Tag Archives: snake

Snakes or Legless Lizards in My Garden?

Posted on by rhondacarrier

Snake

SnakeThe first picture is the back end of a beast I saw in the backyard. The second picture is the front end of a beast I saw in the front yard. The backyard version was shorter, about 10-12 inches. The front yard version was 12-15 inches long. Since neither stopped to let me take measurements, I estimated based on the length of the leaves in the picture.

In neither case I did not think “snake” when I first the it. I thought “thick earthworm – or thick and very long earthworm”. Neither moved very fast. Both disappeared under the mulch. The front yard beast definitely had a forked snake-like tongue. Both were very shiny. It was the light reflecting off the skin that drew my attention to each.

I showed the picture of the front yard beast to the people at the Hillsborough County extension office and they suggested that I might have legless lizards rather than snakes. The coloring is not quite right for the legless glass lizards that live here in southern Florida, but the size and coloring isn’t right for the black racer snake either. A juvenile black racer of this size would not be black.

When I was putting in new plants in the backyard near where I saw the backyard beast, I found a snake skin. The landscape people who were here putting in my new irrigation system said that the legless lizards shed skin in patches not in a single piece like I found. That only means that I have or had a snake in the yard and doesn’t confirm whether I saw snakes or legless lizards.

Judging by the picture of a juvenile southern black racer on the PDF document from IFAS, I think they are both black racers. I’ve been told to look them in the eyes next time to determine if I am seeing snakes or not. Somehow, I think I’ll skip that identification tip. I just hope that if these are juvenile black racers that mom and dad and sibling racers live someplace else and not here in my yard.

Snakes in the Mulch

Posted on by rhondacarrier

Early this morning, I stood up from where I was weeding, turned around, and realized a black snake was only a few inches away. I put down my spade and pulled out my iPhone to take a photo. The snake was very uncooperative and stayed on its belly, so I could not see the markings underneath, although I thought I caught a glimpse of yellow. It wasn’t very long, about 12-15 inches (30-38 cm). As a comparison, the Asiatic jasmine leaves in the photo are only 1-1.5 inches (3-4 cm) long at the most.

I mentioned in an earlier post, Snake in the Grass, that my husband saw a snake in the backyard under cardboard that we were using for mulch. Today, as I watched the snake disappeared under the cypress mulch, I wondered how much more mulch I want to spread. I was going to cover most of the backyard with weed mat and mulch. Maybe I want to reconsider that plan. It is good to provide shelter for various backyard wildlife, but I’m not sure how many snakes I’m willing to shelter. I certainly have to be more careful about where I sit or lean.

I looked again at the IFAS snake reference: Dealing with Snakes in Florida’s Residential Areas and Identifying Commonly Encountered Snakes I had thought that the snake my husband described was a garter snake. It might have been, but the snake I saw this morning didn’t have garter snake markings. It looked more like a southern ring-necked snake although I didn’t see any ring. Another possibility is the southern black racer, but the length was too short for the adult racer coloring and the wrong pattern for a juvenile racer. If anyone can identify it from the photo, please let me know.

I’m not happy having snakes under foot and I certainly don’t want them in the house! According to the IFAS site, southern racers “catch a variety of prey, including frogs, lizards, small snakes, birds, and rodents”. Southern ring-neck snakes “eat earthworms, slugs, salamanders, lizards, and small snakes”.  Both sound beneficial to the environment. I’m in Florida, so I suspect I’m going to have to learn to live with them and learn to appreciate their contribution to the ecosystem in my yard.

Snake

A Snake in the Grass

Posted on by rhondacarrier

I said in an earlier post, Cardboard Mulch and Snakes, that a short black snake slid out from underneath the cardboard mulch on the yard. When I was at the Hillsborough County Extension Office yesterday, I mentioned the snake and was provided information about snakes in Florida.

Judging by my husband’s description and the information from the website, we probably have a garter snake wandering around the yard. It is harmless to humans, but I imagine the earthworm, frog and salamander populations are affected by its presence. I wonder where it is now? I am a little more careful turning over pots and investigating plants now that we’ve seen a snake. Even a “harmless” one will be defensive if cornered or startled.

Cardboard Mulch and Snakes

Posted on by rhondacarrier

Just a short note of caution. If you are going to use cardboard to mulch, be careful if and when you pick it up. I have had cardboard on the ground in the backyard for a week. Today my husband moved it to plant an orange tree and a foot-long black snake slithered out from under it. I didn’t see it, but my husband did. I want to provide space for wildlife and don’t mind the snake as long as it isn’t poisonous. I don’t know Florida snakes so I have no idea if it was dangerous or not. I guess we’ll just have to keep our eyes open for it.