Discover Top Posts Tagged with #rat snakes

A corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) and a black racer (Coluber constrictor) together in the southeastern USA

by Ian Deery

#corn snake #eastern racer #black racer #rat snakes #racers #colubrids #snakes #reptiles #pantherophis guttatus #pantherophis #coluber constrictor #coluber #colubridae #serpentes #squamata #reptilia #chordata #wildlife: usa #wildlife: north america

Everyone's favorite thick idiot son came out to meet trick or treaters, but we've had an average of one group of 2-3 kids every 30 minutes, so we're hanging out on the sofa and now he's all the way asleep on my shoulder.

Good night and may all your Hallows be Weened.

#snake #snakes #reptile #reptiles #reptiblr #rat snake #rat snakes #Calvin #scaleless Texas rat snake #Halloween

(not mine but let me tell you. If you have never interacted with a ratsnake. This is all you need to know about them)

#it's a ratsnake #rat snake #rat snakes #snakes #snek #snekblr

#snakes #rat snakes #reptiles #plants #reptile

!!CW for animal death/animal cruelty!! Saturdays are usually Caturday or Raturday, but today I'm having a SADurday. On the way to work yesterday, I pulled over because there was a big, beautiful gray rat snake (like the one pictured, though not the same animal) in the road, and I wanted to relocate it before it was hit. Unfortunately, before I could even open my car door, a driver heading in the opposite direction swerved to deliberately hit and kill the snake. It was killed on impact and didn't suffer, but I hate that death has more mercy for snakes than humans. Watching that beautiful animal die when I was moments away from moving it to safety it left me sobbing all the way to work, and admittedly put me in quite the depressive tailspin as I reflected on just how cruelly snakes are often treated by people.

A common mentality I hear in my community is, "the only good snake is a dead snake." I hear people fear-mongering about "poisonous" snakes, misidentifying rat snakes and kingsnakes as venomous species, claiming snakes chased them, brutally killing snakes they find in their coops and gardens to "protect" their pets and family, and because I live in the Bible Belt, even people who genuinely believe that snakes are agents of the Devil. When people learn that I own snakes, they often say, "Well, never invite me over to your house!" and I'm at the point where my default reply is, "That's fine by me, ignorant people aren't welcome in my home anyway."

Let me preface this by saying that I am not belittling people with phobias, or even saying that it is wrong to be fearful of snakes; our fears are often a learned behavior, and while it is good to overcome fears, especially when the remedy is knowledge, being afraid in and of itself is morally neutral. The problem is, too many people think their fear or dislike of an animal entitles them to kill it, and the ways snakes are killed often result in prolonged suffering. Snakes are valuable members of our ecosystems, serving as both vital predators and prey, and are also living, feeling creatures that experience fear and pain. They are not sinister or evil, they are just wildlife, no different than any other animal you might be happier to see passing through your yard.

A snake in your garden or barn isn't lurking there waiting for a chance to bite; it is providing you free and effective pest control. Venomous snakes do not actively seek out and harm humans; most bites are either an unfortunate surprise - a misstep or hand placement resulting in accidental contact that the snake was equally unhappy about - or sustained when the person attempts to intentionally meddle with the snake, often in an effort to kill it. Unmolested, most snakes will happily vacate an area on their own accord without incident, and by reducing points of entry or clearing property debris that serve as habitat, you can discourage their return if you do not want them in the vicinity. There are individuals and professional services that will humanely remove snakes as well.

Please, please, PLEASE allow snakes to live their lives in peace. Do not harm or kill them for the crime of existing. I'm not asking you to like snakes, I'm just asking you to have a little compassion for the other species we share the world with. Yes, even the ones that make you uncomfortable.