On Tuesday Randy found an Eastern Kingsnake attempting to come in our front door. Jack the cat, who was inside, was very interested. Randy caught it and put it in an empty old aquarium until he identified it and I got some photos of it. When the former feral cat Shadow saw it, she attacked it, attempting to kill it. She evidently had a run in with a snake when she was wild and knew not to play with snakes, but to take them seriously.
The snake was nasty. It rattled it's tail when we came near, it attempted to viciously attack and bite us, and it stunk to high heaven. I'm sure it was scared to death when Randy caught it.
Kingsnakes are not venomous, they produce a very foul smelling musk when scared, and they eat other snakes. They are immune to the venom of other local snakes. Really they are a good snake, as good as snakes can be. Here's the Wiki page on Kingsnakes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingsnake. Our chickens and their eggs are well protected, but the guineas lay eggs in the woods that can attract snakes and other animals. This snake didn't appear to have any eggs in it's belly. Randy let it loose a distance from our house by the wood splitting area. Please don't come back, nasty, smelly snake. I don't hate snakes, and certainly don't think people should kill them for no reason, but I don't invite them into my front door, either!
12 comments:
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Great photos of that snake. Happy you let him go! We only have smallish garter snakes here. Once a cat brought a small one into the house...my cousin screamed! I picked it up and returned it to the wild (poor thing)! Love your blog. Keep 'em coming!
I would have freaked seeing that at my front door!
Good Article
I have a deep love for the job snakes provide around here. So many folks kill snakes and ask questions (ID them) later. Yours is a beauty!
Good Article
I'm a bit skittish when it comes to snakes . . . good ones and bad ones. However the only bad one I've seen is the Rattle Snake which are quite prevalent in the foothills of the Sierras. It has been said that the baby's bite can be just as venomous as the adult. I'm glad your Eastern Kingsnake has a new home out of the way of the guinea eggs (we hope)!
Oh what a beautiful snake..I have never seen any in Iowa and really don't want to..But I feel with the garden one day I will come across some kind of snake..
Your pictures of the raccoon are rather cute.. Especially it being all wet...
Have a great day..Lisa
What a beauty...our Kings are not marked as colorful.
Good Article
I remember years ago I found an Eastern Hognose snake out back by the garden. I scooped him up in a bucket and later when I checked on him he was dead! I dumped him out and an hour later when I went to check on the dead snake, he was gone! Playing dead is one of their defense mechanisms! Snakes are interesting, but I sure don't love them!
I really don't like snakes!!! lol And to think I used to pick snakes up when I was a kid. :)
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