Can you identify my critter??

[Kale]

I was thinking Gartersnake also, Kale. We have them here and they come in all different colors and patterns. In my opinion...they are all ICK!! But I am sure they have some purpose...other than freaking me out, otherwise...they would not be here.

Thank you..


I did a search for garter snakes and saw on that looked quite a bit like my running loose fellas.
Ok now what? how did they get here without a mother?
Someone ate lots of frogs and toads and fish I had.
I know in my heart my froggies didn't leave their homes they loved their homes.They came out the same times every day and sat in the sun for a while.
Anyway before I start writing a story about a frog.. Do you think his (the snakes) mother is the one that ate them (the frogs) ?

OK now I have to study the snake

What do you think?
Do they eat frogs (3yrs and younger) and toads?
Thank you..

Kale

 

[Dale]

Snakes eat frogs!!! We put out sulphur around in the flower beds. Can get it from hardware store. Only trouble you have to replenish the sulphur after a big rain. Or better yet get a cat. A good cat will keep the snakes away whether killing them or running them out of your yard.

 

[Crabbergirl]

Moth balls, ( hihgly toxic Yuck!) will keep snakes away but like most other methods of this type must be replaced often. We have moccasins ,rattlers , and coral snakes. I was going to post a bug pic for Kale but this one is better for current topic. I stepped on this guy while clearing some brush it's a wonder he didn't get me. I had time to go get a camera and come back before he moved on.

 

[Crabbergirl]

OK Now for the picture for Kale! This guy was hanging out by my back door. I know what he is but thought you might like to check him out.
I couldn't get this to post any bigger an it is a shame because you can see his eyes and his mouth;(

 

[Gardengoddess]

They're also great for spooking teachers lol! My daughter was in fifth grade when we moved out to Gresham. She made friends by catching the garter snakes in the school yard at West Gresham Grade School. Of course when I went in for teacher conference her teacher told me that she would bring the snakes into the classroom. I managed to keep a straight face until I got out of there. Then I laughed myself silly.

She would also rescue the snakes from the cats;-)

Dora/Garden Goddess

 

[Mainegal]

I do not like snakes, whether they are poisionous or not.I know they do eat the mice and moles but I still don't like them in my yard.
3 summers ago one hung out all summer by the outside faucet out back, I would not use that faucet all summer, hooked all my hoses to the front faucet..... i threw rocks, sticks at it and it would strike them but it never moved so it got it's wish... i moved the hose...

 

[Kale]

Crabber I do not deal with snakes well, although I have pet one in the early 90's I had a lady in black that lived next door that use to bring hers LARGE ones out and peel them finally I touched one what soft skin like a baby's butt.
That was my first and last touch,I simply do not trust them.
Glad you got away from him! wow! I think that would end my ground gardening everything would be container grown!
The Katydid is pretty .I rescued one they are so cool and friendly,more so then Preying mantis'.
I think you have a male there the female has a like hook like thing on their behind.

Here's one from this year at the Town Gazebo Rose Garden I tend.
One flew in my car; found him when I got home *LOL so ..I had to put him in my garden because I didn't have time to bring her back and didn't want to forget her in a container.


*LOL
Funny Mainegal!
I had large grasshoppers that would jump (fly) across the driveway every time my daughter would walk to the back *LOL she said "Put a sign ..Warning flying hoppers pass with caution!" She would get startled ever time she went out*LOL I think they liked her...*LOL flew right across her face a few times she screamed like she saw a monster with 3heads and 5 eyes!*LOL One time she screamed ahead of time I ran to see she said The grasshopper..I said what!??
A grasshopper scared you again she stated no but I know he will.*LOL I was floored by that one*LOL We laughed then he flew past her face..true story!


Kale*LOL

 

[Flower4Yeshua]

Dora, Your daughter must be related to mine...she loved to find them and then find me...come up from behind and say "Mom!!! Got something for you" you would think I would learn. But alot of times she had flowers...Thank goodness I had thick skin...she also loved to get my mom with spiders...OY ! the child

 

[Randy]

Sure snakes eat frogs. A friend of mine from Oklahoma told me about an encounter he had with a water mocassin one time. He had gone fishing and on the way to the fishing hole, he stopped by "the designated stum" where he had left a $5 bill earlier. On his return, the money was replaced by a quart jar of "white lightning". He took his jar and headed on down to fish. When he got there though he remembered that he had forgotten to bring along any bait. Surveying the situation though, he spotted a water mocassin that had caught a frog and was just starting to swallow it. Jess took a stick and held the snakes head down and took the frog out of the snake's mouth mouth and started putting the frog on his hook for bait. He looked down at the snake and the snake looked so forlorn, that Jess felt sorry for it and opened the jar of white lightning and poured some in the snakes open mouth when he hissed at him. The snake took off into the brush at that point. Jess tossed the frog out by a likely looking stump where he figured he could snag a bass. Sure enough, the frog had just settled down and a whopper took the bait and hooked himself. As Jess was trying to reel in the fish, he felt a thumping on his leg. He ignored it but it became more persistent. When he looked down, there was that snake with another frog in it's mouth.

