Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Eastern Milk Snake

This little fellow surprised me when I saw him curled up on the floor of our garage. I've only seen common garter snakes so far, so to see such a brilliantly colored little snake was shocking. We didn't know what he was at first so were very careful with handling him, but once I identified him as an Eastern Milk Snake I became a little more bold.

His patterning reminds me of a coral snake, and while it looks threatening they are actually harmless beneficial predators.

This little guy was deposited in some high brush on the edge of the garden, and managed to slip out of view in just a few moments after I put him down.

3 comments:

RURAL said...

Wow, those first photos made him look so large and threatening. What a beautifully colorful snake.

Gorgeous, and we don't have anything like that around here.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Maureen said...

Holy cow! If I ever run into one, you will hear me screaming from across town! I am a big old wuss!

Diana said...

What a beautiful snake! I'm so glad you aren't the scardy type who flaps her skirts crying "kill it, kill it."

All I have seen in my garden are Garter Snakes. I have a lot of them. They spend the winter under the siding. Don't tell my neighbors!