The following video is not for the faint of heart. Not unless that wobbly pitter-patter is coming from the heart of a herpetophile anyway. In that case, it’s definitely worth seeing (the shaky video does even out shortly).
The consequences to the female snake of engaging in this sort of behavior would satisfy the stodgiest conservative Christian.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92InYz1cU2o
In the end, though, how can this not be worth it?
For the record, they will happily strike and bite you even at this size if they feel threatened. It’s adorable, but I can’t promise it won’t be painful. Squee with care.
Stephanie Zvan is one of the hosts for the Minnesota Atheists' radio show and podcast, Atheists Talk. She serves on the board of Secular Woman. She speaks on science and skepticism in a number of venues, including science fiction and fantasy conventions.
Stephanie has been called a science blogger and a sex blogger, but if it means she has to choose just one thing to be or blog about, she's decided she's never going to grow up. In addition to science and sex and the science of sex, you'll find quite a bit of politics here, some economics, a regular short fiction feature, and the occasional bit of concentrated weird.
Oh, and arguments. She sometimes indulges in those as well. But I'm sure everything will be just fine. Nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.
At Narcisse, north of Winnipeg, there are pits where garter snakes hibernate. In late April you can watch hundreds of them busily mating, and also see fascinated toddlers watching them while parents are trying not to show revulsion! The snakes also put up with being handled.
One winter, when we still had outdoor cats, one of them found where the garter snakes were hibernating, or whatever it is that they do. He’d bring three or four a day up to the house and deposit them on the back porch. I dutifully picked them up and returned them to the woods.
At the current house I occasionally get surprised by one in the garden. And vice-versa, I suppose. I’m not a herpetophobe by any means but I still jump when I move a leaf and they slither away. The variation in the color of the stripes is surprising — most are dull yellow but we’ve seen red, orange, green and even blue.
I’d be surprised if you could feet that thing’s bite! When you’re bit by a hatchling corn (which is about 4 times as big as that little wormlet) it feels like you’ve been attacked by angry velcro.
Tiny garter snakes can bite but you probably will not feel it when they are that small.
Interesting fact – Garter snakes are actually venomous. The venom is used to help subdue their prey and rarely has an effect on people, though some bites can result in itching. This seems (anecdotal) to be particularly common with the Wandering Garter Snake (T elegans vagrans) but itching has been reported associated with bites of just about every species. Despite the venom, they are still considered harmless and are not a danger to have hanging around where your kids and pets play (well, maybe dangerous to the snake …)
Interesting fact 2 – most (all?) mating balls happen when they leave their hibernation den before they have even fed. Some males will mimic females possibly for the purpose of having other males run on them, the resulting friction raising their body temperature and possibly increasing their chances of successfully mating with a female.
Where I work we have a problem with the little guys slithering across the concrete floor. I am the designated snake handler. Everyone else gets all freaked out, but I think the babies are the coolest things. This time of year though I feel bad about taking them back outside.
I’m not a big snake expert – are the black ones with a white/yellow ring behind their heads any particular species or just lumped into the general garter snake category?
The problem with a biting garter snake at that size is that it may startle you into, say, dropping it or otherwise making a sudden move you’d rather not make.
Alice, cool info. Thanks.
MyMindMeanders, my guess would be that you’re looking at some variety of ringneck snake. Their undersides get more brightly colored as they grow, but the babies are adorably black with just the white or yellow ring.
I was bitten by one once…. Silly thing did not want to go into the bucket and be part of my zoo 😛
At Narcisse, north of Winnipeg, there are pits where garter snakes hibernate. In late April you can watch hundreds of them busily mating, and also see fascinated toddlers watching them while parents are trying not to show revulsion! The snakes also put up with being handled.
One winter, when we still had outdoor cats, one of them found where the garter snakes were hibernating, or whatever it is that they do. He’d bring three or four a day up to the house and deposit them on the back porch. I dutifully picked them up and returned them to the woods.
At the current house I occasionally get surprised by one in the garden. And vice-versa, I suppose. I’m not a herpetophobe by any means but I still jump when I move a leaf and they slither away. The variation in the color of the stripes is surprising — most are dull yellow but we’ve seen red, orange, green and even blue.
*squee* Sooooo cute!
I’d be surprised if you could feet that thing’s bite! When you’re bit by a hatchling corn (which is about 4 times as big as that little wormlet) it feels like you’ve been attacked by angry velcro.
Loves me my baby cornsnakes. :3
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/8066/babypile20111.jpg
Tiny garter snakes can bite but you probably will not feel it when they are that small.
Interesting fact – Garter snakes are actually venomous. The venom is used to help subdue their prey and rarely has an effect on people, though some bites can result in itching. This seems (anecdotal) to be particularly common with the Wandering Garter Snake (T elegans vagrans) but itching has been reported associated with bites of just about every species. Despite the venom, they are still considered harmless and are not a danger to have hanging around where your kids and pets play (well, maybe dangerous to the snake …)
Interesting fact 2 – most (all?) mating balls happen when they leave their hibernation den before they have even fed. Some males will mimic females possibly for the purpose of having other males run on them, the resulting friction raising their body temperature and possibly increasing their chances of successfully mating with a female.
Where I work we have a problem with the little guys slithering across the concrete floor. I am the designated snake handler. Everyone else gets all freaked out, but I think the babies are the coolest things. This time of year though I feel bad about taking them back outside.
I’m not a big snake expert – are the black ones with a white/yellow ring behind their heads any particular species or just lumped into the general garter snake category?
The problem with a biting garter snake at that size is that it may startle you into, say, dropping it or otherwise making a sudden move you’d rather not make.
Alice, cool info. Thanks.
MyMindMeanders, my guess would be that you’re looking at some variety of ringneck snake. Their undersides get more brightly colored as they grow, but the babies are adorably black with just the white or yellow ring.