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WHAT THE????
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by natedog08 on October 9, 2006
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The worst time of the year in pennsylvania. Winter. We're getting another early winter as we had snow last week. I cant even herp because they dont come out in these conditions. Or do they???....
Last week i was taking a nature walk and i saw somekind of snake wondering around in 1/4 of an inch of snow. Is this thing sick, or did it somehow adapt to these harsh conditions. And cro, before you even say anything about a field guide, i got one and nothing looked like it...lol
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RE: WHAT THE????
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by captiveherps on October 9, 2006
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Wow, we dont even have snow here in Canada yet.
I have seen photos of Vipera on top of 2 or 3 feet of snow. I think they were on this site.
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RE: WHAT THE????
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by Cro on October 9, 2006
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Nathan, it is good you got yourself a field guide.
Some snakes are really variable in their colortions and dont always match the photos in a field guide all that well, but it should still help.
The snake that was caught out in the snow probably just got unlucky. Maybee it was hiding under something like a log pile or rocks or a leaf pile that someone mooved.
Sometimes when the snow comes really early, snakes have not made it to the place where they hibernate, so they get stranded. If the snake cannot find shelter where it is above freezing, the weather will kill it.
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: WHAT THE????
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by SimplySnakes on October 10, 2006
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Hey, I have found eastern garter snakes eating thawing snow for moisture. A friend of mine found two Bullsnakes in Texas crawling from one snow bank across a road into another at different times. It can happen. Snakes may encounter snow as they are heading to densites and get caught by it unexpectedly. Maybe your snake in the snow was a abberant morph? Thats why it's not in the field guide. Can you describe the snake? Colors, size, and anuthing else you noticed?
Paul
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RE: WHAT THE????
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by natedog08 on October 10, 2006
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it almost looked like a garter, but it was a pale green, almost like a ocean foam green, if you know what color that is. The size was about 2 feet. Maybe a little bit longer. There was a unusual thing i noticed about this snake. It was going side to side like a desert sidewinder. Very wierd, it might have been injured and i didnt see it, but dont you think thats pretty wierd?!?!?!? This is a great find in my book, very odd.
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by Cro on October 10, 2006
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Nathan, Garter snakes can vary in color from a light green or yellowish to an almost solid black. The guy writing the field guide probably just picked the prettiest photo to put in his book.
The sidewinding motion you saw is something snakes do when they are on a surface they do not want to be on, or a very slick surface where they are getting no traction, like glass or ice.
It is a surface that is too hot or too cold or too smooth, and the snake is probably trying to reduce contact with that surface, just like Sidewinders do to avoid contact with the hot sand.
Very good detailed observations that you made.
Best Regards JohnZ
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by snakeguy101 on October 10, 2006
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good to see that you are back, i personaly think that it was a garter as well, in jacksonville we get a bunch of pale green to blueish colorations as the several feild guids that i have depict them as brown or orange
best of luck,
chris hartmann
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by natedog08 on October 11, 2006
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WOW, Didnt think you guys would have an answer the sidewinding motion i saw. You guys are like a snake dictionary!!! I couldnt tell you how many emails i got about people finding snakes in the winter. I was suprised when i read some of the stories.
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by YoungHerp1 on October 14, 2006
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2 years ago me and my buddy went hunting. Out on my property in southern michigan. I found a big garter snake moving about in the snow, now it was early November too. I grabbed him up, put him in my coat to warm him up, and kept him until the next spring. Alot of strange things can happen in the herping world. Like cro said feild guides are teh best i have about 4or5 lol. good luck
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