar with the Red-sided garter snakes that we have around here.

For you garter snake fans - check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8LpTWmkE8E

It's not far from where I live. It's an incredible place to visit during mating season. Thousands upon thousands of snakes!

 

[Zookeeper9000]

I watch venom ER and they said one of the main ways to idenify posion snakes is the shape of their head.

I don't like the shape of that head. We don't have posion snakes in the UP of MI.

That is why I stay here. We don't have gator's croc's or grizzly bears either. That is why I will continue to stay here.

 

[Stina]

the shape of the head is "distorted" in that photo. It has a typical garter shaped head...looks like there is a "divot" in the corner of the tub its in that is making its head look oddly shaped. It is, again, 100% without a doubt, a garter snake.

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

looks like a checkered garter snake to me, we had one as a pet for years, it ate feeder sized goldfish!

 

[BBK]

I've been "musked" practically every time i've picked up one of these littel suckers but rarely ever been bitten. And When bitten, they cant even get their mouth around your finger, so it doesn't really hurt, wont break the skin.


Cool fact about garter snakes.....They give birth to live young. I had one as a kid that had a baby.

Only ONE baby....? LOL

We've had gartersnakes and kept them over the winter months..(don't ask!) we had like 75 to 100 babies!!! not just ONE!!!

Melinda​

 

[ixnay]

It's worth noting that many non-venomous or non-toxic animals (snakes and butterflies, to mention two) mimic more-dangerous animals as a matter of self-protection. Harmless snakes will spread their heads out to look scary, and some will even vibrate the tail in dry leaves to sound like a rattler! Viceroy butterflies look a lot like monarchs, but are not foul-tasting/poisonous.

That said, in any locale with snakes (i.e. most places), it is a very good idea to get a solid handle on the appearance of the local venomous varieties. You can always Google on something like "Poisonous snakes (insert your state here)."