snakes

PET
CLASSIFIED'S

SNAKES IN GEORGIA AND
SOUTH CAROLINA

                                                    SNAKES

SNAKES ARE REPTILES CHARACTERIZED BY ELONGATED BODIES AND A LACK OF
LIMBS. DISTRIBUTED THROUGH MOST PART OF THE WORLD THEY RANGE IN LENGTH
FROM 5 INCHES TO MORE THAN 30 FT. THEY ARE CLOSELY RELATED TO LIZARDS,
BUT DO NOT HAVE EXTERNAL EARS OR EYELIDS.

THE SKIN OF A SNAKE IS DRY AND SCALY, NOT SLIMY LIKE SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE.
SNAKE SCALES ARE MADE OF KERATIN, THE SAME SUBSTANCE THAT MAKE UP YOUR
FINGERNAILS.

A SNAKE HAS A FORKED TONGUE THAT IS
USED TO "SAMPLE" M MICROSCOPIC
PARTICLES FROM THE AIR THAT ARE THEN
PUT INTO A SPECIAL ORGAN IN THE ROOF
OF THE MOUTH. THIS STRUCTURE, CALLED
THE JACOBSON'S ORGAN, IS HIGHLY
SENSITIVE TO CHEMICALS, LIKE THE NOSE
OF A BLOODHOUND. BUT RATHER THAN A
SMELLING, AS WE DO SNAKES " TASTE" THE AIR. A SNAKE FLICKING ITS TONGUE ANT
YOU IS MERELY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU ARE.

BREEDING OCCURS DURING SPRING OR FALL. SOME SPECIES LAY EGGS IN
                                       EARLY SUMMER; EMBRYONIC SNAKES DEVELOP IN ABOUT
                                        2 MONTHS AND HATCH IN LATE SUMMER OR EARLY FALL.
                                        SNAKES THAT BIRTH TO LIVE YOUNG ALSO TEND TO HAVE
                                        THEIR YOUNG IN LATE SUMMER. OUTSIDE TEMPERATURES
                                         AFFECT THE ACTIVITY OF SNAKES. BECAUSE THEY
                                         CANNOT GENERATE THEIR OWN BODY HEAT LIKE
                                         MAMMALS AND BIRDS CAN, SNAKES REMAIN RELATIVELY
                                         INACTIVE WHEN IT IS TO COLD. THEY ALSO CANNOT
                                         TOLERATE EXTREMELY HIGH TEMPERATURES;
                                         THEREFORE, MOST SNAKES ARE ACTIVE DURING COLD
                                         TEMPERATURES. DURING THE SPRING AND FALL, MOST
                                         END TO BE ACTIVE IN THE DAYTIME; DURING THE SUMMER,
ACTIVITY MAY BE RESTRICTED TO WARM NIGHTS, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE RAIN.

                                                 ALL SNAKES EAT ANIMALS, NOT PLANTS.
                                                 THE PRIMARY FOOD ITEMS OF MOST
                                                 SNAKES ARE INSECTS, FISH,AMPHIBIANS,
                                                  BIRDS, RODENTS, EGGS AND OTHER
                                                 REPTILES. SOME SPECIES ARE
                                                 SELECTIVE FEEDERS, WHEREAS OTHERS
                                                 EAT A BROAD RANGE OF FOOD ITEMS.

SNAKES ARE A NATURAL AND EXCITING COMPONENT
OF THE ENVIRONMENT, AS THEY HAVE BEEN FOR THE
PAST 160 MILLION YEARS. THEIR MANY UNUSUAL
CHARACTERISTICS HAVE LONG FASCINATED HUMANS.

PROBABILITY OF A SNAKEBITE
VENOMOUS SNAKES OF GA AND S.C. POSE LITTLE
THREAT TO HUMANS WHO LEARN TO OBSERVE
THEM BUT OTHERWISE LEAVE THEM ALONE.

