kathylove
03-04-2006, 12:53 PM
I went out to the metal building today with some friends to check on the snakes. As we approached, it sounded like a kitten was loudly crying from inside the building. Then we noticed a black racer above the door, halfway up inside the pipe from the satellite TV dish. The back half was sticking out below the pipe. Just above the pipe, a Cuban treefrog was screaming loudly (like a kitten!) as the racer had one of its legs in its mouth!
We watched for a few minutes as the snake tried to pull the frog into the pipe, but the frog eventually got away - or was let go. Then the snake came back out the bottom of the pipe. I have no idea how it got up there as the walls are fairly smooth - and hot! Maybe it came from an adjoining tree on the other side of the building in the early morning before the metal became hot. Anyway, I prodded the snake down from above my head, and caught it in mid-air. I was quite surprised that it didn't bite, but I think the poor thing had enough toxic "frog juice" in its mouth that it didn't want to bite anything else. But it didn't stop the snake from "racing" away quickly once released on the ground.
The frog jumped down on his own and seems none the worse for wear.
In all of the years I have lived here (since 1990), I have never seen a snake on the metal building, so it was quite a surprise.
We watched for a few minutes as the snake tried to pull the frog into the pipe, but the frog eventually got away - or was let go. Then the snake came back out the bottom of the pipe. I have no idea how it got up there as the walls are fairly smooth - and hot! Maybe it came from an adjoining tree on the other side of the building in the early morning before the metal became hot. Anyway, I prodded the snake down from above my head, and caught it in mid-air. I was quite surprised that it didn't bite, but I think the poor thing had enough toxic "frog juice" in its mouth that it didn't want to bite anything else. But it didn't stop the snake from "racing" away quickly once released on the ground.
The frog jumped down on his own and seems none the worse for wear.
In all of the years I have lived here (since 1990), I have never seen a snake on the metal building, so it was quite a surprise.