It Had To Be Snakes

On a walk with my neighbor, we counted over a dozen baby snakes all over the road. Dead. Talk about depressing! The sight was reminiscent of a warm spring day after a shower where you'd expect to see earth worms all over the pavement. They all had come out to bask in the sun and move about in the warm 60 degrees before the cold weather sets in. We saw two live babies in the woods on trails, and I gently scooted them off to safety. Unfortunately, a beautiful smooth green snake we found was half dead. Thankfully, this little hognose snake did not get run over when earlier, I pulled our van into the driveway! --LKR

Retracing Steps For A Worthy Cause

This is a baby hognose snake playing dead. Two hours earlier, my friend and I found him in the middle of a narrow bike path. Something compelled me to go back and check for it. You know how it is when you get that nagging feeling. So after picking my son up from soccer two hours later, we drove on over to Lowes Creek County Park. Carefully, I retraced my steps.

The snake was almost in the same spot I had left him after moving him off of the narrow pine trail. I could tell now it had been bleeding as I carefully placed his tiny body onto a paper towel and brought him back to the van.

Sadly, every year we find several young snakes that have perished in their youth. Thankfully, this one has a fighting chance! --LKR

Update: This morning, he's all curled up and looks pretty normal. White Pine Wildlife Rehab Center is still going to take him in.

Update 9/26/09: White Pine called to tell us the snake didn't make it. :-{

He's a Jolly Good Fellow!

Scary looking, isn't he? That's what I thought when I almost stepped on him with bare feet while out in our yard! Out of desperation, I called 911 when I realized it was too late to call the nature center for an ID on this creature. We have lots of young children in our neighborhood, and I wanted to make sure it wasn't an exotic snake escapee!

He didn't seem threatening at all when he deflated his head and body. He and I soon came to realize neither one of us was going to hurt the other. Later, he let me follow him to his underground den in our yard.

Satisfied I knew where he hung his hat when he wasn't out hunting, I ran back inside. Looking him up on the internet, the kids and I learned that he's a harmless eastern hognose snake, so named for his upturned nose.
We learned these snakes are one of the best animal actors around. If puffing up its body doesn't scare you and he continues to feel threatened, he may strike at you--with his mouth closed. In spite of his appearance, this snake's species is known to be the least likely to bite! While working out in my gardens, I've often felt a "tap" at one of my legs and now wonder if we've ever encountered each other before!
Another trick he will perform is to roll over onto his back and play dead. He'll open his mouth and hang his forked tongue out to try and convince you of his death. The dead giveaway (pun intended!) is if you pick up his limp body and place him on his belly, he'll roll onto his back, again!
This beneficial fellow has rid of us mice, moles, and sadly frogs, toads, and crickets. They may also eat birds, bird eggs, smaller snakes, and dead animals. He has become an honored guest taking up residence in our yard. --LKR

Hunger Strike???

Q: How do you tell if a snake is sleeping? A: You can't! They sleep with their eyes open!

Actually, if the scaled creature is all curled up and looks comfy and cozy, chances are he is asleep. However, when they are "lounging" over rocks and branches, your guess is as good as mine!

Our little fox snake still has his wild instincts and goes into semi-hibernation from fall to spring. This is the second season of winter we've had Jake, so I was familiar with it. Early on, he gets rather urgent in his slitherings, more than likely looking for a suitable place to do some serious snoozing.

My real quandary is this: How often do I feed him? I feel like an awful mother when he rejects food I've offered. So, he's not hungry, but I still worry--did he eat enough the last time I fed him??? Well, he obviously thinks so, but you know us moms. You can imagine the scenario:

"What?! You're going to be sleeping for how long, and that's all you ate?! Eat! Here's a fuzzy! If you don't eat that, I'll get you a smaller-sized portion. Oh, here's a pinkie for you anyway, just in case! Now, eat! Pleeeeese eat?"

A very knowledgeable man from a local pet shop came to my rescue, telling me I had an ideal situation. He wished domesticated snakes wouldn't loose that God-given instinct. "They eat less, and as a result, grow slower so you don't have to buy them a larger home as often," Jim told me.

Actually, I wouldn't mind that, but at least I now know for certain that eating even a little about once a month or so is normal. It's always nice to have something other than "huntches" to go on, you know? Especially when you have a critter whose well-being depends upon you!

There are choices. Jake can be kept warmer with a light added to make him think it's not wintertime. He can be kept the way he is, thinking he's in a warmer state like Kentucky or Kansas. Or, his quarters could be made darker and cooler to sleep away the winter blues and blahs.

Which would you choose? --LKR

Shedded Snake Skin

Jake our fox snake shed his skin, today!!! This is always so exciting because it lets us know he's growing and doing well! I'll liken it to all those well-baby visits us moms--and dads--have gone on with a new baby where we've seen our children's growth on charts.

Snakes are still relatively new to our family--at least as pets. And, Jake is still a new baby to me. Kind of like a first-born, too, since he's of a different species!

It's not quite the same, but reminds me how fascinating it was--and still really is--to watch our caterpillars molt (shed their skin) or pupate (shed their skin for the last time revealing their chrysalis). This said after rearing literally thousands of butterflies for well over a decade. It just never gets old, and it'll probably be the same with Jake! --LKR

Jake will be shedding his skin, soon. Notice the dull coloration of his body and cloudy eyes.

These wide scales are from his belly.
Can you see the face--the jaw and eyes? It's very important to make sure that the eye scales are accounted for. If they are still on the eye(s), care must be taken in removing them so the snake can see and no other problems occur.

Jake the Snake

This particular post is not for the squeamish. It features photos of a feasting snake, and may be upsetting to some folks.

Jake is my son's little Fox (aka Pine) snake. A friend from a local church had found two Garter as well as two Fox snakes in a fence post hole, and rescued them. They were newly hatched and, oh, so adorable! He was giving them away to anyone who wanted one, and releasing any unclaimed. I did my best to sway my hubby in favor of this sort of pet. He gave in to the majority, and we happily brought him to his new home!

Jake is now about a year old, and has grown a lot. He has shed his skin several times, and has nearly quadrupled in size. He now eats up to five pinkies (baby mice) weekly. I've bought Jake fuzzies, but have yet to feed him these larger frozen (but well thawed when offered) mice. My sister and I agree: We love snakes, but just don't like what they eat. We've had mice as pets, and have both rescued and fed baby mice milk with eyedroppers.

Up here in the Land of Curds and Whey (aka Wisconsin), Fox snakes are abundant. In some states, they are considered threatened which is largely due to habitat loss. Their homes are farmland, prairies and wooded areas.

Unfortunately, snakes are still feared and largely misunderstood. Most snakes of the world are non-venomous and are actually valuable creatures that keep the rodent population under control. While I worked at Beaver Creek Reserve, a beautiful specimen was brought in during our staff meeting by two police officers. A concerned citizen spotted it on a playground and called it in. It had been rattling it's tail and a few people feared it was a Rattlesnake, even though one hadn't been spotted in the Eau Claire County area in a long time. (It would be a rare sighting.) Fox snakes will rattle their tails when frightened, and also may produce a musky smell from scent glands at the base of their tails.

Below are photos of Jake eating. It's taken me a while to actually get my "nerve" up to watch him eat! --LKR