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Something We Almost Never See
Looking out the front dining room window the other day my husband spotted this. Now in all the time I have lived in this house this is the first time I have ever seen one of these critters.
My husband saw one going across the driveway a few times but of course never when I was home.
What a pretty snake... eh? Very cool site to see. During snake's photo session he took off into the bushes. I guess he was done. :)
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Thanks! He was outside so no big deal, now the scorpions are often inside and that can bring some added excitement to the day. The last one we found was in the washing machine http://www.blogster.com/margar3t/all-the-wash-is-done-including-the-scorpion |
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I can barely live with spiders! You are brave [: |
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LOL, thanks. I don't have much choice. If I knew how to get rid of the scorpions I would. They like most creatures in nature mean you no harm. They want to get away from you. It is only when we threaten one that they sting or bite. Now sometimes what they see as threatening we see as accidentally brushing against them. |
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Your husband "took off into the bushes?" Funny how hubby finds the snakes and scorpions and spiders...and that's a good thing! Fun day to all |
Has he returned? |
Whoops guess I should edit that. I didn't realize how it read. Nope not hubby in the bushes, SNAKE. Yes my husband has a good eye for seeing things. Have a great day. |
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Just joking around with you.....it's fine the way it is...good day to you |
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Hey, I am no writer... :) Thanks for stopping in. |
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I can't tell which ones are poisonous or not. I would of took that picture at a safe distance lol! |
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This one isn't poisonous but really, if you get too close to a snake I have found they take off. They don't want you near them. They try to avoid you as best as they can. It was cool to see him. The first photo was taken from inside the house. We went out to get a better look at him. He was not as excited about seeing us as we were about seeing him.:) |
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Definitely a good looking snake! If s/he lives nearby, you shouldn't have rodent problems. Of course, it does not bode well for the birds, either. |
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He/She is a beauty. I think he might have been hanging out by the ant hill near the bricks waiting for a lizard to come by for lunch.;) It was a cool site to see. Do you think he is a bull/gopher snake? |
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The markings look a lot like a gopher snake. The images of bull snakes seemed to have more densely packed markings, overall. Also, the bull snake appeared to have a heart shaped head, where the gopher snake is more diamond shaped like this one. Either way, apparently they're good to have around, since they apparently like rattlesnakes, too. As in, for lunch. |
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Oh yummy rattle snakes. I am glad we didn't see one of them. I don't really want any rattle snakes around here. I will take the gopher snake. |
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I am not a snake expert, but it looks like a rattlesnake to me. If not, then what is it? It has a triangular head like a posionous snake. It would me very dead if I found it in my yard. Yikes!! |
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No rattle, though they have been known to sometimes not have one. I think it is a gopher snake http://www.azgfd.gov/video/GopherSnake.shtml the dark eye deal is the key. I think one or two snakes wouldn't be bad to keep the rats at bay. But they must stay out front and not come in the back yard or the house.:) |
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I see what you mean. The rattle snake has slanted eyes. Of course, I would never get close enough to see the eyes myself! I haven't seen a snake this year, but my neighbor had two large rat snakes in her back yard. She thought one was a fallen limb, bent to pick it up and saw it was a snake, but she let it be. |
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YIKES a snake pretending to be a fallen limb... YIKES again. |
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Cool! Just guessing, if each of your curving stones is about a foot wide, that your snake visitor was about four-feet long? Don't know what kind of snake it is, but it's surprising you don't see them more often really, given where you live — but they are experts are hiding and blending in, aren't they? |
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Yes, that is about the size of him. He was not giant but he was not tiny either. I think he might be a gopher snake, I think they are pretty common here. I think on of the reasons we don't see them much is that they are so good at blending in to their surroundings. If they are not out in the open like this one or moving you can walk right past them and never even see them. I am glad we saw this one, he/she was very cool. |
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A suggestion as to the scorpions-diatomaceous earth (http://www.ghorganics.com/DiatomaceousEarth.html) and boric acid crystals in the cracks and crevasses along the walls, rocks and foundation slab. This cuts into their hard skin and they will dry out and die. As to the ones inside try sticky paper. I have had it work for me. |
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I have tried the diatomaceous earth it seems to have made a difference. We get way less scorpions than we used to. The one in the wash was the first one in a long time. Perhaps it is time to repowder the place. :) Thanks for the idea on sticky paper, I have not tried that. It would be nice to know where they are coming in and put the paper near it. I wonder if Willy would leave it alone. :) |
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I had a dog that was very curious about it. He got it stuck to him several times. I had to use WD 40 to get it off of him. He did learn to leave it alone. I wished I had a video camera to film him in action trying to remove it. It was funny. |
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LOL, that is kind of what I was thinking with Willy, he is just too curious. I bet that was quite a site... dog stuck to sticky trap or would it be sticky trap stuck to dog? |
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The last time it was both. He was poking at it and it stuck to his claw, then he grabbed it with the other front paw and both were stuck. He tugged and pulled and struggled with it while doing contortions then his tail was involved...I let him alone hoping he would learn it was not friendly before I rescued him AGAIN. I had to step in because he was trying to get it off by shoving at it with his nose...NOT a real good idea. No damage to him (lots of fur everywhere on him so it never touched his skin) but LOTS of dirty looks at me- as if I had stuck it to him! LOL! I explained to him again the it was not a toy and not to be touched- they do listen and learn if it is said enough. I don't know if it was my talking to him or getting three body parts stuck but he did leave it alone after that. |
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LOL that story was priceless. I can only imagine what it must have looked like. :) |
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Sorry, I guess I just don't see anything 'pretty' about snakes...LOL! They are one of the few things I will actually admit to being afraid of. When we moved up here twenty some years ago, I had to get over the phobia..... We've killed 3-4 BIG Diamondback Rattlers here on the property. One of them I killed by myself--it took four bullets in the head before it stopped thrashing and striking. We've also killed lots of Coral Snakes--extremely venomous creatures, although fortunately not aggresive. The regular garden variety snakes and black snakes we leave alone. They are good to have, as they eat mice and bugs--and supposedly poisionous snakes. I still don't like running into them, though! We've had several dogs come home snake bit over the years. They usually survive it. Most often they get bit in the nose or throat. We did have five puppies several years ago that apparently tried to take on a rattlesnake, they all died, but they were maybe 3-4 months old, so were still fairly small.
