New Snake Owner

[GaryWelsh]

Hello, I am a new member. I found a snake a few days ago in a basement, and put it in a bucket. I've been keeping it in my room and since it's room temperature, I think I pulled it out of brumation. I put some water in a lid and bits of chicken to eat in the bucket, and a tiny towel for the snake to crawl under. Its about 6-7" long, so I guess it's only a few months old (first winter). The snake is black and has yellowish diamond markings rather than rings or stripes. The snake has been mostly dormant, but today it was the most active I've seen. When I was looking at it, it rose up as if to strike, and the tip of its tail rattled even though it has no rattle. It opened its mouth and lunged, but I was nowhere near it and didn't have my hand in the bucket -- I was just looking down at it.

I'm not really sure what to do with this snake, so I joined this forum. I suppose I should take some pictures of it and post them here. It's still too cold to put it outside (I live in Pennsylvania, just north of Pittsburgh). So, I am looking for some advice on what to do with it until it gets warm enough to release.

Thanks,
Gary

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard, Gary. :)

If you don't know what snake it is, you might want to keep your fingers well clear. Don't bother trying to feed it either, but water is okay. Pictures would be good to have right now. Is the head triangular or more oval?

A bucket is not really okay either, but I suppose you'd already keep it in a terrarium if you had one. If it's too cold outside to release it, I'd recommend getting some form of enclosure that is well enough ventilated and escape proof.

[Sid]

Welcome to the forum. Good advice so far from Stefan. With a good clear photo, I'm sure someone on the forum can ID it for you. In the mean time below is a link of the snake native to your state. You may be able to identify it from that.
Snakes of Pennsylvania (http://www.koolpages.com/hokuspokus/pasnakes.html)

[enigma200316]

where at do you live?? I live in Elk county...........:)

oh sorry and welcome to the forum........

[adamanteus]

Hi Gary, and welcome to the forum.:)

[enigma200316]

I was just thinking about it and some black rat snakes have been known to be dark brown or black with yellowish diamond markings, and they do flatten there heads and shake tails like a rattler, but pics would be best, and that would also fit the area and location to........

[Stefan-A]

My guess is a juvenile black racer. :) What do juvenile copperheads look like? ;) I know cantils do to some degree fit the profile and they belong to the same genus.

[Sid]

Guessing a baby Black Racer myself. The young Black Rats are normally gray with dark colored blotches.

Stefan, the JV Copperheads are just like the adult except their tails are yellow.

[drache]

can't help you with ID
but welcome to the forum

[Stefan-A]

So if it doesn't have a rattle and doesn't look like a copperhead, then it's probably not venomous. :D

[enigma200316]

I don't think it would be a venomus snake, but its hard to tell what it is without pics.........


oh and by the way love the new (with an F) Stephen thats funny......:D

[Stefan-A]

oh and by the way love the new (with an F) Stephen thats funny......:D
I just wanted to see if it would make a difference. :rolleyes:

[adamanteus]

As the others have said, this is most likely a non-venomous species.... Having said that, it could well be a baby Northern Massasauga which has not yet developed a rattle. Please be extremely careful until you have a positive ID on this snake.

[GaryWelsh]

Here is a photo of my snake:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/grwelsh/Zippy.jpg

[adamanteus]

It's harmless... it's a Milk Snake.:)

[anji1971]

Hello, and welcome!!
That's a very pretty little milksnake, lots of people on this forum have them, so you'll have all kinds of help if you decide to keep it.

[adamanteus]

Just a question though, Gary.... your description.... 'black with yellow diamonds'..... What were you seeing?:D lol

[GaryWelsh]

I don't know... before I thought it was black or dark gray with yellowish-orange diamonds or blots. But now in my photo it looks gray-white with brownish-red blots. Maybe I was imagining a copperhead (shrug).

Where does this story of snakes milking cows come from???

[enigma200316]

Just a question though, Gary.... your description.... 'black with yellow diamonds'..... What were you seeing?:D lol



I was woundering the same thing James...........:rolleyes::D

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I don't know... before I thought it was black or dark gray with yellowish-orange diamonds or blots. But now in my photo it looks gray-white with brownish-red blots. Maybe I was imagining a copperhead (shrug).

Where does this story of snakes milking cows come from???

That is an old folk tale, and no, snakes don't milk cows. I'm not sure where that originated from though. You have an eastern milksnake, lampropeltis triangulum triangulum, which, in PA, it is legal to have one specimen legally. They tend to be very feisty when taken from the wild... the striking is harmless. I live on the other side of PA but I am in pittsburgh at least twice a year visiting family.do you have anything besides a bucket to put him in? and take the chicken out, he won't eat that stuff, they eat rodents! haha jsut make sure he has fresh water but not a wet humid cage, make sure your bedding is dry.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Where does this story of snakes milking cows come from???

found this!

