Tiger Lily and her garter snake friend. Photo by Stephanie Santos, Hayward, CA
Gary:
I just wanted to share a picture of my cat Tiger Lily and her friend, a neighborhood garter snake, who came for a visit and hung out in the patio. I really enjoy your column. Have a great day, Stephanie Santos, Hayward, California
Stephanie:
Curious, how our pet cats will sometimes interact with unusual creatures. Many years ago I has a tabby named John who I would occasionally find sitting out on our back patio next to an alligator lizard. One of my present cats, Jazz, has this thing going with a skunk and its family. Jazz will often sit at the sliding glass door in my home office and look out at a female skunk standing on the other side of the door. They’ll just sit and stare at each other. In the spring, the skunk will bring her babies and they’ll all stare back and forth, just inches away from each other, separated by a pane of glass. Interesting. /Gary
Raccoon in the house. Photo by Maureen Wright, Pittsburg, CA
LINDSAY WILDLIFE MUSEUM’S WILDLIFE EXCLUSION SERVICE
Wildlife exclusion is a service offered by Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, Calif., to ensure the harmless eviction of wild animals from areas where they are not wanted such as attics, crawl spaces and garages. Humane techniques are used to evict wildlife and proven methods are used to prevent re-entry. Proceeds from this service go directly towards funding the museums wildlife rehabilitation hospital.
If you need this service, please call the museum at 925-627-2943
Common problems:
*** Raccoons, opossums, skunks nesting in crawlspace *** Squirrels in attic *** Snakes in garage
Typical solution: *** Identify the entrance *** Humanely evict the animal *** Clean or sanitize the area *** Repair and prevention measures *** Close the opening *** Follow up call or inspection *** Habitat and conservation education
The Lindsay Wildlife Museum is at 1931 First Ave., Walnut Creek. Find out more about this wonderful place at http://www.wildlife-museum.org /Gary
Mama opossum and babies by Andy & Peggy Mosko, Fremont, CA.
Gopher snake in backyard. Photo by Ling Lavezzoli, Walnut Creek, CA.
Gary:
The other day on a warm afternoon my wife came across about a foot long snake on our concrete patio. She is very curious as to what type of snake it is, how big it will get and if it is dangerous (see attached photos). Thanks for your help as I am snake dumb. Appreciate your time and informative column. John Lavezzoli, Walnut Creek, CA
John:
The snake is a beautiful and harmless gopher snake. It might gain another foot or two in length over the years, but that’s about the average size we see around here. Great to have in the yard as they eat insects and small rodents. Definitely not dangerous. When frightened, they will coil up, buzz their tails to make them look a little like a rattlesnake so you’ll go away and leave them alone. (Note the pointy tail; no rattles.) They will also flatten their heads and hiss and strike (harmlessly) at you. Rattlesnake do not hiss loudly like that. /Gary
Gopher snake in backyard. Photo by Ling Lavezzoli, Walnut Creek, CA.
Pacific ringneck snake by Brian Murphy, Walnut Creek, CA
*** SPECIAL NOTE: I’M ON VACATION UNTIL OCT. 18, SO NO NEW BLOGS FROM ME UNTIL THEN. I’LL TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOS TO SHARE WITH YOU HERE WHEN I GET BACK! SEE YA! /GARY
Gary:
I have not seen a Ringneck snake in 30 years. Got photos of a young one yesterday. I must be spending time in the wrong habitat to run across them. Brian Murphy, Walnut Creek Read the rest of this entry »
Dear Gary:
A few weeks ago, while workmen were replacing doors in my Livermore, Calif., house, I was in my side yard and decided to go in to get my sunglasses. I walked in from the garage and into an internal hall leading to my bedroom. As my eyes adjusted to the change of light I thought I saw a slight movement at the edge of the hall.
When I looked more closely, I saw a rather large snake, front part emerging from the sliding doors of my linen closet! He was raised up and hissing. The shock elicited a scream from me and the snake went completely into the closet. From the brief glance I had, I was afraid it could possibly a rattlesnake! Read the rest of this entry »
Poisonous Western rattlesnake (Brian Murphy/Walnut Creek, CA)
Spring has sprung and many cold blooded reptiles are now crawling out and about. In case you can’t tell the difference between rattlesnakes and gopher snakes, you and any other family members, especially children, should check out and compare these photographs of the two reptiles. /Gary
Harmless Pacific gopher snake (Brian Murphy/Walnut Creek, CA)
Hello Gary:
At feeding time in the California Academy of Sciences’ vine snake exhibit, one blink and you might miss the action. These pencil-thin snakes hunt fish swimming in the water below, striking with lightning speed.
We recently captured a feeding on film and I thought you might be interested in sharing it with your blog readers. A piscivorous arboreal (fish-eating and tree-dwelling) snake is extremely rare, and the Academy was the first aquarium in the world to display this species, thanks to our ongoing research on the reptiles and amphibians of Myanmar. Read the rest of this entry »
If you can get a close look at a rattlesnake or a gopher snake, they’re pretty easy to tell apart. But you don’t always get a close look when you find one crawling in your yard … and at a time like that they can look pretty similar and you may be fooled.
If you find a rattlesnake in your yard, make sure your children stay away from it and put your dog in the house so it can’t go sniff the snake and get bitten. If you need help … call your local animal services department or the police. Then keep an eye on the snake (from a safe distance) so you can show the authorities where it is when they arrive. Read the rest of this entry »
The following snakes are four common local species that are regularly encountered in the San Francisco Bay Area. One is poisonous and the other three are harmless. (In case you haven’t already figured it out, the snake pictured above is a rattlesnake.)
Check these snakes out so you know which is which if you happen to encounter one in your backyard. Read the rest of this entry »
