Tom's Catch-and-Relase Program

[Zephyr]

I like the divisions in his stripe.

[Didymus20X6]

Tom's Catch-And-Release Program is up to 13 garters and 2 turtles now.

I caught this guy in some bushes near a neighbor's house. He was a pretty good size, about 3.5 feet long, about like the other big ones I've caught.



"I WANT OUT!! N-O-W!!"



This next specimen has something of a sad story. I was talking to my landlady and her gardener about catching snakes and releasing them into the wild. The gardener went off for a few minutes, then came back, bragging that he had a snake. I grabbed the trash can and the Gopher to see if I could catch him, and when I got back, the gardener bragged, "I stomped on him and killed him!"

I found the little guy - hardly 20 inches long, coiled up, with his mouth hanging open, just lying on the sidewalk. I picked him up with the Gopher, thinking he was dead, but then he started moving. He wasn't dead after all, but was only playing.

But then I noticed that his mouth was bleeding. I told the landlady that, if it turned out he was badly hurt, I would put him out of his misery. And just to check up on him, I put on some rubber gloves and picked him up - the first time I ever handled a snake by hand. He seemed okay.

He was able to close his mouth, and later able to open it again, so I concluded he was okay. Here he is in a field near the woods, where I released the others. As soon as I got this pic, he took off, heading straight for the road! I was like, "O God, please don't let him get into the road and get hit by a car!" Thankfully, after some coaxing from the Gopher and the bottom of my boot (just to block him, though), he turned back toward the woods and disappeared into a pile of grass trimmings.

[guidofatherof5]

Nice job looking after them. They do have a hard lot in life and could use a few friends. Thanks.

[prattypus]

The behavior of some people is deplorable. That's good looking out for them, though.

[prattypus]

Wow Jason,

In all my 50 years and many,many painted turtles I've never seen or heard of one with a bad attitude.
I've always found them to be pleasant and easy to work with.
You must have been teasing yours.

NOt to my knowledge, but it is a distinct possibility. Of course, it could be that on this side of the country they don't have very good manners taught to them!

[Didymus20X6]

Thanks, guys!

Also, total garters rescued is now 16.

Here's one I released today. Pretty calm guy pretty much the whole time.



Along with this one, I released another little green one. No pics of him, though. He took off too fast.

Then there's this little guy. Caught him by surprise at the back fence, and he wasn't at all pleased. I just had to get a pic of him, though - just look at that beautiful checkered pattern on him.



Haven't released him yet. When I do, I'll try to get a clearer pic of him.

[prattypus]

I never seem to catch them with the heads flattened.

[Snake lover 3-25]

very neat nice job!

[Didymus20X6]

One rescue yesterday!

Didn't get a pic, though. But I did get some nifty new binoculars, which I hope will help with spotting them so I don't have to nearly step on them to find them.

Anyway, after I released that one, I decided to see if I could spot some other wild life with the new glasses. I got on the bridge and started looking in the stream. And lo and behold, right below me in the water was a big, plump snake. It must have been about 4 feet long, and had a pretty thick body. At first I thought it was a moccasin, but its head reminded me more of a garter snake's head than that of a crotalid; it also had round pupils, rather than the vertical slots that crotalids have. But it definitely wasn't a garter: the patterns on its back were diamond shaped. My guess is a Nerodia rhombifer. Even so, we have a saying where I'm from: If it looks like a moccasin, don't take any chances.

I watched him for a bit, but then a fish splashed near him, scaring him off. I then spotted another snake in the water, initially thinking it to be the same one. But this one was definitely greener, and had a checkered pattern on his back. I almost would have thought he was one of my garters, but I couldn't see the telltale stripes.

Then, as I was watching that one, I spotted yet a third snake. I have no idea what kind he was, but he was almost completely black on top, with a lighter coloration on the underside. He was at least 4 feet long, probably longer. Head, definitely colubrid shaped with round pupils. Unlike the other two snakes, this one seemed very active, probing around in the water as if it were hunting. At one point, I thought it was going to attack the checkered snake, but that one disappeared under the water as soon as Blackie came within close proximity. I spent the better part of an hour watching Blackie, trying to figure out what he was, until he went under the bridge where I couldn't see him anymore. He seemed to be missing part of his tail, and judging from the redness of it, it must have been a recent injury.

I wish I had had my camera. And from now on, I'm not going out there without it. I would just love to know what kind of snake ol' Blackie was.

Anyway, here's THE PLACE where I've been taking my garters.

[Zephyr]

I think Blackie was a black racer. :P