After digging up the onions late yesterday afternoon, this morning I went out to bury some veggie scraps where the onions had been growing. I put the trowel in and turned up -- in the trowel of soil -- this huge snake:
Okay -- he wasn't huge. See his size compared to the trowel:
He was coiled neatly, underground, and remained in a coil when I set him on the concrete driveway. I could tell he was alive since his tongue was flicking. What would he have been doing at this time of year underground? He obviously looks to be a juvenile based on size -- but since I don't know what kind of snake it is I don't know what size he should be. Cold-blooded creature that he is, I'm sure he'll warm up with the morning sun and find his legs and wander off. But I'm puzzled about finding him coiled up underground this time of year. If you look closely in this picture you can see his tongue flicking:
I recorded a few seconds of a movie to see if he would move but he didn't cooperate. (He was flicking his tongue, but the movie resolution makes it hard to see.) At least the morning birds sound nice:
Any ideas?
Okay -- he wasn't huge. See his size compared to the trowel:
He was coiled neatly, underground, and remained in a coil when I set him on the concrete driveway. I could tell he was alive since his tongue was flicking. What would he have been doing at this time of year underground? He obviously looks to be a juvenile based on size -- but since I don't know what kind of snake it is I don't know what size he should be. Cold-blooded creature that he is, I'm sure he'll warm up with the morning sun and find his legs and wander off. But I'm puzzled about finding him coiled up underground this time of year. If you look closely in this picture you can see his tongue flicking:
I recorded a few seconds of a movie to see if he would move but he didn't cooperate. (He was flicking his tongue, but the movie resolution makes it hard to see.) At least the morning birds sound nice:
Any ideas?
Posts
Ok, first attempt: You have a Brown Snake. They are non-venomous and like to eat slugs, snails, and earthworms. No wonder it is in your yard.
ReplyDeleteThe Davidson ID page may not show up but I typed in snakes of NC and got a webpage from Davidson that appeared helpful.
Daniel
http://www.bio.davidson.edu/projects/herpcons/herps_of_NC/snakes/Stodek/Sto_dek.html
That web page was great -- I think you're right based on length and markings. I'm still curious about him being underground -- maybe I missed something. I did notice in the hole I dug for the scraps that were lots of worms in that dirt, so maybe he was hanging out there for breakfast. I went back out a while later and he was gone. I'll probably see him again. Thanks for the info.
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