 

[Gardengoddess]

Dora, Your daughter must be related to mine...she loved to find them and then find me...come up from behind and say "Mom!!! Got something for you" you would think I would learn. But alot of times she had flowers...Thank goodness I had thick skin...she also loved to get my mom with spiders...OY ! the child

Snakes I can handle, what gets me is bugs that are bigger than my big toe. I had a friend in high school that brought home a tarantula and plopped it on his mom's knee. I would have been on the ceiling! Thank goodness my kids never brought on of those home

Dora/Garden Goddess

 

[mawnature]

Kale's Kritter...

Kale....don't be alarmed about the kritter you found ...I know the first instinct is to KILL IT! But, everything has it's spot in the ecosystem. Yes, we do have to beware of snakes, bears, wasps, bees, and the like because they will attack and cause us harm. What you've found, though, as ugly as it is, is a harmless, and helpful aquatic earthworm. They live in soft wet soil, and mind their own business. Is this what your kritter looks like?

 

[GardenBear1]

Randy how much shine did your friend say he drank while fishing ? if he gave the frog some shine to drink he would have found bigger fish in the water

 

[Kale]

Kale....don't be alarmed about the kritter you found ...I know the first instinct is to KILL IT! But, everything has it's spot in the ecosystem. Yes, we do have to beware of snakes, bears, wasps, bees, and the like because they will attack and cause us harm. What you've found, though, as ugly as it is, is a harmless, and helpful aquatic earthworm. They live in soft wet soil, and mind their own business. Is this what your kritter looks like?

I guess you do not know me yet *LOL!!

Actually my first instinct is to get it in a safe container get pics and then watch it for as long as it takes to learn all about it.

I am a critter lover seeing them excites me to the microscope if they are dead already*LOL Pictures and watching them amazes me I try to find out what (at least one) of their purpose is in this world and try to understand what God was thinking when he created these things*LOL
Everyone and thing has a wonderful meaningful purpose even when we do not understand how there can be for some things or people at times.

Actually, I was contemplating having this thing as a pet, only I couldn't id it to care for it. and learn all about it .
And it got away after pretending death.
It was not in wet soil and lived fine in dry soil.

I didnt think he/she was ugly at all!

I thought it was rather interesting*LOL

Rather cool and was extremely excited to have seen the second one, searched for a 3rd!

Now if it was a big mean snake,I would be inside watching my plants grow from the surveillance monitor going from one camera to another!!*!LOL

***I could only see the pic you posted if I could get my monitor under my microscope!*LOL didn't you see my pic?
Does yours look like mine? I can almost bet a kale plant that it is not a Worm! It did not have sections and I tell you it knew aggression. Worms are passivises; non confrontational.


Look at the second pic from the link I posted tell me what you think...
thank you for all your input!!


Kale

 

[Sashweezy]

Lol, Kale, keep it for a pet? I like to snuggle with my pets. The critters I find in the garden stay there. So you haven't identified it yet? We don't have a lot of snakes here either and I haven't had a surprise in the garden. eg. anything that I haven't been able to identify on first discovery. Thank goodness for that. One friend found a baby Massassauga Rattlesnake in some wood that was trucked in for his woodstove. It came from the Gibson Reserve that is mostly rock and it's the only rattler in this area. He captured it in a mason jar and had it identified by the Ministry of Natural Resources. Poor thing must have decided the logs were a great place to sleep.

 

[Randy]

Randy how much shine did your friend say he drank while fishing ? if he gave the frog some shine to drink he would have found bigger fish in the water

That story is taken from a book that my daughter gave me about 15 years ago. The title is "Tall Stories" and it was compiled by Llowell Thomas and published in 1938. My friend's name was Jess and he passed away last October at 87 years old. I would tell these 'tall tales' like he was the one in the story and he enjoyed those whoppers as much as anybody else did. There are about a half dozen of those whoppers that I will tell to the listeners I read to at the nursing homes on occasion. They sound fairly plausible until the punch line. But it seems like almost everybody appreciates a good story.

 

[deck chucker]

That was a cute story, Randy.

Isn't the green bug a katydid? That's what we call them up here.
I used to have a green snake we kept in a dry aquarium. Had I known she was going to lay eggs I'd have had a bigger water dish in there because they need that. I called the pet store, but they'd shriveled a bit so I lost them. But anyways, I had the tank sitting outside one day and put a grasshopper and mantis in there just to see which it would go for. It liked worms as a rule. I was shocked to see the mantis attack the grasshopper right at the neck area and it was munching on that. The snake then ate the mantis. Little circle of life. The only time the snake ever struck was the day before she had her eggs so I chalked that up to survival instinct. She was fine after that, too. She was in the tank anyways and had hit the glass so there was no injury to me or her.

When a boy who was like a son to us lived here for a few years he and I went fishing a lot. If we weren't catching anything sometimes he'd go snake hunting alog the river banks. A couple places had unbelievable amounts of all kinds. I didn't know there were so many up here. And of course, we had to bring at least one small one home in a pop bottle in the trunk with the gear.

 

[Randy]

It took me a lot of years to get over a fear of snakes. I don't really get into the back country any more, but when I did, I would never be without a sidearm in case I ran into a rattler. I killed a few of them, but at this point, I would let them be unless I was in cattle country. My nephew is a rancher and he told me that he does lose cattle to the snakes.