Cryptozoology forums > Cryptids > Unknown Reptiles > view thread
Subject: Semi Urgent Help needed with unknown snake
From: vegetablepuddn posted Mon, Oct 19 2009, 9:50pm 
So tonight thanks to the help of my four legged friend, i discovered what i believe is a baby snake skin, or perhaps just a dead baby snake.
I found this in my living room, after earlier moving some things that had not been moved since last winter, and doing some light cleaning.
I am concerned for several reasons.
1. I dont know what species it is,
2. It appears to be a baby, which can only mean that there will be more
3. AS mentioned earlier, there is a cat in the residence
4. I DONT KNOW WHAT SPECIES IT IS!!! and there are copperheads in this part of NY

I have no idea how old this skin is, though it is completley intact

I have a pic, which i will be posting shortly,
however here is brief description

About 2 inches long,
Solid black, except for a copper ring just at the "neck" area"
Black and Copper colored belly
and after second loook, appears that this is just the skin.
A quick google searched pulled up "Copper belly water snake"
although that is listed as endangered.
What do you suggest i do, my concern is more for my cat than anything, although the idea of shacking up with 18 baby snakes is not appealing.

Really any thoughts just throw them out there, im planning on talking to someone with snake knowledge tomorw, my only idea is start with the veterinarian and ask them for any snake pple in the area.
Subject: Re: Semi Urgent Help needed with unknown snake
From: vegetablepuddn posted Mon, Oct 19 2009, 10:05pm 
ok so i put some effort into the search, looks like its a Northern Ringneck Snake, which can snack on beetles (which i see plenty of) and salamanders (which i found a live one in my apt last week)

This reassures me little though, as i still dont know what to do if there are baby snakes in my apt, and below my apt is the water system setup, which is basically like a small unfinished basement, with the door leading almost directly to the backyard woods and marshy areas.
Subject: Re: Semi Urgent Help needed with unknown snake
From: vegetablepuddn posted Mon, Oct 19 2009, 10:09pm 
heres the link to the cell phone vid. sorry about the quality.

http://s98.photobucket.com/albums/l261/earthmanikan/?action=view¤t=101
9092238.flv
Subject: Re: Semi Urgent Help needed with unknown snake
From: Loreweaver posted Wed, Oct 21 2009, 12:49pm 
Nice when a lil' effort pays off, eh? And as someone else mentioned it sounds like it was dead rather than a skin.

My two cents as for your cat. Its a near perfect natural foil for snakes, especially venomous snakes. With cats around there are generally fewer rodents and thus fewer snakes.
Subject: Re: Semi Urgent Help needed with unknown snake
From: kearnivorous posted Mon, Oct 19 2009, 10:51pm 
my concern is more for my cat than anything


Cats are pretty good at taking care of themselves around snakes. Mine has notched up 3 browns and 1 tiger in his time, and is still purring. Just to be safe though, he's kept inside, otherwise the poor buggers wouldn't have much hope.
Subject: Re: Semi Urgent Help needed with unknown snake
From: vegetablepuddn posted Tue, Oct 20 2009, 9:57am 
thanks. ya my concern was that there would be more of these baby snakes around, and that he would run into a whole lot of them, and this cat is more a city cat, though i expect that is changing after seeing turkeys, deer. etc.

On the other hand, my cat who lives with my family has tangoed with snakes before, one time chasing away what had to be a 3ft garter, after some back and forth smacks and hisses.
Subject: Re: Semi Urgent Help needed with unknown snake
From: Datu Puti posted Mon, Oct 19 2009, 11:21pm 
it's a harmless Ringneck Snake. i don't think i've ever seen one more than a foot long. they actually are a decent snake to put in a terrarium because they eat insects and other small and easy to find foods, have nice coloration, and it's practically impossible to provoke one to bite (unlike some larger nonvenomous snakes, like garter snakes, which will strike in an attempt to scare you). too bad it sounds like the little guy was dead - if it was a shed skin you probably wouldn't have been able to describe the colors. i'm guessing he was looking for a warm place to hide for the winter.

here's a picture of one i took in upstate NY. i'd be happy to have these guys in my house, my toddler would want to play with them (but then he'd probably try to eat them :/ ). but we mostly just have king cobras and reticulated pythons here in the philippines :D

-dan

Subject: Re: Semi Urgent Help needed with unknown snake
From: vegetablepuddn posted Tue, Oct 20 2009, 10:06am 
thank you for the info.
i was having a hard time telling if it was skin or not, due in part to the fact that its belly looks like its open as well.

My concern was mainly that there would be more of the guys running around in my apt, and they might try to cozy up next to me in my bed lol.
Or that my cat would stumble onto the momma ( not realizing last night that the momma is probably long gone).
Subject: Re: Semi Urgent Help needed with unknown snake
From: Andromache posted Tue, Oct 20 2009, 6:38pm 
I used to keep these little guys a pets when I was small.They hang out in woodpiles and hedges,mostly.
Subject: Re: Semi Urgent Help needed with unknown snake
From: Datu Puti posted Tue, Oct 20 2009, 9:57pm 
well, you can rest easy. they don't bite, have no poison, and don't get big enough to harm even a newborn kitten. the only way it could hurt your cat is if it chokes on one lol. if there are any left in your house they've probably eaten all the creepy crawlies they could find and then fallen asleep in a crevice or underneath something and will wake up and crawl back outside in the spring. please be nice to them if you find any :)

-dan
Subject: Re: Semi Urgent Help needed with unknown snake
From: vegetablepuddn posted Wed, Oct 21 2009, 5:04pm 
lol. thanks. and dont worry ill be nice to them if i find any others.

now i can add another species to my list of animal encounters
Subject: Re: Semi Urgent Help needed with unknown snake
From: Southlander posted Wed, Oct 21 2009, 5:31pm 
I used to get them confused with DeKay's snakes as a kid they would show up now and then in our yard. Both species, and its neat finding a 4 to 6 inch long snake especially when you are a kid. It has been decades now since I have seen either.
Subject: Re: Semi Urgent Help needed with unknown snake
From: EastTxSwamp posted Thu, Oct 22 2009, 10:38am 
Sort of on topic, I have geckos living in every room of my house. I love catching glimpses of the little guys as they go about their business. For some reason my dog will kill squirrels and cats (he's just a little cairn terrier) but he leaves the lizards alone.

Swamp (who's down with the herps)
Subject: Re: Semi Urgent Help needed with unknown snake
From: nuttnutt posted Thu, Oct 22 2009, 2:05pm 
I had a gecko and they are the best are you looking to get rid of any of them??
Subject: Re: Semi Urgent Help needed with unknown snake
From: Datu Puti posted Sun, Oct 25 2009, 10:07am 
I used to find DeKay's snakes (i used to think it was 'Decay' snakes haha) pretty often at our old place when i was a kid. very similar size, habitat, and temperament, but since they're grayish to brownish with small spots it'd be hard to confuse them with Ringnecks. it think it was a DeKay's snake that i put in a terrarium once and found it full of baby snakes the next day - it might have been a garter, hard to remember stuff from that long ago. it's neat that some small snakes don't lay eggs, the just give birth to a whole bunch of tiny baby snakes. looking back at my childhood and all the creatures i used to bring back home after playing outside, i'm lucky mom made a science lesson out of it rather than having a heart attack. she was pretty understanding.
-dan


Close Window