This little guy is not a happy camper. I scooped him up with
a handful of potting soil. He gave me quite a tongue lashing
over the event.
I'll assume he is nasty, as I've never seen one like him
before. He must have come inside of a plant, egads!
That's a ringneck snake, Check out what kind live in your state to see if it's dangerous or not.
Ken
This message was edited May 17, 2006 7:27 PM
He's OK. Not venomous. I used to live in Oklahoma and saw many of them. He was probably just scared. I hope you let him go. He eats insects....
Oh, yes, I will definitely let him go. We have many critters, but
snakes just aren't high on the guest list.
:-)
Ringnecks are small and harmless--my kids and I enjoy catching them and admiring their beautiful underbellies. Chances are, he/she/it will do no harm and cause no trouble. On the contrary, its insectivorous presence in your garden could be welcome.
Assuming, that is, that you overcome any deep-seated squeamishness about snakes . . .
Considering we have a bog, a pond, chickens and a few other things,
we have had many snakes come to visit. It's hard to overcome squeamishness
when one is sitting in the dirt gardening while a snake is sliding up the
leg of one's overalls.
;-)
The ringnecks down here in Florida are harmless but I know some western ones are mildly venomous. But like our coral snake (which is very venomous) you have to push them into biting you. I wish you could have shown its underside, they are often beautiful.
Hmmm.... I know of no venomous ringnecks - anywhere. You can have an allergic reaction to their saliva, I guess, but they would have to chew on you for awhile. And I don't think that's going to happen! LOL
Some people have tried to raise them as pets, but they are nervous little critters, and they STINK! All in all, not a good pet.
A quick scan pulled up this snake.
http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/d.p.similis.html
I remember there are other species of ringnecks also like it, but all considered at most very mildly venomous and not a danger to large animals .
Ours are not venomous, I wonder why they would need that adaptation in the west ?
Well, I guess it's all in your perspective. When I consider something venomous, I am referring to people, small animals, etc, not to their prey which consists of small salamanders, tadpoles, small frogs, small snakes, lizards, worms, slugs, and insects. Many snakes would be "venomous" under this definition. Black widow spiders and brown recluses are venomous - to people - but all spiders are venomous to their prey. That is how they incapacitate them. We - humans - need not fear the non-poisonous critters unless we are sensitive (allergic) to them.
In the US, poisonous snakes are the coral snakes, and the pit vipers - copperheads, cottonmouths, and rattlesnakes. They are dangerous to people, not just to their prey.