                                  COMMON KING SNAKES OCCUR IN WIDE VARIETY OF
                                   HABITATS. ALTHOUGH THIS SPECIES IS CONSIDERED
                                   TERRESTRIAL, IT OFTEN IS FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF
                                   PERMANENT OR TEMPORARY AQUATIC AREAS. ADULTS
                                   OFTEN REACH LENGTHS OF 3-4 FT. EASTERN KING
                                   SNAKES ARE BLACK WITH LIGHT YELLOW OR WHITISH
                                   CROSS BANDS WHEREAS THE BLACK KING SNAKE, FOUND
                                   IN NORTHWESTERN GEORGIA, IS SHINY BLACK WITH
                                   SCATTERED FLECKS OF YELLOW. THE BELLY IS A
                                   COMBINATION OF BLACK AND YELLOW. THIS KING SNAKE FEEDS
ON SNAKES (INCLUDING VENOMOUS SPECIES) LIZARDS, RODENTS, BIRDS, AND
EGGS-- EVEN EGGS SCAVENGED FROM TURTLE NEST. EXPERIMENTS WITH KING
SNAKES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT THEY ARE IMMUNE TO THE VENOM OF
RATTLESNAKES, COTTONMOUTHS AND COPPERHEADS.

SAME COLOR PATTERN. THIS SPECIES EATS MOSTLY
TOADS, AND OCCASIONALLY FROGS AND LIZARDS.
HERPROLOGISTS FEAR FOR THE FUTURE OF THIS
SPECIES BECAUSE IT HAS BECOME VERY RARE IN SOME AREAS OF ITS HISTORICAL
RANGE.

FEED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ON FISH, ESPECIALLY CATFISH.

CAROLINA AND GEORGIA HAVE A CHECKERED BODY PATTERN
WITH POORLY DEFINED STRIPES AND A GRAYISH BODY COLOR. THE BELLY OF
GARTER SNAKES IS WHITE OR LIGHT YELLOW. THIS SPECIES GIVES BIRTH TO LIVE,
SOMETIMES HAVING MORE THAN 50 BABIES. GARTER SNAKES FEED ON FROGS,
TOADS. SALAMANDERS, FISH AND TADPOLES.

FOUR SPECIES OF
GLASS LIZARDS OCCUR
IN GA AND S.C. UNLIKE
SNAKES GLASS LIZARDS
HAVE EYELIDS AND EAR
OPENINGS. MOST
GLASS LIZARDS ARE
FOUND IN PINEWOODS
HABITATS WITH SANDY
SOIL. ALL ARE
HARMLESS.

THE MOST COMMON FORM OF DEFENSE BY
SNAKES LIKE OTHER REPTILES, IS
AVOIDANCE. AT THE FIRST SIGN OF DANGER,
THEY USUALLY FLEE. ANY OTHER DEFENSIVE
BEHAVIOR BY A SNAKE, SUCH AS BITING,
STRIKING, AND SO ON, IS USUALLY THE LAST
RESORT.

EASTERN / BLACK
KINGSNAKE

COMMON. CORN SNAKES GENERALLY ARE ASSOCIATED
WITH WOODLAND HABITATS, INCLUDING PINE AND
HARDWOOD AREAS. THE USUAL ADULT LENGTH IS 3-4 FT.
THE COLOR PATTERN ON THE BACK CONSISTS OF RED OR
ORANGE BLOTCHES; THE "PIANO-KEYBOARD" BELLY IS
LIGHT WITH BLACK SQUARES. CORN SNAKES FEED ON
SMALL MAMMALS AND BIRDS. LIKE OTHER RAT SNAKES,
CORN SNAKES ARE CONSTRICTORS THAT CAN EASILY
SUBDUE MICE AND SMALL RATS. THEY ARE EXCELLENT
CLIMBERS AND ARE ABLE TO CRAWL UP WALLS OR TREE
TRUNKS.

