Baby snake rescue -- Pic

[Call Me Wesley]

Saved this little fellow today from one of my mom's cats who was wiggling it around. It was about 8 inches long, hissed at the cat and faked strikes, but they rarely bite. They're non-venomous water snakes and totally harmless, don't even have teeth that can damage your skin. If fighting doesn't help, they produce a garlic-smelling fluid from the anal glands (this one didn't, but I smelled it before, and it's pretty gross) and play dead.

Picture shows the little fellow just coming out of the 'death'-state:



That's their natural colors here, although many of them are simply black. Grass snake or water snake.

[MiddleFingerMom]

1. GREAT shot!!! I grew up FASCINATED by snakes...

.
.
.
...a favorite thing of ours to do as kids was catch-and-release
garter snakes.
.
Did volunteer work for a nearby junior high teacher who was a
herpetologist with a truly IMPRESSIVE live collection. Got to
feed the rattlesnakes (coolcoolCOOL), but he would never allow
kids to watch the anaconda feed on bunnies (he thought the
rabbit-screams would be too unsettling).
.
Had (HAVE) something of a phobia about spiders, but snakes just
thrilled me rather than chilled me.
.
.
.

[Call Me Wesley]

4. I had some snakes, tarantulas, scorpions

and lizards as a kid. My biggest one was a Python, and most of them were rescued cool exotic pets that others had until everyone saw them, got a chill from it and then the interest just vanished.

Didn't like the live-feeding at all, though, and was glad when I found a good place for them.

I also have a slight spider phobia; probably the reason I had tarantulas. We have some big hairy spiders here, totally harmless, but when they walk over certain surfaces, you can her their 'tap-tap-tappity-tap.'

Rattlesnakes? Ugh. Never had any venomous snakes, but bought corn snakes from a guy who just had babies of them. Cute!

[HopeHoops]

2. Get that poor thing a cricket - STAT!

It looks hungry.

I had a boa (named Lucifer) that was about that size when I got him - 20" tail tip to nose. He was almost 5' long and a good 3 1/2" inches diameter before eating when I gave him to the daughter of my college biology professor. She had a large apartment and planned to let him roam. I couldn't do that in a trailer with a dog and a cat. Besides, he was starting to give the cat the "hairy eyeball".

If you're going to keep it inside, make sure you have a good-sized cage and a ready supply of crickets.

[Call Me Wesley]

6. Crickets it not what this species eat.

They eat tadpoles, frogs, and if you happen to have goldfishes in a pond, they're happy, too. ;)

Had a huge black one hanging around my Koi pond, and even the fishes were way too big, they all fled to the pond bottom every time the snake took a swim.

Here's another one similar in length to the one above I captured a few years ago in my little pond:



I always wanted a boa, they're so pretty and mellow. :hi:

On edit: No, didn't take the snake inside - let it out in my pond and she/he happily swam a few rounds and vanished then under the stones.

[HopeHoops]

11. I bet it would eat a cricket. But still, the pond is a better idea. And as for boas...

They really are mellow. Lucifer used to curl up in my shirt down by my waist (and he was damn huge at the time) while I worked on the computer. That was over 20 years ago and if he's alive I'm sure he's much larger by now.

You have to be prepared to deal with a boa. In a short seven years, he went from 20" to 4 1/2 feet! They can get to almost 7 feet, depending on the species. Stay away from pythons. Some of them bite.

[Call Me Wesley]

12. Mine was a ball python,

so pretty mellow as well. Not really big, just around 3 feet. I got her as a full grown adult. Did never bite, but if she curled around your arm, even just gently, blood-support for your hand was blocked ...

[HopeHoops]

20. Ounce per ounce, a python has a stronger grip. Whatever kind of constrictor - KEEP A MIRROR HANDY!

They have absolutely no strength if you unwind them. Always start at the head and just pull them away. If you start at the tail, you're just chasing a ball of string down the stairs. You can unwind an 8 foot python that way. Curiously, when you're being squished to death by one and don't have a mirror available that can be a rather difficult task.

[Call Me Wesley]

21. It just amazed me, that, even with not the hardest grip,

the grip was so uniformly, it really was tight. And yes, I agree about the unwinding, but that's sure nothing I'll do if attempted to be squished to death. If the head is in reach, I'll win. If not, ouch then and goodbye cruel world ...

[InvisibleTouch]

26. Boas are nice, but...

...I must admit that my heart belongs to the Burmese python. *Some* species do bite, but that's almost never true of a captive-bred Burm who's been handled and interacted with. Their main drawback is the space they need. Ball pythons are gentle also and much smaller, but I've never kept them because they tend to have feeding issues.

