Watch Your Step

On Wednesday night while Bill was weed whacking our backyard he discovered a snake. It was under the lawn mover, by the house and near the BBQ grill. The girls had been playing in the backyard on the swings all afternoon. Including Brooklyn, who just crawls wherever she pleases. I felt relieved they hadn't spotted it earlier because I would've panicked if I was home alone when it was discovered.

He caught it in a bucket, but he and our neighbor couldn't decide if it was poisonous or not. The darn thing was real skiddish and kept trying to strike while shaking his tail all over. So they ended up decapitating it- phew. And trashing it. (Later that evening Madisen was concerned about the trash men who would be taking out our trash today. What would they think if they saw a dead snake in our trash can. She thought they'd be thankful it was dead .)

The girls and I did a little research and found that it was just a Texas Rat Snake. Based on what we read, it was a juvenile.

TEXAS RAT SNAKE, Elaphe obsoleta lindheimerii
NON-VENOMOUS
The adults are from 4 to 6 feet long, but I have actually caught one near Zilker Park that was 7'1" long!
This is the most common large snake in the Austin area. The snake is often incorrectly called a 'chicken snake', probably became of it's fondness for hen's eggs. It is often misidentified for several reasons. This snake will vibrate its tail, and depending on what the tail is hitting against may make a sound that will make you think that you are dealing with a Rattlesnake, even though they have no rattle! While the juveniles are colored with brown blotches on a gray background, the adult's dark gray to black blotches will be on a red, orange, yellow, or even white background, giving the snake a wide range of possible color combinations. The belly is plain with no patterning.These snakes will eat any kind of rodent, birds, and bird eggs. They are excellent climbers, and will go into attics and under homes in search of prey. These snakes are very aggressive when cornered or captured. But hey, if your main diet consisted of rats, you'd probably have an attitude problem, too. These snakes are constrictors, but not venomous. If you don't have any food for them around your house, they will tend to stay away.

**As a side note, I must mention that a few weeks ago we found another (much smaller & certainly harmless) snake in our garage. We were going somewhere as a family & Bill noticed it next to the deep freeze. YIKES! It was writhing in pain b/c the SUPER-STRONG bug spray we used a week earlier. Again, so thankful that Bill was home to dispose of it. I'm not sure I will survive this bug/rodent/reptile infested area this summer!!