CORN SNAKE
ELAPHE GUTTATA

SOUTHERN
HOGNOSE
HETERODON SIMUS

RARE. THIS SPECIES IS FOUND IN HABITATS SIMILAR TO
THOSE OF THE EASTERN HOGNOSE. SELDOM MORE
THAN 1.5 FT LONG, SOUTHERN HOGNOSE SNAKES ARE
LIGHT BROWN WITH DARKER BLOTCHES. IN CONTRAST
TO THE VARIABILITY IN COLOR OF THE EASTERN
HOGNOSE , THE SOUTHERN HOGNOSE ALWAYS HAS THE

BROWN WATER
        SNAKE
  NERODIA
TAXISPILOTA

LOCALLY ABUNDANT. THIS SPECIES IS FOUND IN
STREAMS, RIVERS AND SWAMPY AREAS. IT OFTEN
ATTAINS A LENGTH OF 4 FT. AND IS LIGHT BROWN ON
TOP WITH DARKER SQUARES ON THE BACK AND SIDES.
THE BROWN WATER SNAKE IS ONE OF THE MOST
COMMON SNAKES ALONG RIVERS AND STREAMS WITHIN
ITS GEOGRAPHIC RANGE AND OFTEN IS MISTAKEN FOR
THE VENOMOUS COTTONMOUTH. THIS SNAKE
FREQUENTLY BASKS ON TREE LIMBS THAT OVERHANG
THE WATER AND IT IS NOT UNCOMMON TO SEE THEM AT
HEIGHTS OF 10 FT. OR MORE. BROWN WATER SNAKES

COMMON
GARTER SNAKE
THAMNOPHIS
SIRTALIS

UNCOMMON TO COMMON. COMMON GARTER SNAKES ARE
FOUND IN A DIVERSITY OF HABITATS THAT ARE USUALLY WET
OR DAMP,ALTHOUGH NOT NECESSARILY NEAR PERMANENTLY
AQUATIC AREAS. THEY USUALLY ARE LESS THAN 2 FT. LONG
BUT OCCASIONALLY REACH LENGTHS GREATER THAN 3 FT.
GARTER SNAKES ARE DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL OTHER
SOUTH CAROLINA SPECIES EXCEPT RIBBON SNAKES BE THE
PRESENCE OF THREE YELLOW LONGITUDINAL STRIPES ON A
DARK BODY. GARTER SNAKES HAVE BLACK LINES ON THEIR
LIP SCALES, WHEREAS RIBBON SNAKES DO NOT. ALTHOUGH
THIS PATTERN IS COMMON SOME GARTER SNAKES IN SOUTH

ROUGH GREEN
SNAKE

BLACK RACER
TONGUE

RAT SNAKE
ELAPHE OBSOLETA

COMMON. RAT SNAKES ARE FOUND IN A WIDE VARIETY
OF HABITATS, BUT ARE MOST COMMON IN WOODED OR
SWAMPY AREAS. ADULTS FREQUENTLY ATTAIN
LENGTHS OF MORE THAN 4 FT. COASTAL FORMS ARE
OLIVE WITH 4 DARK STRIPES ON THE BACK; INLAND
SPECIMENS RANGE FROM BLACK TO LIGHT GRAY OR
BROWN WITH DARKER BLOTCHES AND HAVE A LIGHT
BELLY WITH DARK BLOTCHES.

GRAY RAT SNAKE

THEY FEED ON BIRDS AND THEIR EGGS AS WILL AS
RODENTS, SUCH AS RATS, MICE AND SQUIRRELS.
KNOWN AS THE "CHICKEN SNAKE" IN FARMING AREAS
BECAUSE THEY WILL READILY EAT CHICKS AND CHICKEN
EGGS, RAT SNAKES ALSO ENTER BARNS IN SEARCH OF
MICE AND RATS. LIKE CORN SNAKES, THEY ARE VERY
GOOD CLIMBERS.

VENOMOUS SNAKES
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