Snake! Help! (1 Viewer)

[BrettB]

About a week and a half ago we noticed we had a snake on the front porch. He eventually slithered off into the flower bed. Well, he made another appearance last night. I was on the side of the house and noticed him on the sidewalk. I got a flashlight to get a better look at him, unfortunately I wasn't thinking and he slithered away from me and the light right into my garage!

Then I tried to coax him out of the garage with the thought of capturing him, but at the very least get him out of the garage. He was in the corner of the garage and as he started to make his way toward the garage door I realized he was probably going to head for the crack where the vertical piece of wood at the edge of the door meets the footing.

Sure enough that's exactly where he headed. I had to act fast. I went to grab him with the BBQ grill tongs. The tongs had absolutely no effect on the beast, he just slid right through. :b

Questions:
What kind of snake is this? He's only about 14" long. Sort of brown and gold. On top it's sort of like stripes running perpendicular to his body. On the sides it's sort of like a diamond pattern. I live in Oklahoma. Hopefully it's not poisonous. Either way I want him gone.

Is he living in our flower bed? When he gets bigger the flower bed won't provide the sustenance he needs and then he'll come after us.

Is he still in my garage? After he settled down from the tong incident he went back outside, right? I mean, he's an "outdoor snake" isn't he? He's not lying in wait in the garage waiting to ambush us is he? :b

"Why'd it have to be snakes?"

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Craig]

http://www.oksnakes.org/aboutoksnakes.htm

http://www.geocities.com/herpchat/

 

[Jay H]

Eastern Garter Snake?

http://www.herpscope.com/cgi/herpgui...talis+sirtalis

From your describtion, you seen to describe a common garter snake which is prevailent in the NE, but living in Oklahoma, it seems a different variety of the species... So perhaps the above may fit your description.. It does seem to match your description though.

Not a snake expert though...

Jay

 

[ChrisMatson]

Nothing to worry about. Snakes will not come and attack you. People that are bitten by snakes usually are trying to pick them up. If you leave it alone, it will leave you alone. I would guess that the snake in question is just a harmless Garter.

What part of Oklahoma do you live in?

 

[Chris Moe]

Unless it makes a rattling sound you probably have nothing to worry about. It could be a cottonmouth or a copperhead (which are both venomous) but from your description I highly doubt it is one of those. Is it fat boddied or thin? Does it have smooth scales or rough?

The vast majority of all snakes are harmless, you most probably have absolutely nothing to worry about.

 

[SteveA]

If you leave it alone, it will leave you alone

Unless the snake has rabies.

 

[Chris Moe]

I really hope you are kidding, snakes don't get rabies.

 

[BrettB]

Yukon, Home of Garth Brooks.

The Eastern Garter doesn't look right. In fact none of the Garters look right. For one thing they all have stripes running the length of their body. Looking at that geocities link I'd say that the Plainbelly Water Snake is probably the closest I've seen so far.

He was small so kinda hard to judge but I'd say he was on the thin side and definitely seemed to be smooth scales.

 

[Julian Reville]

Unless the snake has rabies.

He-he....

To determine if the snake is poisonous you can examine the shape of his head (round is good, triangular is bad) and the shape of his pupils (round is good, vertical slit is bad). Also you can check for fangs, versus teeth (self-explanatory). Unfortunately, this requires getting closer than I really like.

 

[BrettB]

Unfortunately, this requires getting closer than I really like.

You tryin' to get me hurt Julian? "Here snakie snakie, good snakie, come a little closer, now open wide...OH $#!+!"

 

[JayV]

To determine if the snake is poisonous you can examine the shape of his head (round is good, triangular is bad) and the shape of his pupils (round is good, vertical slit is bad). Also you can check for fangs ...

This is really bad advice. Any herpetologist (lit., person with herpes) can tell you that snakes have cooties.

Instead, allow the snake to bite an expendable human family member, friend or acquaintence. Observe the bitee for twenty-four hours for any signs of death (e.g., drowsiness and fatigue).

If the person is deceased after twenty-four hours:

1. Determine if there are any other likely causes of death. Examine the the corpse for signs of impalement by halberd, vampire bite marks (care should be taken to distinguish these from snake bite marks), or general headlessness. If there are no other likely causes, the snake is poisonous!

Take care that the person you select is not bitten by another snake within the twenty-four hour observation period. This can skew your test results.

2. Do not allow deceased to operate a vehicle or heavy machinery.

-j

 

[BrianW]

and the shape of his pupils (round is good, vertical slit is bad).

I thought it was the shape of the eye itself, not the pupil. I know here in Texas, we have rat snakes with round eyes but vertical slits for pupils, and they're not venomous.

 

[Francois Caron]

Instead, allow the snake to bite an expendable human family member, friend or acquaintence.

Time to invite the in-laws!

 

[Julian Reville]

I thought it was the shape of the eye itself, not the pupil. I know here in Texas, we have rat snakes with round eyes but vertical slits for pupils, and they're not venomous.

OK, time to dig out the snake book:
"Pit viper family...290 species...17 of the 19 venemous snakes in our range belong to the Viperidae. Yada, yada, yada.....stoutbodied, with heads distinctly wider than the neck....recurved, retractable fangs....eyes with vertical pupils....."

The heading for Texas rat snake does not describe the eyes however, the pictures that show the eyes of the various subspecies of rat snakes all appear to have circular pupils. Some pictures are poorly framed, as snakes are generally known to be non-photogenic, with the exception of the Hollywood and Capitol Hill subspecies.

 

[Steve_Tk]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Usually people are only bitten when trying to pick them up with BBQ tongs.

If it's poisonous, then hit it with a shovel until it is in about 5 or 6 pieces.

If not, then let it alone, unless it just scares the shit out of you, then use my shovel idea.

 

[Ike]

I saw a snake the other day. It was right in the walk way, slithering away from me. It's not an uncommon occurrence in the south. It is scary, however, to have them in the house.

The bright side is he'll keep mice and rats down. Put some food out for neighbor hood cats and dogs, and you'll create a little ecosystem of checks and balances.

 

[Malcolm R]

If it's poisonous, then hit it with a shovel until it is in about 5 or 6 pieces.

Lawnmowers also work wonders. I shredded a handful in my days of country living.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Sure sounds from the description like you are talking about this varmit:

Gopher snake. Will be 72 inches long when he grows up.

He's not lying in wait in the garage waiting to ambush us is he?

They tend to get into your toilet and then bite you in the rear......

 

[Dan D.]

Get yourself an M-41A 10mm pulse-rifle with an over-under 30mm pump-action grenade launcher. However, if the snake is anywhere near your primary heat exchangers, use flame units only. A motion tracker should also prove useful.

 

[Dick]

I tire of the myth that snakes are terrible creatures to be feared (as opposed to respected . These animals are an incredibly important part of our ecology and are at a place in the food chain where they eliminate bugs and rodents which truly are pests. Snakes will bite if stepped on or if their young are threatened, as will almost any animal. This mass phobia regarding snakes must be curbed with education. Movies are often perpetrators of the myth, and almost never present snakes in a positive light. Or spiders, for that matter.