![]() ![]() The eastern garter snake likes to inhabit spaces that are moist, with plenty of ground covering for protection, with bulky items on the ground for added security. This particular subspecies of garter snake has a narrower head than the rest, and the particular scales with stripes is slightly different. This snake looks similar to a number of other snakes also present in the state: other garter snake species, mostly, but also the related ribbon snake. Some specimens have darker patches or spots between these stripes, and these darker patches or spots are also present on the underbelly, which is pale yellow or green with much darker edges. The Butler’s garter snake is a species that stands out, mostly because of its orange or yellow-toned stripes that run down the length of the body, often with an olive-brown, dark brown, or even almost black backdrop. Venomous: No (Yes, but it doesn’t affect humans) With many defence mechanisms, the western fox snake can’t really be classed as aggressive - it releases a musky scent when threatened, and will also use its tail in the same way as a rattlesnake to ward off predators. This snake will feast on any animal that it is big enough to overpower, and being quite a large snake, that means quite large mammals can fall prey - rodents are regularly on the menu, but rabbits, birds, and amphibians are also eaten. The western fox snake, a species of rat snake, is not venomous, and is found in marshes, fields, pastures, prairies, farms and woodlands. ![]() Unfortunately for this snake species, it has a tendency to look a little like a rattlesnake, or the copperhead snake, both of which are venomous. They are a constricting species, so they wrap around their prey and suffocate it, before eating it whole. Rodents aren't the only food on the menu, though this snake will also eat amphibians, such as frogs, as well as reptiles and small mammals. This snake species is actually helpful to human populations it eats rats and mice, keeping rodent populations down. The eastern fox snake is not a venomous snake species, nor is it a particularly aggressive one, although it does get killed a lot by humans who confuse it with a number of other, venomous snakes - the massasauga rattlesnake or copperhead snake, usually. It prefers a moist environment, with plenty of structures (such as rock piles or loose ground covering) to hide beneath. The snake can be found in a wide array of different habitats, including residential gardens and parks, marshes of fresh water, grasslands and woods, abandoned fields and old farms, and in swamps and bogs. The underbelly also has spots - small and darker - towards the edges of lighter, creamy-gray. This fades as the snake matures into adulthood, replaced with two rows of darker spots running down the length of the back, with a lighter colouring between the two rows. Juveniles often have a ring around the neck, copying the ring-necked snake style. ![]() Like all colubrids, however, they are nonvenomous and harmless to humans.The brown snake is quite a striking snake to look at, with an interesting array of spots and blotches that can sometimes mimic the look of other snakes. The remaining colubrid species, eastern milk snakes (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum), are often misidentified as eastern Massasauga rattlesnake because of their rattling tails and blotchy scales. Colubrids in the Elaphe group are the largest snakes in Michigan, including the black rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta) and two species of fox snake (Elaphe valpina and Elaphe gloydi). Michigan species and subspecies include the blue racer (Coluber constrictor foxi), Kirtland's snake (Clonophis kirtlandii), the ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus edwardii), the queen snake (Regina septemnittata), the eastern hog-nosed snake (Heterodon platirhinos), the red-bellied snake (Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata) and the smooth green snake (Liochlorophis vernalis). All species are nonvenomous they kill their prey by constriction. All other Michigan snake species are members of the Colubrinae subfamily of colubrid snakes. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |