Snakes bring out the best or the worst in people. I find myself feeling all warm and fuzzy towards people who call because they are concerned about one of their “barn snakes”. More often then not my wildlife calls that pertain to snakes involve someone (likely standing on a table) screaming at me and demanding I come to get the six-inch garter snake out of their yard.
Nope, sorry, that’s not my job. I am rehabilitation. I calmly explain to them that when the snake finishes their tanning session they will move on and not be seen. You can keep reading to find out some ways to repel or attract snakes.
Kentucky has 33 native snakes of which only four are venomous. Snakes are very beneficial to the environment. They eat rodents and help to lower diseases, including Lyme Disease, spread by these animals.
This article will talk about snakes’ physical features, introduce you to several of the cool Kentucky species, how to attract or repel snakes humanely in the garden, snake rehabilitation, and what to do if you are bitten by a snake.
Big Shout out to Dr. David Steen of Alongside Wildlife Foundation. He donated his most fabulous book, Secrets of Snakes, to us which is full of interesting snake facts.
Keep Reading!
Snakes are beautiful animals. At Fox Run EEC we think Corny is quite the handsome boy. You can learn more about corn snakes on our blog and YouTube video.
Snakes Are Helpers
Snakes play a very important role in their ecosystems. Interestingly, they are both predator and prey. They prey on rodents that often carry disease. Snakes are good to have on farms because they help keep down these rodents which often damage farmers’ crops.
Rodents do as much as twenty million dollars of damage to farm crops and equipment every year. Snakes are a free and environmentally friendly alternative to rodenticides.
In addition, snakes help reduce the incidence of Lyme disease. Lyme disease is spread by fleas and ticks which often live on rodents’ bodies.
Some snakes are prey animals and serve to feed a variety of other animals including birds and larger reptiles. This helps keep the balance of the food web going smoothly.
Look Ma No Legs!
How Do Snakes Move?
Physically snakes are fascinating creatures. They have long, slender, limbless bodies that slither along the ground.
Snakes have numerous muscles in their bodies. The muscles lift the scales and help the body move forward. Snakes can move easier over a rough surface that their body can “grip”.
What Function Do Scales Have?
Snake’s bodies are covered in scales. The scales help them to conserve water and also protect their bodies when they move along the ground.
Scales are made of keratin - just like your fingernails.
My latest book in my wildlife rehabilitation series.
Senses
Snakes’ senses are a bit different from mammals. This does not mean that they don’t sense things as well. It’s just different.
Sight
They do have eyes however snakes typically have poor vision and don’t see well. Living at ground level they do not have a broad range of vision and it is not a sense they use to find food. That said arboreal species do have a better vision range.
Interestingly some species of snakes have color vision while others do not.
Hearing
Snakes do not have external ears which has led many people to assume they don’t hear. This is a misconception. Snakes have inner ears much like other animals with bones that pick up vibrations.
Snakes have a quadrate bone. This bone connects the lower jaw and skull and transmits ground vibrations to the columella or middle ear bone. The columella then sends the signal to the inner ear and this signals the brain.
Smell and Taste
In the snake, these two senses are intertwined. Snakes are the bloodhounds of the reptile world!
Snakes have nostrils that allow them to breathe in air that goes to their lungs. However, they don’t sense smells via the air coming into there nostrils.
Instead, snakes have forked tongues that aid them in smell. The tongue can sense prey nearby or a dangerous animal.
Scientists refer to this as a chemosensory device. The tongue flicks in and out of the mouth and brings the information into the body. The snake has a small opening in the front of their mouth so they can stick out their tongue without ever opening their mouth.
A special organ called a vomeronasal organ interprets the data. This vomeronasal organ sometimes called the Jacobson organ is located on the palate of the upper mouth.
Interesting fact: All vertebrates have this organ but very mammals use it. Male deer use their Jacobson organ during mating season to sense the hormonal smells of the female. You can read more about white-tailed deer in our blog.
Why Do Snakes Have Forked Tongues?
Snakes have forked tongues because the vomeronasal organ is divided into two pit receptors. The forked tongue picks up particles from air molecules and then places the forked tongue on the roof of the mouth into both pits transferring the information. Pretty cool!
Touch
Snakes have a well-developed sense of touch. This makes sense since they are crawling around on their bellies.
You may think their skin or scales is rough and thick. However, they feel very smooth and soft. The snake’s skin contains many tactile receptors. This helps them move over uneven ground and react to dangers in the environment.
Heat Receptors
Snakes have a sixth sense. No, they can not read your mind.
Heat receptors allow them to sense the heat of another animal. Typically a mammal that may be prey like a mouse or danger such as a human. Heat receptors especially help when snakes are hunting at night.
These heat receptors actually help the snake “see” an image. The sensory pits are located under the snake’s eyes. Sometimes people mistake them for nostrils.
