slithering surprise
I need help identifying some wildlife here in VA. I was letting Moby out the other night when I almost stepped on a snake by the doormat. The sliding door 
where we let the dog out is in our basement, and is at the bottom of a set of cement stairs coming down from the back yard. In other words, the snake was surrounded by cement on three sides and the door to our house on the fourth. There was no good option for encouraging it up the stairs. By my measurements, it was a good 12-13″ in diameter. Did I say diameter? I meant length.
I have a bad case of Ophidiophobia, to be sure. For the next hour, I procrastinated by making a couple desparation phone calls for assistance, and assessing the best method for removing the threat. At Rachel’s suggestion, I put on some snow boots (to protect me feet and ankles, of course) and headed out with a garden hoe.
It was not at all an enjoyable experience, and it’s taken me a good week to want to go back and look at the pictures. Now I really want to know what type of snake it was. Can anyone help me out?
All I can say is that it is bigger than anything you ever encountered outside of our house.
Man, there’s hardly enough left to identify. Did you take the “death by a thousand garden hoe swipes” approach?!
In an attempt to be helpful, I’ll say “garter snake”. But I have no idea; that’s just what I always guess when I see a snake about that size.
Mom B., that is very true. Having gained a bit of perspective, the lizards by your house almost seem cute and cuddly now.
And pcg, I’m assuming you meant it “Garter Could-Kill-You-In-Less-Than-3-Seconds Snake,” right!? Ahem.
I’m glad it was you that found it and not me. I, too, have a bad case of Ophidiophobia (you taught me a new word) although there is one time in my life I DID hold a snake at a nature center so that Peter and Bradley would NOT have that fear. By the time Andrew and Stephanie came a long, it was up to their big brothers to make sure they didn’t have that fear (although I didn’t tell them that).
I’m going to vote for the Northern Brown Snake (harmless), which is more than we can say for you by the looks of things!
http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/VHS/reptiles/snakes/northern-brownsnake/northern_brownsnake.htm
For future encounters:
http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/VHS/reptiles/snakes/snakes_of_virginia.htm
I’d pay particular attention to the top 3
-Brent