Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Nature Studies with a Surprise Visitor!

Today we had an impromptu lesson on just how to handle a snake and most importantly, how to identify it and determine whether or not its venomous.

I'm inside trying to get caught up on orders (aka bows), when Haley and Adam come tearing inside screaming about a snake in our yard. We have lived here for almost 12 years and this is the first time we've had a snake in our yard. We've seen them next door, but not in our yard. Apparently, Adam moved something with his foot (no shoes on at the time), and underneath was a small snake. He showed me where he found it and I got a look at its tail as it slithered away. I promptly searched and searched and couldn't find it anywhere. Not to be deterred, I left for a few minutes and then went to look again. Finally, success! I found him all curled up in a patch of grass. Here he is after I picked him up with a stick and contained him for pictures.



After examining him and not being 100% sure of what he was, I placed him in a 10 gallon glass aquarium with lots of leaves for cover. My husband wanted to see him when he got home and the kids were having a great time watching him.


By the way, this snake was only about 9 or 10 inches long. He was tiny! Anybody want to guess what kind of snake he is? I know, but I thought it would be fun to see what you guys think. I'll post what it is (or what we think it is) in a couple days. By the way, he was safely returned to the wild (outside of my yard) this evening.

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