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Thieves' Expanding Repetoire

Aozora

Aozora

Blue Sky Reptiles
I haven't been documenting them like I did last year, but we've had a ton of black rat snakes show up again this year. Today, we had to shoo off a beast of a snake who was so big he managed to damage the waste trays they usually sit on. I thought that one snake sighting was enough for today.

Well. I went out to check on the chickens and collect eggs, and when I opened the coop look what I found. It took him a heroic effort to get the egg all the way into his mouth, and then I put him in the forest to finish swallowing it.

I don't mind sharing a few eggs, but I really hope he doesn't tell his buddies about this.
 

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No, she never did. She may have been ovulating, which is why I felt lumps.

I went out today to collect eggs again, and guess who was there... and who had just finished eating an egg. I think he may be a problem child. I may have to relocate this one, even though I don't really want to.
 
Well, snakes are opportunistic feeders. This guy has discovered a good source of food, so he's going to exploit it. Hence why I'm thinking if he keeps this up I'm going to have to relocate him.
 
Looks like the one that lives in my grandfather's 1940 Pontiac in the field out back. Not sure why he likes that car so much always assumed it had to do with the heat and possibley mice
 
No he isn't that trusting. He just kind of hangs out. Sometimes he gets pretty close to the house but everybody pretty much just leaves him alone. I've gotten close to him and even found him but he doesn't let anybody handle him. Takes care of the field mice. We have tons of wild snakes around my area. I've nearly been bitten by copper heads a few times do to not paying attention when walking through the woods. I see grass snakes all the time but I couldn't tell you what they are specifically. Just that they are green and yellow.
 
That's an amazing picture of the snake swallowing the egg. I know how it works but it still amazes me. Thanks. I wish I saw more wild snakes around here, but they stay well hidden.
 
Black Rat

Zach, let him get his fill. Looks a little thin. Once it gets colder he will move on. Send me his tab for a dozen eggs. LOL
 
If he keeps the rodents away and he is doing a pretty good job of that I'm fine with him. He has startled several people around the house a few times always entertaining when you open a door or take something you have hanging on the wall in the shed off and he is right there
 
So our egg production began dropping suddenly about 3 weeks ago. We went from getting 4 eggs a day to none. We knew black rat snakes were around, because we've seen them and we even saw trails in the straw--we just couldn't find them.

Then, in the past week, we caught and put into temporary indoor housing no fewer than 4 big black rat snakes. 2 a few days ago, and 2 today. All of them over 4 feet long. And all of them curled up *inside* the coop, under the nests. It looks like they were living there and holding shoving matches over who got first dibs. No wonder we haven't been getting any eggs!

All 4 got loaded into pillow cases and given free field trips. We released them about a mile and a half away, in the middle of a huge stand of lumber pines. I figure that should give us about a weeks' reprieve. I would have taken pictures, but a black rat snake looks like every other black rat snake. One of them copped an attitude at us--I think that one was our old friend #3 from the other thread.
 
That is pretty cool catching it in the act.. Years ago I kept my mouse breeders out in the barn and one morning found a baby black rat in the main tub so packed with babies it couldnt move. Its amazing how much those black rats can stomach. If I fed my corns like that they would end up with a regurge.
BTW I kept the baby for a week until it digested then let it go out in the country.
 
Our crop of thieves is comin' in just fine in the summer heat.

(This is 4 days' worth. We find so many we have to pile them up in the same bin because we can only find enough free time to take them elsewhere about once a week. They got a free field trip today.)
 

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