Did Someone Paint That Snake?

By Pat Gibson

Now I know many of you don't like snakes. I'm sure that many of you consider the best snake a dead snake, so I'll have to describe these little jewels for you because I doubt that you will stop to admire one of them. Some of us refer to all small slender snakes as garter snakes since they look a lot like the elastic bands ladies used to keep their stockings up. Other folks refer to them as grass snakes. What ever you call them, they come in a wide variety of patterns and colors. The ribbon snake mentioned last week is one example. These slender reptiles look as if someone had glued ribbons or sewing trim down the length of their backs. One variety has a yellow stripe that looks for the world like rick-rack trim with red ribbons down the sides. Others have black and white patterns that resemble lace on black leather.

Another family of small snakes is the green tree snakes or more commonly grass snakes. They come in several different shades of green and several different textures of skin. Some are so light a green that they look iced while others are yellow green like an under ripe lemon. One that I have only seen once is dark green on its back and pale green on its underside. Now I don't have personal knowledge of the texture of the snakes, but I have read several books on the subject. The green snakes come in smooth skin and rough skin. The smooth has a silky feel I'm told. (I've only gotten up the courage to touch a snake once at a Natural Science Center demonstration.) Now the rough green snake has scales that are curled a little on the edges and when it is handled it is very scratchy. It didn't keep them from being eaten however, the Texas Memorial Museum says that they are very rare.

There is also another small and rare snake that is checker board patterned. Now when I saw that snake in the snake book from the Texas Memorial Museum I said to myself that the publishers of the book were having a joke on us all. But I really did see one of these snakes out in the grass here above Sulfur Creek. They are a very funny looking snake. They really do have a checker board of black and white all over them. Who said God doesn't have a sense of humor?

Most of the time, you can figure that if a snake has stripes that run from its head to its tail it is a not a poisonous snake. The stripes that run around are more dangerous. Copperheads and corals are banded snakes. The king or milk snake is the one that looks like a coral. The little rhyme for remembering is "Red and Yellow Kill a Fellow, Red and Black, friendly Jack." In other words, if the red touches the yellow stripe, then the snake is a poisonous snake, but if the red touches the black then it is the king or milk snake.

Snakes are not the only critters that come in many colors. Moths and beetles are often very pretty but that's another story.

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