any experts who can help me identify this snake?

[jonnyg]

Hi - if anyone can help me identify this snake I'd appreciate it. My cats are bringing them into house very often at the moment (it's still a little cold right now, so I guess the snakes can't move fast enough...). I thought he might be a grass snake or a garter snake but I'm not sure (I have tried to look on the web and identify him).

I'm assuming they are not dangerous, but thought I'd better check...

Thanks in advance for any time you can give to help me.

Cheers,

[infernalis]

Sure thing, That is an Eastern Garter snake, Thamnophis Sirtalis Sirtalis.

Judging by looking at it, a nice adult.

It is perfectly harmless, primary diet in the wild is earth worms, toads, salamanders and small fish.

Here is one I keep as a pet.

[jonnyg]

Great! Thanks very much for your feedback, I appreciate it. Good to know he's not going to bite me. I picked this one up to take him back outside. I nearly dropped him when he began to wriggle! Hopefully I'll get more used to it.

I just hope the cats don't start to kill them (the snakes seem very nice now I'm seeing them up close)- at the moment the cats just bring them into the kitchen, then drop them on the floor, then lie down on top of them for 5 mintues, then go back outside. It's really strange...


Anyway - thanks again for taking the time to reply + to post your picture - he looks very nice

[Wolfus_305]

Awww this brings back such memories. I used to see these all the time at the cottage when i was younger. Slowly over the years they've started dwindling and now I'm lucky if I see one the whole summer =[

[Chu'Wuti]

JonnyG, none of us will promise that garter snakes or any others will not bite you. We can only tell you that if a garter snake does does bite you, it won't kill you with venom because it isn't venomous.

All snakes can bite you, and many snakes will try to bite you if they feel threatened.

If you are living in a part of the U.S. where there are venomous snakes, find pics of all the ones that may occur in your area and familiarize yourself with them. Go to your local zoo and look at both venomous and nonvenomous carefully. Note the differences in head shape (which may not seem like much if you are confronted by a snake while you're taking a walk through the woods or somewhere outside!) and coloration variations.

Also, you might enjoying going to a few meetings at your local herp society. If you're considering keeping that snake your cats keep bringing in, find out about the laws in your area related to keeping wild caught (WC) snakes, as well as about the challenges of keeping them. I've done it many times, but WC snakes very often have parasites and can been difficult to keep alive.

Most of all, have fun!

[jonnyg]

Thanks for the clarification - you're right, what I meant was that it wouldn't be fatal if it did bite me!

I'll keep an eye out to see if there are any others (I'm in Tennessee).

Cheers,

[infernalis]

I have been chewed on more times than I can count.... I'm still here to tell about it