The University of Kentucky Department of Forestry has a wonderful snake identification website. Check it out if you need help identifying a snake. Hint: They are not all copperheads.
Here are a few of the cool snake species in Kentucky.
Corn snake eggs and hatchling. Photo by LA Dawson
Reproduction: To Egg or Not To Egg?
Snakes are an interesting animal when it comes to reproduction. Some snakes lay eggs. Some snakes give live birth.
Ancestors of snakes were egg layers. Egg layers have advantages. Each egg has an individual chance of survival. They aren’t dependent on a living body.
However, some snakes evolved to give birth to live young. Many of these snakes live in cooler climates.
In a cooler climate, it’s an advantage to keep your babies inside you where they are protected and warm. Babies that develop inside their mother are born ready to find places to hide and hibernate when winter arrives.
In addition, it’s a myth that all snakes abandoned their babies to the world. Rattlesnakes, in fact, often hang out with their live birth babies till the babies have their first shed.
Non-Venomous Snakes
Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoletus)
Black Rat Snake Photo by Judy Gallagher
A very long dark snake that can get six feet long. The shiny black or dark brown scales sometimes have flecks of cream coloring. They are a different species than the racer.
The black rat snake is comfortable around humans and is often found in barns and under older houses. They feed on rodents which they kill with constriction.
Rat snakes are good climbers, and you may see them in the rafters of your barn. They will climb trees to prey on bird eggs or nestlings.
They mate in late spring and five weeks later the female will lay up to twenty eggs. The eggs hatch after seventy days of incubation in late summer. Mom does not stay around to nurture the eggs.
Eastern Garter snake
A smaller common snake is often observed in yards and around gardens. It’s relatively small and gets to be about two feet long.
They come in a variety of shades of brown, green, and olive. Typically has three yellow stripes down its back with a lighter color belly accented with dark spots.
Garter snakes are a gardener’s friend and should be treated as a benefit to have around. They eat a number of garden pests such as slugs, grasshoppers, and grubs.
The females only mate every two or three years. They give birth to live young in late summer.
Learn more about the sociable Garter snake! Check out my YouTube Channel for wildlife and organic gardening videos.
Snake Friends
You probably think of snakes as extreme introverts that want to be left alone. However, a study done by Morgan Skinner found that some snakes interact well with others. Skinner found that the Eastern Garter snake sought out social contacts.
In the past snakes have been observed in groups. It has been theorized the snakes come together for mating, or to hibernate, or a defense against predators. But it goes beyond that.
Noam Miller, who is a comparative psychologist and Skinner’s academic advisor, said that research on studying the social interactions of wild animals has come a long way in recent years. Miller said that the snakes have a more “sophisticated cognition” than we have given them credit for.
The scientific community is starting to use the word “friend” to describe animal relationships. Skinner’s study showed that even if he rearranges the snakes they would move around and seek out prior snake friends.
Garter snakes are not the only social serpent. Cottonmouths (discussed below) have also been observed pairing off and foraging together. Melissa Amarello, director of Advocates for Snake Preservation, has observed rattlesnakes living communally and caring for the young.
Eastern Hog Nose Snake (Heterodon platirhinos)
The Hognose Snake. Personally, I think these guys are adorable. Picture via Virgina State Parks.
The hognose is a distinctive looking snake and is easily identifiable by its upturned snout resembling a pig. The colorations vary from yellow through to green with darker splotches along the back and will reach up to three feet in length. It’s sometimes referred to as the ‘puff adder’ or ‘blow viper’ due to its defensive technique of flattening its head and hissing. Although sometimes it will regurgitate its last meal or just play dead.
The Eastern hognose snake is a common, non-venomous snake found throughout the state of Kentucky. It will make its home in various different habitats, from fields to wetlands and forests, although it seems to favor sandy areas along lakes and rivers.
Amphibians feature heavily in this snake’s diet, with toads being considered a delicacy. Toads puff themselves up when threatened to make it harder to be swallowed whole, but the hognose has a specialist weapon to counteract this. They have enlarged teeth at the back of their mouth which are used to deflate the toad making it digestible.
Eastern hognoses are oviparous which means they lay eggs. In late spring the females will lay between 15-25 eggs hidden away underneath boulders or piles of wood.
The hognose snake has some interesting defense mechanisms. They can puff out their throat to look menacing. In addition, they can regurgitate food, smell bad and defecate in order to discourage predators.
They even play dead. When we were kids we called them zombie snakes! The hognose will literally flip itself over and not move.
Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon)
This poor snake is often killed because people think it’s a copper head or a cottonmouth. They are common in farm ponds, creeks, and lakes in Kentucky.
Snakes are good swimmers. Water snakes as their name imply spend much of their time in the water and eat fish and frogs.
They are also referred to as the common water snake. A long streamlined snake that averages about two and a half feet.
