I was out checking out the Gulf Frit invasion on my Lady Margaret passi and saw this guy...was pretty sure it was a Pygmy but called my boyfriend just to be sure....and it was. We think he was up in there after those big fat caterpillars...
So, if your in an area where they live...and you have lots of caterpillars....be careful...they do climb.
This is about as much of him as I could get picture of..
Oh...he's a dead Pygmy Rattler now too......(have shovel will chop)
Criminy! That's scary!
I've seen Schott's Whip snakes, ribbon snakes and other harmless garden snakes on bushes - mainly lantana - but you are right - any snake can climp up into a vine or shrub.
I remember seeing a rattlesnake skin up in mesquite tree at the ranch - goes to show you even the big snakes will venture upward.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!
~ Cat
mjsponies, Almost all snakes will rattle their tails when cornered or agitated.I am pretty sure that the snake in question was a juvenile southern black racer. I have hatched out these snakes before, and they are blotched exactly like that when young.Look at the 3rd picture down in this link for a comparison.
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herpetology/fl-guide/Colubercpriapus.htm
Dave
Well,what ever kind it is....EEEEEEEKKKKK!!! Any snake is a dangerous snake to me....they make me run,fall down and hurt myself~~~~~~~~~~$;>)#)
I didn't realize black racers were spotted when they're young. That's good to know as they're the most common snake I see in the yard. Although, we did have a kid bit by a pygmy rattler a few weeks in the next suburb over from mine. One time I was weeding and dug up a ringneck. Scared the crap out of me! And it's hard to hear rattles when I've got my iPod cranked up...but I try to make enough noise and vibrations when I move that I rarely see snakes, even when I'm hiking. If I'm walking through tall grass I swing my walking stick in front of me and bang on the ground with it. I like to give everyone fair warning that I'm coming through, LOL!
Melanie
Melanie, your story is an invaluable attention-getter - now we will ALL be a bit more alert and careful - THANK YOU!!!
Always best to be alert to your surroundings. It's amazing how well some of these snakes can hide. One day I was weeding one of my flower beds and when I was done I got the hose out to water the plants. Coiled up in my Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow was a black racer. I had my face literally inches away from him the whole time I was weeding but he never moved until I hit him with the spray from the hose. That really freaked me out, but I think most of the wildlife (hummingbird, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Sandhill Cranes, squirrels) around here thinks I'm some sort of herbivore digging for roots. It's when I stand up or look them in the eye that they get scared.
Another time I was pulling skunk vine off my palmetto and as I pulled I saw something slither underneath the vine. It was another black racer but I didn't indentify it until after I jumped back about five feet and nearly landed on my butt!
Generally though, if you remember to make a lot of vibration (that's how snakes "hear") you'll give everyone fair warning. One time when I came home there was a black racer sunning itself on our doorstep. My mom almost had a heart attack as she's one of those people that is totally afraid of snakes. I just walked a few feet away from it and started jumping up and down on the pavement. It took the hint and crawled off into the plants. Mom and I did see a cottonmouth when we were volunteering cleaning up a park a few months back. Luckily, I saw it first (or Mom would have been screaming) and we both gave it a wide berth. It seemed happy where it was and it wasn't blocking our way or anything.
My advice - walk loudly and carry a big stick!
Melanie
Dave67 - it does look like it could have been a baby southern black racer. I've not seen a baby one before, only adult ones..their very common around here and I always let them be. But this one in the bush wasn't in any big hurry to get away and I wasn't prepared to take a chance.
I'll be better able to identify next time. I'm also more diligent about wearing my gloves in the garden now too!
Hi mjsponies, I wasn't trying to give you a hard time,
I just thought you (and others) might like to be more informed about this common southern snake. :~)
Dave
Dave, I didn't take it that you were...I'm glad to know the difference. I have 11 acres that is bordered on two sides by 3500 acres of St. Johns Wildlife management area. We get snakes...all kinds...the only ones I generally worry about are the moccasins and rattle snakes. We don't see nearly as many as we used to of those two, but do get alot of what we call "corn snakes" and black snakes or racers ? So when I saw that small one in the bushes and he looked like a pygmy I wasn't taking any chances. Besides me, I have a two year old grandson, and dogs - cats and horses. I've lost a cat to a rattler once also. Anyway, If I know their harmless I just shoo them away.
mj