[Call Me Wesley]

29. My ball python was the hardest to feed.

While I had to pull the corn snakes from my fingers during feeding or anything that smelled like their food, the python was very picky. It was a rescue also and had spent the former life being a night-club attraction. And I had to live-feed it. So when she showed no interest, and I wasn't watching closely, sometimes she got bitten by the mouse.

That is sure something I don't miss ...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. My dear Call Me Wesley!

Ooh, that's a beautiful pic of a very picturesque little snake!

I LOVE his colors and markings...

And his posture is wonderful too!

Great catch....er, find!

Thanks for sharing...

:hi:

[Call Me Wesley]

8. She/he wasn't happy when I got her/him.

Then she/him played dead in my hand. ;)

I just remembered to take a pic. :hi:

[ceile]

5. Beautiful picture n/t

[Call Me Wesley]

9. Thank you.

Just an iPhone pic. ;)

[Arugula Latte]

7. Very striking markings!

"Striking" -- get it? (Sorry)

[Call Me Wesley]

10. LOL!

She/he did strike and hiss until I came, then it was time to play dead.

The most prominent markings for these are two half moon shaped yellow patterns at their necks.

This one was about this 'big:'


(Not my picture.)

[Tuesday Afternoon]

13. cute little critter

:)

[Call Me Wesley]

14. Indeed!

Oh, and I also rescued a fire lizard last night who was wandering around under my desk. Ahhh, rural life! When the frogs jump on your sofa ... :)

[Tuesday Afternoon]

16. no frogs on the sofa, yet...but spider webs in the corners. yep

;) :hi:

[Call Me Wesley]

17. Oh, spiders are everywhere here, too.

Don't even attempt to mess with them. There's one sitting right next to me just now. ;)

[Maine-ah]

15. nice job!

I tossed this one out of my basement last summer....he was living there for a few days, kept going under my washing machine every time I tried to catch it. Just a basic garden snake, we don't seem to have anything more exciting than that around here. We do have several types of snakes in Maine, I've just never seen any other than the one that looks like this guy.

[Call Me Wesley]

18. Pretty one!

Love the markings!

[GreenPartyVoter]

19. My brother and I found a 3 foot long snake basking in the road one day. Thin as a

stick, tho. Very weird proportions. I never did find out what it was.

[marzipanni]

23. I stopped to look at a snake in the road, the poor thing was dead

As I got out of my car my attention was diverted by the sound of a car skidding across gravel. Ahead, where I probably would have been had I not stopped, a car coming out of the side road spun out and fishtailed across the left lane into the lane where my car would have been.
I thanked the dead snake for saving me from being in a crash.

[GreenPartyVoter]

32. That was snake who didn't want his/her life to be given in vain. :^)

[Bertha Venation]

22. what a pretty little fella

:hi: :yourock:

[Call Me Wesley]

25. Hey!

I just saw the cat tapping something and first I thought she was 'playing' with a frog, but then I heard the hissing, and there was the little one, striking back hard. :)

:loveya:

[Bertha Venation]

31. O'Malley found herself a baby blacksnake once

It looked like an earthworm. I picked it up and held it for a minute, then I put it away in this area of undergrowth and leaves we have under some trees in our backyard. Find it in THERE, O'Malley!

:loveya:

[Call Me Wesley]

33. I've seen a lot of snakes the cats brought home.

Ginger though never did and never showed interest neither in snakes, frogs or fishes.

The biggest one was about 3 feet, and one brought once a tiny aesculapian snake home. Now, even when tiny, they trike and they usually don't miss. And they have sharp teeth, too. Rescuing it gave me some bloody fingers.

[Bertha Venation]

47. OW!

Dude, you are an especially good egg. :)

[Call Me Wesley]

50. That's just the snakes.

Mice can bite, too. Or lizards. And you know that while you're trying to rescue them, the cat still tries to get it. Then it's usually your hand that's in the way.

[InvisibleTouch]

24. Natrix natrix! I *love* those.

Been looking for a pair of them forever, but they're just not available from American reptile breeders.

[Call Me Wesley]

28. You'd get in trouble here if you kept these,

since they're fully protected. Never saw someone selling them here. Here, you just have to have a pond and they'll come. ;)

[InvisibleTouch]

30. Yeah, I know about the European laws regarding native species...

...but since they *are* native species, it's great that they will just come into your yard. :)

[Call Me Wesley]

35. I usually have two or three of them hanging out here by the ponds.

We only have eight species here in the country. Two are venomous, but even living in the place they inhabit, I never saw one of them. I mostly see natrix natrix and another water snake, since there's a huge tidal pond a few steps away from here that's a nature reservation.

