Starting off a conversation with “I like snakes” usually gets suspicious looks. I like snakes for two reasons: their form of locomotion amazes me (who would design a snake?) and they tend to eat things for which I harbor less enthusiasm, mostly the insects, grubs, worms and other things that make a meal of my garden before I do.
Wandering Garter
The most common snake in the Saratoga area is the wandering garter (Thamnophis elegans). They are a dull green to brown color, with pale yellow or orange stripes along the back and sides. Rows of dark spots, like checkers, are another good indicator.
Like all garter snakes, they are not venomous. Their food consists mostly of fish, frogs, insects, and earthworms. Their habitat reflects their diet, living mostly in grassy areas near ponds and streams. Their special fondness for fish has meant Forest Service staff often spot them stealing from our holding pens during fish surveys!
I’ve seen several in the past few weeks, including one along a shaded edge of my house. No fish there in the sagebrush, so I guess it will have to make due with the aforementioned garden ‘pests’!
Eastern Yellow-Bellied Racer
One of the speediest snakes here, or anywhere else, is the yellow-bellied racer (Coluber constrictor). These guys are FAST! Being somewhat curious, they are sometimes accused of ‘chasing’ people; their actual intent is just to figure out what you are. Most racers prefer open, grassy habitat where their keen eyesight and speed are useful.
Their backs and sides are a brownish-olive color, with a namesake yellow or green-yellow belly. They, too, live near water and in adjacent uplands, with a diet consisting of small rodents, frogs, toads, lizards, and other snakes. Some subspecies slither up trees to find eggs and young birds. Juveniles eat mostly soft-bodied insects, such as crickets and moths.
Despite their scientific name, constrictor, they do not use constriction to subdue/suffocate their prey. Instead, they hold it in place with their jaws and swallow. Not a particularly pleasant thought but what else are you going to do without any arms or legs?
Like most snakes, mating takes place in the spring. About a month later, female racers will lay eggs in a hidden nest in a hollow log, abandoned rodent burrow, or under a rock. The baby snakes hatch in the early fall and reach maturity in about two years. Racers have been known to lay eggs in communal sites, where a number of snakes, even those from other species, lay their eggs together.
Smooth Green
Smooth green snakes (Opheodrys vernalis) are, well, smooth and bright green, which renders them nearly invisible in tall grass. They are active only when the temperature is above 70 degrees. Adults feed almost exclusively on spiders and insects, especially grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, ants, and caterpillars. Hawks and garter snakes are among their known predators.
Because of their unusual temperature restriction, smooth green snakes are very docile, don’t bite, and are rather easy to catch or photograph. Since they are also extremely rare around here, we would be interested in a short report – where, when, general habitat, etc. – should you happen to find one. The Sierra Madres are your best chances.
Rattlesnakes
Rattlesnakes are generally uncommon in the Medicine Bow Forest, due to our higher elevations and correspondingly long winters. Like all reptiles, snakes depend on a warm climate to guide their metabolism. Cold weather inhibits their ability to catch food, so most reptiles live in warmer locales.
A few rattlers have been seen around here, usually on the edges of the forest in lower elevations, below about 7,500 feet, and particularly on south-facing slopes. While you could find a rattlesnake elsewhere, the most likely spots are probably on the far western side of the Sierra Madres.
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Like them or not, snakes are an integral part of our environment. As mentioned above, most of them eat bugs that bug us and aid in the processes that stimulate forest growth. For the most part, they just want to be left alone and would much rather escape when confronting ginormous humans. Think how much more interesting it would be to watch the unique way they move than run screaming for a shovel or broom.
Free posters of snakes, other reptiles, and many other critters are available from the U.S. Forest Service. Great for kids’ rooms, dens, orclassrooms, you can pick them up from our office in Saratoga – we’re open from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the summer. For more detailed information about our local snakes, contact me at 326-2501 or [email protected].
Hope to see you in the woods soon.
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