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I think I would be more worried if it were poisonous and/or if we saw very many of them. This is the first one I have seen. It pretty much cleared off when we went outside to see it. It wanted nothing to do with us. We kept Willy the dog inside. I figured with as much as he likes to chase lizards, Willy and a snake could not be a good idea. Sorry to hear about the puppies, that is sad. |
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A good habitat for one snake is a good habitat for other snakes! The way those stones are terraced makes a perfect hidey-hole for snakes if they aren't entirely sealed, front AND back. They seek the cool during the day and the heat at night, so I'd be wary of rattlers for sure. Wouldn't want to see Willy take a hit from one of those bad boys... If I were you I'd tuckpoint any gaps between the stones, and do it right away. If you're still seeing snakes, try to get some ferret poop from a local pet store that sells it. Let it dry to a powder in the sun, then crush it up and sprinkle around the peremiter of the house. Ferrets, like weasels, are natural snake-eaters, and the scent of them should discourage them from colonizing those stones. |
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Oh great, scare the crap out of me you troll. :) Ah I don't think he is living in there, if he is living anywhere it is in the flower bed up against the house. Lovely. He took off into the trees so I think he was just visiting the feeder and the ants. The planter, wall deal is kind of all glued together, not sure if he could get through the bricks but I am sure if he was really determined he could. |
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peremiter der...I mean perimeter. Good photos, btw! |
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Oh great the spelling police, police-ing themselves. :) If you knew how very badly I spell you would know I would never notice a misspelling. Thanks on the photo complement. Did you know "8 out of 5 dentists say studying in the library is 6 bajillion times more effective than studying in ur shower? " I thought so. |
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LoL! Hey, if I'm gonna be a spelling nazi, I can't let something that egregious stand uncorrected, haha. (Its just what us trolls do, yanno.) |
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LOL. Try not to look at my spelling. :) |
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Great photos! We have a lot of copperheads in our area at this time of year. I remember one year there must have been a baby boom, because they were EVERYwhere. I'd never walk on grassy areas because all of the tree roots that came above the ground looked like a snake to me...LOL....I haven't seen any this year. If so, I definitely keep my distance. Great shots! |
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Thank you, I don't think I would walk where the roots looked like snakes either. This is the first live snake I have seen here in the yard. We have seen a few down the street before, most of them smashed in the road but one or two slithering across the street. I was not really that close to this snake and he so was not as interested in me as I was in him. |
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I don't like anything that can (or seems to) move faster than I can. That's why bugs or spiders don't bother me, but snakes, mice, and other rodents...eeeeks...We found a copperhead IN our garage once. Hubby took care of it, but we have to be careful in the summer in the south! |
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I can see your point. I think if we had lots of snakes I might not enjoy them. I look at them as part of the balance here, snakes eat rodents and we don't want too many of them, though they are fun to watch scamper around. I wouldn't want any dangerous snakes hanging around either. This guy was not happy to see us at all which is good, when nature gets to used to people that is usually where the problems start. |
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Not a big fan of snakes...I've had to kill hoardes of copperheads on my property, but the cats kill the babies in the spring and leave them on the porch. They really like rock walls like yours....but the pics are cool!! :) |
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WOW, seems every one sees snakes except me. This is the first one I have seen in years. Glad you enjoyed the photos. |
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So did you figure out what kind he is?
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I think it is a gopher snake http://www.azgfd.gov/video/GopherSnake.shtml I of course am not sure and he has not come by for another photo shoot yet.:) What ever he is, he is cool looking. |
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Bullsnake....is my guess. |
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Your guess is probably way better than mine. I know very little about snakes but I do think the few that I have seen look pretty cool. |
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We lived in a rather arid area, and I used to see them as a kid. Yet I still had to look them up. We were told not to mess with them. They eat mice. We also had rattlers. Biggest one I ever saw was 7 rattles and a button. Huge. My tiny little Auntie who killed it (it was in her back yard) just passed away a week ago, at 93. We were just talking about it. My little Mom helped her dispatch that snake. The two smallest adults in the family.....bravest, too, in my book!!!
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Your Auntie sounds like my mom. :) She picks up giant spiders with a tissue, saved my brother in law and sister from a tarantula and has gone after our africanized bees with soap in a ffertilizer dispenser. :) My mom is one heck or a woman. :) |
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LOL I agree! |
Cool! I would not sleep if I saw him at my house.