Tom's Catch-and-Relase Program

[Sid]

I think Blackie was a black racer. :P

Racers have a slate gray belly. Could be a Black Rat snake.

[Didymus20X6]

I bet it was a racer. The descriptions I've read seem to fit. That would make sense of the speed of his swimming. Probably a Southern Black Racer. If I ever see him again (and I'm sure I'll be in that neck of the woods the next time I need to release some garters), I'll make sure to get a pic.

Whoever thought herping could be so much fun?

[Didymus20X6]

For those of you wondering why I haven't updated this thing lately, the reason is very simple: because I haven't caught any in a while. Partly because I've been away on business a good bit, but mostly because I'm just not seeing as many garters around lately. There's a few around, I'm sure, but they tend to stay out of sight these days.

I figure there's probably three reasons:

1. It's too blasted hot. This is, after all, the Mississippi Delta in mid-summer.

2. The local population has been diminished significantly ( ).

3. They know I'm after them and are avoiding me.

I've even resorted to asking the neighbors around if they mind me herping in their yards. Most of them are glad to, so long as I'm removing them. But so far, only one or two spots here and there, and no catches recently. As terrified as I was of them a few months ago, I'm beginning to miss them now.

[Didymus20X6]

=D

I just spotted a garter in the backyard!

=(

He got away. Even went hunting for him in the neighbor's yard, on the other side of the fence. He's long gone, though.

But that means there's still more around here!

[Didymus20X6]

On the plus side, I now have permission from most of my neighbors to herp in their yards. So if any of you guys ever travel through the Mississippi Delta, look me up, you can help me with the project.

[mustang]

One rescue yesterday!

Didn't get a pic, though. But I did get some nifty new binoculars, which I hope will help with spotting them so I don't have to nearly step on them to find them.

Anyway, after I released that one, I decided to see if I could spot some other wild life with the new glasses. I got on the bridge and started looking in the stream. And lo and behold, right below me in the water was a big, plump snake. It must have been about 4 feet long, and had a pretty thick body. At first I thought it was a moccasin, but its head reminded me more of a garter snake's head than that of a crotalid; it also had round pupils, rather than the vertical slots that crotalids have. But it definitely wasn't a garter: the patterns on its back were diamond shaped. My guess is a Nerodia rhombifer. Even so, we have a saying where I'm from: If it looks like a moccasin, don't take any chances.

I watched him for a bit, but then a fish splashed near him, scaring him off. I then spotted another snake in the water, initially thinking it to be the same one. But this one was definitely greener, and had a checkered pattern on his back. I almost would have thought he was one of my garters, but I couldn't see the telltale stripes.

Then, as I was watching that one, I spotted yet a third snake. I have no idea what kind he was, but he was almost completely black on top, with a lighter coloration on the underside. He was at least 4 feet long, probably longer. Head, definitely colubrid shaped with round pupils. Unlike the other two snakes, this one seemed very active, probing around in the water as if it were hunting. At one point, I thought it was going to attack the checkered snake, but that one disappeared under the water as soon as Blackie came within close proximity. I spent the better part of an hour watching Blackie, trying to figure out what he was, until he went under the bridge where I couldn't see him anymore. He seemed to be missing part of his tail, and judging from the redness of it, it must have been a recent injury.

I wish I had had my camera. And from now on, I'm not going out there without it. I would just love to know what kind of snake ol' Blackie was.

Anyway, here's THE PLACE where I've been taking my garters.

EVERYONE LISTEN UP!!!! what u saw was a diamond back water snake they get big and black racers DO NOT HAVE DIAMOMNDS

[Didymus20X6]

Then, as I was watching that one, I spotted yet a third snake. I have no idea what kind he was, but he was almost completely black on top, with a lighter coloration on the underside.

This is the one we think was a Racer. The other two most likely were nerodia of one typle or another.

[Didymus20X6]

Today, as I was walking to work, I noticed a whole bunch of nightcrawlers all up and down the sidewalks. So, on a whim, I decided to collect a few and put them in a bucket in the back yard. This is the result:







About a half hour after I put the nightcrawlers in the bucket, I saw his little head sticking up out of the grass. But before I could get my trash can, he disappeared. After watching for him for a while, I went inside to interweb for a bit. As soon as I came back out, there he was, his little noggin poking around the nightcrawler bucket, just as I anticipated.

I'm planning on releasing him in a different place than where I released the other garters. I don't want to overpopulate the release site. I'd almost want to keep him, but my landlady has a strict no-pets policy, and I seriously doubt she'll make an exception for a snake (especially not after the trouble that one neighbor lady gave her about them - I am so glad she moved out, and not just because a cute young lady moved into her apartment).

[MichaelSmith]

Hi,
I love how much you care about these snakes, and hate to inject any sort of negative note, but I want to comment about problems sometimes seen when reptiles are relocated.

Reptile species tend to establish home ranges - that is, areas that they get to know and may stay within. To one extent or another, reptile species may show "site fidelity," meaning that they stay in that same area and may try to find it if relocated. Some species have had trouble re-establishing home ranges if moved, and may wander around. This can result in (a) running into hazards - roads, predators, and the like; and (b) using up energy that should be allocated to hunting, finding shelter, etc. Some of the species studied by radio-tracking and recapture show higher mortality than non-relocated snakes. One example: a study of eastern hognose snakes in Arkansas by Mike Plummer found some level of mortality in the resident snakes, but ALL of the relocated snakes were lost during the study.

Of course, if the neighbors are committed to killing all the snakes, then the calculation is like this: is the chance of survival higher if you're relocated, or if you stay in the same place and take a chance on being found by the neighbors. For all I know, the snakes may still have a better chance if relocated. It's something to think about, though.

[Didymus20X6]

It's a calculated risk, but one, I feel, worth taking. Around here, most of the neighbors will kill them if they turn up in the wrong place. I have seen headless snakes on the curb before.

When I first started catching them, there was a lady living next door who kept threatening to have our landlady kill them all. I tried to explain to her how pointless that was, but she wouldn't listen. It was mainly to keep her from going berserk that I started catching them. She finally moved out, thanks be to God, and the young lady who lives there now actually used to be close friends with a herpatologist, so she's pretty cool.

Also, I'm hoping that, by seeing someone who cares about these creatures, the neighbors might finally come to realize that they need not be hated or feared.