Mastodawn

My neighbor and I were sitting by the shore, turn around and spot this handsome fellow! At least a metre long and about 10 m from the water. Totally immobile, even when a chipmunk hopped over him and the camera pointed at him. Eventually slithered down and curled up by a tree. Digesting? #NorthernWaterSnake #SnakesOfMastodon

@Byronrabbit Ohhh, he’s a big fellow! 😯

@Satori Yep. Harmless, but I don't fancy cuddling him. So many people hate snakes and would kill without thinking, especially one so big. Glad he feels safe here. They don't lay eggs, but give birth to live young late summer.

@Byronrabbit No snakes around Edmonton, although they say there are a few where water never freezes by the North Saskatchewan River. There are quite a few around Banff and Radium hot springs- those are the only places I’ve seen snakes!

@Satori No snakes, I had no idea. C'mon east! We even have rattlesnakes, but I've seen one only once. Fortunately, they're protected; $250K fine and/or 1 yr jail. Still, I suspect some are killed on the qt. Ugh, Homo sapiens..

@Byronrabbit yes Homo sapiens
Are hopeless! Gosh, I forgot to mention the rattlesnakes in the badlands! 🦖 So there ya go. It’s just so far south from us it feels like it’s another country….😂

Even the snakes say no thanks to living this far North. What a place. At least we have a Stanley Cup winning team. No, wait…

@Satori Edmonton has Skye! She makes up for the many shortcomings 😀

@Satori @Byronrabbit

No snakes around Edmonton? Are you sure? Almost everywhere has garter snakes and grass snakes and common harmless ones like that...

I've encountered a couple on my property over the years. And of course, Saskatchewan has rattlesnakes in the southwest corner of the province.

🐍

@cazabon @Byronrabbit No, and as family who has lived here forever, had farms, etc, no one we’ve ever known has encountered one in Edmonton (or Morinville/St Albert rural). It was one of the biggest (okay, like, only) advantages for my grandma when moving from Montreal 🤣🤣🤣- no snakes.

I’m sure there are outliers though, and anywhere water doesn’t freeze is a sure bet (river valley by outlets, water treatment plant..)

@Satori @Byronrabbit

I'm pretty sure they're there - you just don't notice them. Unlike frogs who croak in the evening and whatnot, snakes don't do anything that would bring them to your attention unless you're damn near stepping on them.

The red-sided garter snake's habitat appears to take in virtually all of Alberta, including Edmonton.
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/snakes-in-edmonton
https://birdwatchinghq.com/snakes-in-alberta/

#surprise #DangerNoodle #snake #range #invisible

'Have a lot to feed on:' Edmonton’s wet weather creating great environment for snakes, says reptile expert | Edmonton Journal

Edmonton’s wet weather is creating the perfect conditions for the city’s snake population to flourish, says a local reptile expert.

Edmonton Journal

@cazabon @Byronrabbit Yep, for sure, estimated thousands around the river valley where it doesn’t freeze solid (it’s a big valley!) sounds about right! 😊

@Satori @cazabon Temperature and rainfall aside, what self-respecting serpent would go anywhere near a plastic turf mini-golf, even if there was an all-you-can-eat vole bar nearby? No siree, never!

@Byronrabbit @Satori

😆

@Byronrabbit @cazabon 🤣🤣🤣

@Satori @Byronrabbit

Here's one from a couple of years ago who decided to sun himself on the concrete walk up to my front door.

Just for your grandma 😜

#snake #GarterSnake #SK #saskatchewan #canada

@cazabon @Byronrabbit lol!! That is awesome, he is a cutie! She had a nest in the backyard, so she definitely had her fill 😂! ❤️

@cazabon @Satori Oh cool! Reminds me of an incident when we were living in Ohio. I open the front door to shake out a mat and there's this big rat snake stretched across the outside threshold. Yep, I screamed and, visibly offended, he took off. The funny thing was we had a similar object on the inside threshold -- a pastel draft dodger with a bunny head and tail and a looong tubelike body with no limbs.

@Byronrabbit @Satori

That's hilarious! 😱

I'm picturing old Warner Brothers cartoons where the character grabs a tool or something without looking and ends up pounding nails in with Sylvester the cat - you grabbing the snake and putting it back against the door to stop draughts...

@cazabon @Satori 🤣🤣🤣

@Satori @Byronrabbit

Well, guess what I happened to spy out my front door tonight, lying on the warm concrete that had #baked in the #sun all afternoon?

And he/she brought a #friend this time!

If there are any #herpetologists out there, I'd be curious if this behaviour means anything, or if they're just sharing heat or something. The colouring and size differ between them, so is this a male and a female?

(Regina, SK, middle of the #Canadian prairies)

#snakes #herpetology #herpetologist

@cazabon @Satori Oh wow! Since it's warm, they wouldn't need to huddle for heat. If they're mating, you may be lucky enough to see babies in a couple months. Hope someone here can give answers.

@cazabon @Byronrabbit Oh my gosh, this is incredible! 😂 You might need to take up snake charming as a side gig, especially if they’re feeling amorous..

@Satori @cazabon A quick Google says garter snakes typically give birth to 15-20 young. You may need an assistant for the gig.

@Byronrabbit @Satori

I don't know if I even have that many clean sheets, or can boil enough water for that!*

A gaggle - a slither? - of little garter snakes would be fun. I'll keep an eye out.

[*] Seriously, on TV they always called for clean sheets and boiling water. Why? 😜

@cazabon @Satori Ha ha! I think... Warm compresses relax the vaginal muscles and ease pain. And then clean off the baby. Or 20 of them ...

@Byronrabbit @cazabon I thought it was just to get the men out of the way? 😉

@Satori @Byronrabbit

Doing a little more reading on garter snakes and came across this...

> ... when females enter the mating melee.

Sometimes I'm glad I'm (mostly) human.

#snake #MatingMelee #mating #melee #MostlyHuman #human

@cazabon @Byronrabbit 🤣🤣🤣

@cazabon @Satori Heck, if you're gonna have 20 babies, why pin your hopes on one guy when you can have a couple dozen?

@Byronrabbit @cazabon 🤣🤣🤣

@Satori @cazabon That's the real reason!

♍️ Heather 👩🏻‍🦯Jul 1, 2024

@cazabon @Satori @Byronrabbit Maybe they just finished mating?

Fishy Jun 26, 2024

@Byronrabbit That’s a chonk for sure. Looks to me like you’re correct that they might’ve had a big meal and need to sleep it off a bit. 😂

@trtmn What’s odd is that he was stretched out in plain sight, very vulnerable. In my limited experience, they choose secluded space and curl up. Not hunting, because sparrows and chipmunks were within easy strike. Privileged to have seen this!

Fishy Jun 26, 2024

@Byronrabbit That’s so cool! I love that you have a respect for nature. I probably would’ve been on “high alert”, but still always love to learn things.

In a similar vein, we love bees. While yes, there can be a sting, they’re not a bad animal (obviously quite the opposite). And he would frequently let them hang out on his head and drink his sweat. 😂

Bonus Bee pic:

@trtmn Wow, what a cool pic! Reciprocal trust!