They have a lot of color variation from brown, gray, reddish, or brownish-black. Water snakes have dark crossbands starting at the neck and going down the body. Their underside varies in color as well. It can be gray, yellow, or cream-colored. Typically they have reddish or black crescents. This feature often leads to them being misidentified as a venomous snake.
Don’t confuse them with the cottonmouth discussed below. They are a slimmer snake with a more flattened head about the same width as its neck. Water snakes have round pupils and don’t have heat-sensing pits.
Red-Bellied Mudsnake (Farancia abacura)
This beautiful guy is found in Western Kentucky. Photo by Peter Paplanus.
With its shiny black back and striking underbelly resembling a black and red checkerboard, this is one of Kentucky’s standout snakes. Despite its colorful appearance, it is an incredibly shy creature and will avoid human contact at all costs. The young of the species are similar in appearance to the adults, although they sometimes have red bands present on their backs, which will fade with age.
These attractive, non-venomous snakes can be found in the aquatic habitats of western Kentucky. They make their homes near lakes, waterways, and swamplands where they will feed on tadpoles, fish, and salamanders.
As well as their bright markings the red-bellied mud snake also has the impressive feature of small spines on the tips of their tails, which they use to strike out at predators. For this reason, they are sometimes known as ‘horned snakes’.
They are egg-laying or Oviparous. The females will lay their eggs in moist soil in spring or early summer. Once hatched the young snakes won’t venture into the water until after their first winter.
Venomous Snakes
How Can You Tell if a Snake is Venomous?
There is no one rule that fits all when it comes to establishing the identity of snakes. We often hear that a triangular head and vertical pupils are the identifying trademarks. In Kentucky, our venomous snakes are in the pit viper family and do follow those generalizations.
However, if your family travels to Florida and comes across a coral snake they are highly venomous and have round pupils. Scientists feel the shape of the pupils is more related to the snakes hunting patterns,
This black rat snake has flattened his head in a defensive posture meant to frighten predators away. This snake is not venomous.
Non-venomous snakes will flatten their heads in order to look like a venomous relative. Pretty clever huh? And often we humans fall for that bit of mimicry. Both hognose and water snakes are very good at pretending.
Copperhead (Agkistroden contortix)
Copperheads have a distinctive hourglass shaped pattern. Photo by Andy Reago.
The widespread copperhead is Kentucky’s most common venomous snake, with healthy populations being found throughout the state.
Their coloration, which varies from reddish brown through to brown means they look similar to some of Kentucky’s other snakes, although copperheads have beautiful chestnut crossbands that form hourglass shapes along the back, which are wider on the snake’s sides, and narrower along the middle.
Young copperheads have a yellowish tail tip, which they cleverly use to lure prey such as small toads and insects to within striking distance. These colorings disappear with age. The adults prey mainly on small mammals and lizards but will happily eat frogs, insects, and even small birds.
Growing up to two feet and sometimes longer, they can be found on rocky, wooded hill slopes, but also in lowland areas preferring to frequent log piles, or rotting wood.
The females give birth to live young (viviparity) in the late summer or early fall, where she will remain with them for several weeks.
Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
This forest-dwelling snake is patterned with dark crossbands against grey, green, or yellow back – these colors will vary between individuals. With some adults reaching up to an impressive 5ft in length (although two to three feet is more common) the timber rattlesnake is the largest of Kentucky’s venomous snakes.
Once found across the state the timber rattlesnake is now constricted to the heavy forest areas and hasn’t been recorded within the north of Kentucky. Its diet consists mainly of rodents with squirrels having the top spot on the menu. It will lie in wait on the forest floor, perfectly camouflaged amongst the dead leaves, ready to ambush its prey.
Another viviparous species, timber rattlesnakes will give birth to live young, although they won’t give birth until they are four to six years old and even then, they will only give birth every other year. This limited breeding range means that they are vulnerable to human persecution and habitat loss, although Kentucky has a healthy population, they are considered a ‘Species of Greatest Conservation Need’.
They are also a long-lived species and have been known to live up to 25 years in the wild.
Another great tidbit about the Timber Rattler is that they can and do climb trees. No, they are not going to drop down on you!
We often think of rattlesnakes as hiding under rocks or logs in the woods. They do go into trees as do other snake species to hunt for birds. Yes, rattlesnakes can climb trees is a great article from Earth Touch News.
Western Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus)
A cottonmouth snake showing where they got their name. Photo by Greg Schechter
This snake lives in western Kentucky in the Mississippi River and Ohio River delta area. They are a dark color and have a thick body. In Kentucky, we sometimes refer to the cottonmouth as a water moccasin.
If you accidentally startle one, they will often shake the end of their tail even though they don’t have rattles. They may also open their mouths and display their fangs in a warning pose. Their mouth has a whitish color – thus the name cottonmouth.
