Snake!!!!

[Teegate]

I found this snake skin in a tree today at one of the locations we were at.

Later, I was walking ahead of Jessica and she yelled that I had just walked past a snake. A holiday snake!

Jessica almost grabbed it but it was uncooperative.

It had a little injury it appears. Maybe it got burnt today

I have now found snakes in December and January.


Guy

 

[Old Crazy]

You will see them out and about in the winter if it gets warm enough, like today. One warm winter day a few years back I sat on a log and had one brush up against my leg as it scurried away. It scared me half to death. I almost did something I hadn't done since I was two years old.

 

[manumuskin]

Black Rat snake,excellent climbers.They are nowhere near as nasty as Black racers but it still may have bit her upon initial contact.It would have quieted down fast though.

 

[bobpbx]

That rat snake looks to be almost 6 feet long Guy....no? That is an unusual sighting for December.

 

[joc]

WOW great find for late December ! I've never seen or even heard of one out this late . Thanks for sharing !!

 

[Teegate]

Glad all of you liked it ...we did! Bob, it seems pretty long.

 

[manumuskin]

I do not know what would be considered the longest snake native to NJ.It would be either a Black rat or a Pine Snake.I think both records top out at near eight feet.I have found both species at roughly 6.5 ft long.

 

[NJChileHead]

Nice rat snake! I've expected to see garters on warm days throughout the year but never a rat snake in late December. Awesome find!

 

[manumuskin]

I have found snakes every month but January,even found one in Febuary once.Winter snakes as Chile said seem to always be Garters.Must have antfreeze in their blood.

 

[NJChileHead]

Hey Al,

This guy pictured above was a January garter. It was about 45 degrees out and later in the afternoon. I was surprised to see him! You can tell by his body position that he was very cold. Since garters aren't constrictors, they don't typically coil like that. My son, the budding herpetologist, sternly warned me to be careful and to put the rock down first and then let him crawl beneath it. He then placed some leaves over the rock afterward, and said that it was "going to get cold out and he wanted to make a blanket for him". It made me feel like I am teaching them well to respect wildlife.

I've never seen them when the temps are below freezing.

The mating pair below was found in temps not far above 50 degrees:

 

[manumuskin]

Did you explain to Him that a blanket cannot help a cold blooded reptile? Though being under leaves might create just enough heat from rotting vegetation to keep him from freezing?
I found a garter once in November while raking leaves and it had to be right around freezing.He was so cold he could barely move.All he could do was open his mouth at me in a threat and try to straighten out.I took him inside to warm him up so he could at least move when i took him back out.I placed him in a pile of old lumber I had in the yard and I know Deer Mice live in and under the pile and I think moles as well because there are always holes under the boards.I stuck him in the pile hoping his instinct would drive him down into the holes till spring.

 

[Tgeorge]

I found this snake skin in a tree today at one of the locations we were at.

Later, I was walking ahead of Jessica and she yelled that I had just walked past a snake. A holiday snake!

Jessica almost grabbed it but it was uncooperative.

It had a little injury it appears. Maybe it got burnt today

I have now found snakes in December and January.


Guy

Years ago - long before it was illegal, I caught two black two black rat snakes - one in Rhode Island and another in Allamuchy, NJ. Both were about 6 feet long, one made a threat gesture, but neithere even bit me and both did quite well in captivity. They seemed to enjoy being handled. When I was in High School, I found a Ring Neck snake in Morris County in November crawling along the school doorstep. Earliest I ever found a Garter Snake in North Jersey was in February.

 

[manumuskin]

The meanest snakes I know of are Black racers and Northern Water snakes.Did meet one vicious pine snake once and it wasn't a bluffer,it did bite repeatedly.One of the mellowest species I"ve ever caught is surprisingly Timber Rattlers.all in all a very mild snake that just wants to be left alone.

 

[Tgeorge]

The meanest snakes I know of are Black racers and Northern Water snakes.Did meet one vicious pine snake once and it wasn't a bluffer,it did bite repeatedly.One of the mellowest species I"ve ever caught is surprisingly Timber Rattlers.all in all a very mild snake that just wants to be left alone.

Totally agree. Racers are nasty tempered. So are eastern milk snakes and water snakes. Rat snakes are very docile.

 

[NJChileHead]

Totally agree. Racers are nasty tempered. So are eastern milk snakes and water snakes. Rat snakes are very docile.

I agree too, especially about the water snakes. They'll roll, projectile poop and bite at the same time. Nothing civil about them. Rats can actually be unpredictable.

 

[manumuskin]

nothing like gettin smeared with water snake crap

 

[woodjin]

I'll back up the black racer temperment. I used to catch them growing up in monmouth county and it was always a stand off. i used to hold up my left hand to distract them and then quick snatch with my right. I could never tail catch them because if I was 4' or closer they would always confront me, and if they took off I could never catch them.

In my experience, the black rats far out number the black racers in the pines.

Jeff

 

[manumuskin]

Black rats far out number them down here as well.I'd say that in the woods Black rat is our commonest snake.Around water it would be the Northern water Snake or the Garter Snake in my own yard I have found Garter,one under the leaves when I was raking and about 35 degrees,he tried to bite me but could barely move. and in my spare lumber pile I always find ringnecks when I occasionally go through it.

 

[Tgeorge]

Black rats far out number them down here as well.I'd say that in the woods Black rat is our commonest snake.Around water it would be the Northern water Snake or the Garter Snake in my own yard I have found Garter,one under the leaves when I was raking and about 35 degrees,he tried to bite me but could barely move. and in my spare lumber pile I always find ringnecks when I occasionally go through it.

Love ringnecks. They are beautiful animals. Very docile also.

 

[NJChileHead]

Love ringnecks. They are beautiful animals. Very docile also.

I love them too. Ringnecks and the Storeria (browns and redbellied) are a great 'gateway' snake for people who are terrified of them and they are beautiful. Ringneck musk is surprisingly potent though. I've never even seen evidence of any cloacal discharge but boy I sure did smell it (for a long time) afterward.

We're in the intergrade zone for ringnecks. Southern ringnecks have an incomplete neck band and half-moon markings on their ventral scales, and northerns have a complete neck band and no ventral markings. A lot of our ringnecks have a complete neck band and ventral markings. I have found both true southern and true northern in NJ, but I've seen a few of the intergrades as well. Just some trivia from a herp nerd