Little Snake

I found this little guy tonight walking the dog. It's a very young Eastern Blackneck Garter snake. This snake is maybe 10 inches long. As they get older, their colors and pattern get a lot less striking, but the yearlings are really eye catching.



This next pic gives you a good idea of their colors and pattern.

Pretty.

A friend let me hold the little brown snake she had caught, and it peed on me and stank to high heavens.

Yeah I've never picked up a brown snake that didn't do that. Small garters will do the same thing. The adults will most likely bite.

Out at my grandfather's place I used to catch a bunch of garter snakes. That stuff they excreted was nasty!!! I still would catch them anyway.

Ash, how are you so lucky that you find so many snakes? I never get to see snakes!! (no I don't actually live the city of San Francisco, I live nearby where there should be snakes.)

BTW, that is a BEAUTIFUL snake!!!!!

What he was doing walking your dog is beyond me, but I admire it's chutzpha!

I really don't find that many. That's the first snake I've seen in a couple of months. Part of finding them is just having a good idea of what conditions they like. Right now we're in a drought here in Texas which is bad for finding snakes. Most times if you want to find them, you have to look (i.e. flipping rocks and boards). If you want to see them out and about, you need good conditions and luck. The ones I post here are seen while I'm walking the dog, usually on humid and relatively cool nights (75 degrees).

This one was on a wall that led up to someone's yard above. The yard gets watered periodically. The limestone blocks having lots of deep crevices that retain humidity and provide hiding places for the snake. Finally, at night the wall is covered in geckos which the snake can eat. So it's really about finding the right spots in the right conditions.

"Little Snake" would by my Native American name!

I used to enjoy catching those when I was a kid. Then this little foot-long garter snake coiled, stood up, and hissed at me. Took the fun out if they fight back!

Also the title of the amateur porn film I did a few years back.

Probably better than the last film I directed:

"Tempest in a D-Cup" starring the legendary Christy Canyon.