[InvisibleTouch]

42. What country are you in?

And out of curiosity, what's the other Natrix species? (I'll take a wild guess and assume the venomous species are Vipera berus and V. ammodytes?)

[Call Me Wesley]

44. Switzerland.

Here are the ones native to here:

Natrix natrix
Coronella austriaca
Natrix maura
Natrix t. tessellata
Hierophis viridiflavus
Zamenis longissima

and

Vipera aspis
Vipera berus

[InvisibleTouch]

48. Neat!

I do keep Z. longissima, though I had a devil of a time finding a breeder here in the U.S. As babies they look a bit like N. natrix. :)

[Call Me Wesley]

49. Ouch, they're biters,

and they don't miss ... I've got some bloody fingers once just from a baby.

[InvisibleTouch]

51. Yeah, mine are a little nippy.

Which surprised me, since the parents were said to be gentle. Still, I love them, they're agile climbers and very elegant.

[Call Me Wesley]

52. They are beautiful.

Never seen a big one in nature here, just the little one. Haven't encountered vipers even, but I'm not this much sorry about that. They're higher up, and they don't like to live near us loud beings.

Otherwise, I think I've seen all of the species we have, even the very rare natrix maura. As I said before, there's a huge tidal pond next to here which is a federally protected nature preserve.

So all kinds of critters here:

Tidal pond after rain (detail:)


Fire lizard:


Pond frogs:


And that's just a few. Missed to take a picture of a hierophis viridiflavus who laid in the sun on an outside pillow.

[rug]

27. I thought I was the only one who produced a garlic-smelling fluid from the anal gland.

[MiddleFingerMom]

38. You just HURT me. n/t

[Call Me Wesley]

40. I thought so, too.

You really should go with lavender.

:rofl:

[Inchworm]

34. Cool! This month's photo contest's theme is "black"

You could be a star! :P

Awesome pic :)

:hi:

Edit: adding link
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=280x79114

[Call Me Wesley]

36. Thank you!

I'll think about it, since it's not really the black kind we have here and I never got there in time to take a pic of the black one I had around my pond.

And since I entered the last two contests, it's probably best to leave the space open for someone else.

:hi:

[jobycom]

37. He's so cute! Now I want a Tequila...

Wait, no, not for the worm... snake... it's just a random coincidence. Quit looking at me like that.

[Call Me Wesley]

39. :eyes:

:rofl:

[PeaceNikki]

41. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!! KILL IT WITH FIRE!!

Just kidding (sorta).

Snakes freak me out, yo. :o

[Call Me Wesley]

45. DON'T WANT!!!!1111!!!!

It's just a baby! ;)

[applegrove]

43. I remember picking up a cute garden snake to show my 3 year old nephew. He

yelled "Give it back to its' mommy". LOL! So I let the snake go.

[Call Me Wesley]

46. LOL!

He was right, ya know! ;)

[Demoiselle]

53. How beautiful. That would be pretty in printed silk.

Ain't nature grand? No, I mean really grand.

[Call Me Wesley]

55. Thank you!

Just don't put 'Don't tread on me' on the print. ;)

[Demoiselle]

57. Oh no. I wouldn't besmirch that lovely image with such nonsense.

I was just thinking of borrowing the snake's black and white graphics for an overall print.
(We do talk about everything on DU don't we!)

[Call Me Wesley]

58. No worries, I was mainly joking.

Feel free to use the picture. ;)

:hi:

[Doc_Technical]

54. Did someone say "Baby Snakes?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ab5-nZPbYc

[Call Me Wesley]

56. Right on!

I listened to this yesterday. Still have it on vinyl, and then 'Catholic girls.' Don't really relate to snakes, but on the other hand, Zappa relates to almost everything. :thumbsup:

[Kat45]

59. Aw, you beat me to it!

I was just going to post that.

[realisticphish]

62. thank you

I was about to post it :D

[ThomCat]

60. Beautiful Picture!

I'm glad you could save it! :)
(him?/her?) :shrug:

Do you raise or own snakes too, or only photograph them?

An ex of mine had snakes and introduced me to them. They're wonderful critters.

[Call Me Wesley]

61. Thank you!

No, I don't own any snakes anymore. Had some when I was a kid, and I like them more being free and roaming around. So I only photograph them when I get a chance.

:hi: