A while back, Daisy and I were talking about composting with worms which got me wondering if I could draw any to the surface with a piece of cardboard so one day soon after that I picked up a piece of cardboard the kids had left in the yard and instead of walking it up the the recycle bin, I tossed it over in the edge of the woods and there it has lain in the rain and weather for weeks. (A well thought out and very scientific experiment, I know.) Today, being a beautiful day, the children and I couldn't resist planting some flower seedlings (that we had started inside a few weeks ago) out in the tree line around our back yard. While I was out there, I decide to check my "worm trap." When I first lifted the cardboard, I thought there was huge earthworm laying right on the top but I quickly realized it was a little snake. When we first found him, we could see his whole body laying there on top of the leaves but by the time I got the camera, he had started his retreat down into the leaves. We looked him up on the internet and we think he's a smooth earth snake, which we read loves to eat earthworms! So my worm trap worked - only the snake must have gotten to my worms before I could!
hey Jen, great job! The best way to catch snakes is actually to place big flat things on the ground, like card board or old tin roofing. The sun heats it for them, it usually has more clearance than the bottom of a rock, and attracts things for them to eat.
ReplyDeleteCan you send me a larger copy of the picture? I might disagree with your id, though I think you are close. Why do I disagree? http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/snakes/virval.htm : "The belly is tan to whitish and is not sharply defined in color from the color of the sides (as in the Worm Snake, Carphophis amoenus, and Red-bellied Snake, Storeria occipitomaculata)." From this picture, this one's belly looks sharply different in color, though I'd need to see a better picture. Good job on the identification. Seeing that belly, I originally thought that it might have been a ring-necked snake but looking at pictures online I'm not sure. Did you see the head? If it had been a ringnecked snake, the ring is pretty easy to see.
All of these snakes that it might have been are harmless, so don't hesitate to pick it up if you find another one, just be sure to be very gentle.