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Should I take it out of the wild or relocate?

J

joann42

New member
Ive had a family(group of about 5) of lined snakes living in my water meter thingy for over 5 yrs.I check on them at least once or twice in the summer.Well this year either an animal or my better guess is the water meter man chopped up most of them.There is one left, I think its a female and she has a chopped mark on her side but has managed to survive..All this has made me sad, over the years Ive become somewhat attached to them.
Ive been tempted to bring her into the house but worry she may not acclimate as she is a full adult.They eat insects, mostly slugs and earthworms.Also if I bring her in she cant reproduce and I dont know of any males survived but they may have.But if I leave her there the meter man may decide to play god again and kill the remainder.
Its a dilemma..I would relocate her but dont know where to put her.
Any suggestions?
 
I am guessing garter snakes? Garters can be really urban animals but I would say if she is left there she will probably meet the same fate as the rest. If you want to relocate the snake you could take her to a wood lot or some other place in the country. I had a pretty big black rat snake that kept getting in that I finally had to relocate. Took it to where I deer hunt and released it. No the snake wasn't dangerous, but I didn't want my mouse colonies attacked LOL. Good luck with it what ever you decide to do.
 
These are not garters they are called Lined snakes.Little snakes that dont get but a foot long as adults and eat slugs and such.It makes it much harder to relocate because they stay in moist dark areas with lots of slugs and earthworms.
We actually had a nice garter snake in our yard too but my son accidentally ran over it with the mower.I should have relocated her too.The wild critters dont have much of a chance with a mower.
 
joann42 said:
These are not garters they are called Lined snakes.Little snakes that dont get but a foot long as adults and eat slugs and such.It makes it much harder to relocate because they stay in moist dark areas with lots of slugs and earthworms.
We actually had a nice garter snake in our yard too but my son accidentally ran over it with the mower.I should have relocated her too.The wild critters dont have much of a chance with a mower.
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Sorry hadn't heard of lined snakes, looked em up. best of luck with them
 
Personally I would be really pissed if an employee from any company that visited my house destroyed my property. Since the snakes are living on property you own (or rent) they are "yours," the same as any tree or bush would be. I would call the electric company and tell them in no uncertain terms that if it happens again you will be lodging a formal complaint. I mean... would this same man kick your dog in the head if he happened upon it?
 
Hypancistrus said:
Personally I would be really pissed if an employee from any company that visited my house destroyed my property. Since the snakes are living on property you own (or rent) they are "yours," the same as any tree or bush would be. I would call the electric company and tell them in no uncertain terms that if it happens again you will be lodging a formal complaint. I mean... would this same man kick your dog in the head if he happened upon it?
Click to expand...


I hate it happened too, but they were not "yours" and you didn't "own" them because they were in your meter. The service provider owns that meter and a right of way around it. Much like you do not own all of the yard up to the road. Typically meters are in the right of way. Most right of ways is approximately 30 feet from the center of the road back.

I would still complain but not alot will likely come from it. Why not take it as an opportunity to educate the reader?

dc
 
Trust me I was mad at first.I thought the same thing, how dare them kill animals on my property.But after a bit of thought I realized that the meter is actually their property and if the snakes are all wrapped up in the wires and such I suppose they could be considered a pest...I still dont like it, I thought about writing a little note and laminating it and leaving it taped in the meter about not killing the snakes.The snakes provide a service by eating the slugs.
 
I think you dont have to find a place where it has to be the perfect condition, just find a shady, warm, moist place in the woods and let her go. (By that being said, I think you should relocate her)
I would be pretty mad that they killed the snakes but, like you said, there's not much that can be done about it. That note idea was good. Make sure you state that they should contact you personally before working on the meter while animals are around.
But, like I said, I suggest you relocate her. Thoes things are pretty tiny.
 
Hmmm... You could try to keep her until her wound clears up. It would be a pity if she was relocated and then died from infection.
 
Her wound looks closed up.This happened about a month ago and I thought they had all gotten killed.But yesterday I looked in and there she was.She is a decent size too.I think tomorrow I will try and take her down to near a creek area I know.I just hope she finds food.I know that pretty soon everything is going to start hibernating so I need to do this soon.
 
If you're gonna relocate her, I would pick a spot ASAP. Fall is quickly approaching.

As for the actions of the meter man...at the very least he could've cleaned up the mess. Yes, the utility company owns the meter and housing, and they have the right to remove pests. But they also have an obligation to clean up the mess. I would complain on those grounds, at least. It can be incredibly traumatizing to a lot of peple to come across a pile of slaughtered animals. Even snakes...
 
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