Snake Trap

[Didymus20X6]

Nothing yet. I did scent the funnel with worms, and I put a few drops of crappy bait scent in the worm dirt, just to kick the smell up a bit.

As for whether it would work, I did put my own snakes in it, while I was replacing the substrate in their regular enclosure, and while they loved climbing on top of the funnel to try to escape, it didn't seem to occur to them to climb through the funnel. But then again, that's not the way they entered, so that's no guarantee that one entering the trap won't find it's way back out.

I've given some thought to trying to create some sort of catch to the funnel, so that once a snake climbs in, its way out is blocked. The top of a bottle cap and a tiny hinge might do the trick, but I'm not really up to any more construction today. I'm still feeling a little ill from yesterday. Besides, I'm willing to bet the hardware store is closed.

[radtad]

Any success yet with the trap seems like a great idea

[flickerfriend]

Anything else with the trap?

[Steven@HumboldtHerps]

I'm gonna have to take "plywood" for 200 hundred "Bob!"

My favorite unintentional yield of a herp bounty came from the raising/razing (in this case the same) some old weed tarps that happened to cover small boulder piles. All sorts of critters had tunneled under the old fabric: 1 gopher snake, 2 ring-necks, a yellow-bellied racer, and an alligator lizard!

[mustang]

like a minnow trap great idea

[Didymus20X6]

LOOK WHAT I CAUGHT!!



The perspective on the bottle makes the snake appear smaller than it actually is.

The trap is a success. Sort of.

Okay, I exaggerated. Although I got this booger into the trap, he didn't actually go there on his own. I was out of nightcrawlers. I was actually going to measure the bolts on the trap for another project, when I saw this guy over by it. I put the trap in front of him, and used my hands to coax him into it. But once inside, he didn't seem to see the opening; but then again, he was in something of a panic, trying to get away from me. I borrowed a thatch-roof cottage for him, to keep him calm. But he's in the enclosure with the other two, awaiting transport to the woods (assuming I don't go ahead and build another enclosure for him).

So even if a snake doesn't wander into the trap looking for food, at least I can say it's a good way to safely catch the snakes without harming them.

[mustang]

LOOK WHAT I CAUGHT!!



The perspective on the bottle makes the snake appear smaller than it actually is.

The trap is a success. Sort of.

Okay, I exaggerated. Although I got this booger into the trap, he didn't actually go there on his own. I was out of nightcrawlers. I was actually going to measure the bolts on the trap for another project, when I saw this guy over by it. I put the trap in front of him, and used my hands to coax him into it. But once inside, he didn't seem to see the opening; but then again, he was in something of a panic, trying to get away from me. I borrowed a thatch-roof cottage for him, to keep him calm. But he's in the enclosure with the other two, awaiting transport to the woods (assuming I don't go ahead and build another enclosure for him).

So even if a snake doesn't wander into the trap looking for food, at least I can say it's a good way to safely catch the snakes without harming them.

great job i am impressed

[ConcinusMan]

I don't think you're going to get any garter to go in there on it's own, with or without worms. Wanna know the best garter snake trap I ever used? a friggen sheet of plywood. Doesn't exactly trap them, but a few boards placed in the right location can yield several garters daily.

[The Snake Whisperer]

Interesting snake, how common are garters who don't have dorsal stripes? I recently found a garter without a dorsal stripe too, first one I'd seen.

I would suggest you make the entrance to the trap to be as close to ground level as possible, my guess is that few garters will be willing to climb up into the entrance and a baby garter probably wouldn't be able to climb into it.

[ConcinusMan]

Quite a few eastern garters have no stripes or only a hint of one. T. ordinoides in the pacific NW sometimes have no stripes. Garters with no stripes are not all that uncommon.

I still say sheets of plywood are the best garter "trap" there is. Placed some out in a T. ordinoides area a couple of weeks ago. Even on days when the snakes are not active, you can find plenty of them hiding under the plywood.