"Appropriately, there is a dietary story behind the common name of our local king snake. Besides its occasional taste for reptilian prey — as well as frogs, fish, birds, and eggs — the milk snake avidly hunts small mammals such as mice and voles. After European settlement of North America, the milk snake's searches for these rodents soon brought it into close quarters with humans. Milk snakes were undoubtedly drawn to mice that foraged on waste grain, and there they found shelter in barns and other farm buildings. Humans who encountered milk snakes in their barns creatively imagined that these creatures came to milk the cows, hence the name "milk" snake. In the Chicago Wilderness region, milk snakes are still found in and around some remaining farm sites.
A look at the milk snake's local distribution and habitat suggests that while early farmers may have viewed it as a rogue cow milker intruding on their barns, the snake was actually hosting the farmers on its home turf."

[Sid]

found this!

"Appropriately, there is a dietary story behind the common name of our local king snake. Besides its occasional taste for reptilian prey — as well as frogs, fish, birds, and eggs — the milk snake avidly hunts small mammals such as mice and voles. After European settlement of North America, the milk snake's searches for these rodents soon brought it into close quarters with humans. Milk snakes were undoubtedly drawn to mice that foraged on waste grain, and there they found shelter in barns and other farm buildings. Humans who encountered milk snakes in their barns creatively imagined that these creatures came to milk the cows, hence the name "milk" snake. In the Chicago Wilderness region, milk snakes are still found in and around some remaining farm sites.
A look at the milk snake's local distribution and habitat suggests that while early farmers may have viewed it as a rogue cow milker intruding on their barns, the snake was actually hosting the farmers on its home turf."
Well put, Shannon. It is incredible at some of the myths that are ages old and still believed today. It's the reason I enjoy doing exibits for kid groups and helping eliminate some of this.

[drache]

not to mention the generally attractive temps of barns and their inhabitants

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, Gary :)

[GaryWelsh]

Thank you all for the welcome, and for identifying my milk snake and the advice on what to do with it. I think I will release it from captivity in a few weeks when it gets a little warmer outside.

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

im pretty sure the milking cow thing comes from them being found in barns a lot (probaly looking for rodents) and they thought they were drinking the cows milk

I don't know... before I thought it was black or dark gray with yellowish-orange diamonds or blots. But now in my photo it looks gray-white with brownish-red blots. Maybe I was imagining a copperhead (shrug).

Where does this story of snakes milking cows come from???

[GarterGuy]

Thank you all for the welcome, and for identifying my milk snake and the advice on what to do with it. I think I will release it from captivity in a few weeks when it gets a little warmer outside.

That's probably the best course of action. Wild caught eastern milks are notoriously difficult to get to feed in captivity, especially the younger ones. Glad you captured and researched rather then just assuming and killing it. I hear of a lot of people around PA killing milks, watersnakes and juvi. black rats and racers that are mistakend for copperheads.....which shouldn't be killed either. Good for you for taking the time and effort.:)

[adamanteus]

Good call to release the Milk Snake, Gary. Why not get yourself a Garter instead and stick around the forum?:)

[enigma200316]

Good call to release the Milk Snake, Gary. Why not get yourself a Garter instead and stick around the forum?:)


I agree with James, we love getting new members, the only manditory thing is pictures and lots of them.............;):D

[Snaky]

Also a warm welcome from me, also a little later:cool:

[GaryWelsh]

I had an iguana when I was a kid, and I've always had some interest in reptiles. Since getting this milk snake, now I've acquired some interest in snakes. I do think this milk snake will be happier if it is free and can hunt insects and mice eventually. Maybe in the near future I'll get a garter snake, since they seem to deal with captivity better, from what I've read.

[Loren]

I don't know... before I thought it was black or dark gray with yellowish-orange diamonds or blots. But now in my photo it looks gray-white with brownish-red blots. Maybe I was imagining a copperhead (shrug).


Hi Gary.
Well, you were about as close as any description I have ever gotton from any non-snake(or very new-snake) owner on any snake.
Doing a show in a campground last year, a girl came over and said there was a snake in her camp that was black with yellow bands ( sounds like a harmless cal king, and right in the range for one). But I decided to run over and look at it before telling her it was harmless and found it was a Northern Pacific Rattlesnake (brownish with dark brownish spots).

[adamanteus]

I was once called out to a 'large black snake' in someones' back yard.... it was a bicycle inner-tube!

[Lori P]

Well, those inner tubes can be dangerous, you know... don't want to tick them off... lol