The cottonmouth snake is closely related to the copperhead snake. However, cottonmouths prefer swampy and wetland areas where the copperhead is an upland forest dweller. That said, I did see a cottonmouth in my creek in Falmouth, KY in 2008. I was able to take a picture and had the snake ID’d at the University of Kentucky.
Cottonmouths and water snakes live in the same areas of the state. Some noticeable characteristics:
When the cottonmouth snake swims, they keep their head above the water. They often fill their lung with air to give them buoyancy so they float on the water.
The cottonmouth has a scale behind their eyes that sticks out slightly and obscures the view of the eyes from behind.
They eat a wide variety of prey including fish, frogs, rodents, and other snakes. Females give birth to live young in the late summer.
Young cottonmouths have a bright yellow or green tail. They use this to attract prey.
Snakes In The Garden
You may want to attract snakes or repel them. We will provide some humane guidelines for both options.
Attract Snakes To The Garden
Snakes are the gardener’s friend. They eat garden pests such as rodents, slugs, grasshoppers, and grubs. Organic gardening is good for your snake friends. the environment and you!
Snakes love to have places to hide. Having a freestanding stone wall or even a rock pile will give them a great place to hang out. Snakes like to sun themselves so make sure you have some stones in a sunny location.
A hollow log, brush pile, or even some metal roofing on the ground can also provide good cover.
Like all creatures snakes need clean water. Place a shallow pan or ground-level bird waterer at the edge of the garden and refill it when you water plants. If the garden is dry so are the snakes!
Let the grass and weeds along the edge of the garden grow up. This will provide hiding places for snakes. Feel free to plant species that are good pollinators and act as an insect control. Read my article on declining insect populations.
Before you till or use machinery around the garden take the time to scare the snakes that may be out and about. Stomp your feet along garden paths and rustle large plants. These vibrations should send snakes into their hiding spots and keep them safe.
Repel Snakes From The Garden
There are some legitimate reasons for wanting to repel snakes from the garden. You may live in an area with venomous snakes, you are worried about your toad and salamander populations, or you are genuinely afraid of them. You can repel snakes humanly while preserving your peace of mind and still respecting the snake’s right to live their life.
Your first step to repelling snakes is to just have a clean and tidy garden. So the opposite of what I recommended above. Make sure all brush, stones, and anything that makes a hiding place is removed far from the garden area. Snakes don’t want to be too far out in the open because they feel exposed.
Ammonia is felt to repel snakes because they don’t like the smell. Soak some old rags in ammonia and place them in an opened bag. Don’t place ammonia rags directly in the garden as it’s bad for the soil and can kill your plants.
You may want to build a stone pile in a far corner of your property to offer snakes a home but keep them away from living areas.
Snake Rehabilitation
At Fox Run EEC we don’t get a lot of snakes to come in for rehabilitation. I’m not sure if this is because they are not cute and cuddly or if it’s because when run over on the road they often die quickly.
However, each year we get in one or two “confused” juveniles. These guys have often hatched out in the walls of an older home. As hatchlings, they begin to explore and look for a way outside. Invariably, they end up in someone’s kitchen or laundry room.
We provide them with a place to winter over and then release them in the spring.
What to do if you are Bitten By a Venomous Snake
First, remember that snakes are not aggressive. They are defensive.
They rely on camouflage and escaping as there primary means of dealing with danger. In fact, many times a snake may leave an area when it hears you coming. That is why in an area with snakes guides or park rangers will tell you to step firmly with your feet. That way the snake hears you and has a chance to move away.
Most snake bites occur because the human was attempting to interact or harass the snake. Leave the snake alone!
Each year, about 7,000- 8,000 snakebites occur in the United States but only about five or six of them or deadly.
Follow these steps if you are bitten by a venomous snake.
Remove yourself from range of the snake.
Stay calm; a pounding heart and anxiety will increase the rate at which blood and thus venom flows through the body.
Call 911 and/or park authorities if you are out hiking.
Try to identify the snake if possible. Remember the color and shape so you can describe it to the medical staff.
Don’t move around. lie down, and keep the bitten limb level with the rest of the body. Don’t elevate the bite.
The Mayo Clinic states that you SHOULD NOT try to cut or suck venom from the wound, pack it with ice, or isolate it with a tourniquet. Don’t drink caffeine.
Wait for the EMT or park personnel to arrive.
Bites from non-venomous snakes should be cleaned with water and soap.
Take Away
Snakes are not bad or mean animals. They actually are very beneficial and have an important place in ecosystems.
Author, Ame Vanorio has 27 years of experience living off-grid, is a certified teacher, and an organic farmer. She is the director of Fox Run Environmental Education Center and a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
Ame teaches classes online about organic gardening, herbs, homesteading, green building, living off-grid, and wildlife conservation.