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 @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 @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 @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...