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Saturday, May 7, 2011

{Southern Ringneck Snake}

On April 12, just after midnight, one of our felines did come into the home with a little snake. I've never had the chance to hold one in my hands and I even managed to take some photos from it. Using only my right hand and since the camera is most of the time connected to its tripod, I held the short handle in my mouth to stabilize... You CANNOT put a live snakey down for adjusting your camera. But, the shots are not too bad so you get to see it too. Of course, after the glamour shots were made; I released it near the creek! I could hear it whisper: 'Thank you ever so much!'... It made me sleep with a clear conscious once again. Oh, by the way, I did touch it with my bare hand and it feels rather silky, not slimy at all! Next day I did my research after I uploaded the photos and looked it up in our Reptile book. A Southern Ringneck Snake it said and it was about 10" or 25 cm long. Obviously it had had a good supper as there was a bulging half way... Enjoy the photos below:

The paper towel is BOUNTY...
Beautiful markings and its eyes open all the time...
No it is not a viper, not dangerous but I didn't know it at the time I held it.
Big eyes...
You clearly can see the ring around its neck; hence its name - Southern Ringneck Snake...

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17 comments:

  1. Draffin BearsMay 7, 2011 at 1:40 AM

    Hi Mariette,

    Oh how lucky that you got to see this wonderful creature and thanks for the photos. We do not have snakes here in NZ so it was good to see.
    He would have been pleased to go back to doing what snakes do.

    Happy weekend
    Hugs
    Carolyn

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  2. IngeMay 7, 2011 at 1:50 AM

    Slangen of slangetjes staan niet op mijn lijst met favoriete dieren .... eeks dus. Maar wel mooi om te zien bij jou op de fotootjes! Mijn kattendames doen me zowat iedere morgen plezier met een dode muis op 't matje .... Groetjes, Inge p.s. mijn zoon komt morgen terug uit Californië, "that makes my mother's day!"

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  3. orchid0324May 7, 2011 at 2:18 AM

    OH,

    It really has ring in its neck, doesn't it?
    Haha, it was your first time to touch snake. With way more than half a centry's life, I have never done myself.

    Well, White Snake is said to be the "God's gift to man" in Japan. Brings you luck probably. I heard the the rare species live in my pref. Yamaguchi.

    Have a wonderful weekend, orchid

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  4. SunshineshelleMay 7, 2011 at 2:43 AM

    Love the photos I find snakes fascinating but got to careful here because some are deadly, we walked out onto our deck the other morning & there was a python skin hanging in the tree... the python was OK, it's the small brown ones we see sunning themselves sometimes that are deadly, we don't go near them :(

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  5. It's meMay 7, 2011 at 3:02 AM

    Ik hou niet zo van slangen.....heel fijn weekend lieverd....xxx...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dies und Das vom NeckarstrandMay 7, 2011 at 5:13 AM

    Liebe Mariette,
    mutig, mutig. Aber immerhin hattest Du Küchenkrepp. Eine Schlange soll sich garnicht kalt anfühlen. aebr ich zucke doch zurück.
    Du hast gute Bilder gemacht. danke dafür.
    Liebe Grüße und ein schönes Wochenende wünscht
    Irmi

    ReplyDelete
  7. desde my ventanaMay 7, 2011 at 6:27 AM

    Sorry Mariette !!!

    I have sent a comment that was not for your post.
    Please delete it.

    Thank you

    Cecilia

    ReplyDelete
  8. desde my ventanaMay 7, 2011 at 6:31 AM

    Mariette,

    Thank you for these wonderful images in which we can see every little and fabulous detail.
    You are a very, very brave woman.

    Have and wonderful and rested weekend and may you spend a happy mother's day with your family,

    Hugs

    Cecilia

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  9. Elly's kleine idylleMay 7, 2011 at 6:58 AM

    goede morgen Mariette;
    Wat ben jij dapper zeg!!!!Als ik het goed heb begrepen wist je nog niet op het moment dat je deze lieftallige slangetje vast hield, dat hij niet giftig was.Ik vind het heel stoer van je, het zijn prachtige dieren, maar!!!voor mij op gepaste afstand!!!!
    Een lieve groet vanuit een zonovergoten warm Nederland,
    Liefs Elly.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Magia da InêsMay 7, 2011 at 9:26 AM

    °º♥ ·.Amiga!
    ♥
    Você foi muito corajosa, fotografar e pegar numa cobra sem saber se era peçonhenta!...

    ♥ Bom fim de semana!
    Feliz Dia das Mães!!!

    Beijinhos.
    Brasil

    °º♫
    °º✿
    º° ✿♥ ♫° ·.

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  11. UnknownMay 7, 2011 at 10:03 AM

    Whhhaaaa ik zou toch denk ik schreeuwen...ook al is hij ongevaarlijk en klein...n slang, bah!
    gelukkig komen ze hier niet veel voor!
    Lieve groeten,
    Nicole

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  12. moMay 7, 2011 at 10:23 AM

    You are too brave to be holding that snake.

    Not me...

    Have a wonderful Mother's Day Mariette.

    *hugs*

    mo

    ReplyDelete
  13. Rozen van papierMay 7, 2011 at 6:44 PM

    Brrr, hoop dat hij niet gevaarlijk is. Ja in die warme gebieden heb je heel andere diertjes hè? Wij hebben hier schattige hagedisjes en minder leuke schorpioentjes! En hebben jullie ook de cigale?
    Ga maandag naar Nederland voor de workshops, dus kan ik niet zo veel bloggen. Tot gauw maar weer!

    Liefs Janny;

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  14. Celestina MarieMay 7, 2011 at 7:56 PM

    Hi Mariette,
    WOW, you are brave to hold the snake even if it is not dangerous. I am not a fan of snakes at all and in our area we have very deadly snakes like rattle snakes, copper heads and water mocasons. When it gets really hot they come out to find water.

    I am glad you were able to hold it and share the interesting markings for it's name. Now I will know what it is if I see one, which I hope is not too soon. LOL

    Hope you have a wonderful weekend sweet lady.
    Love to you,
    Celestina Marie

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  15. Johanna GehrleinMay 7, 2011 at 8:13 PM

    Hello Mariette,
    I guess this is typical for Mariette! Holding a snake before knowing, wheather it is poisened or not. You are really a brave woman.
    Do you think this was a Mother's Day present of your feline child? Wish you a wonderful Mother's Day.
    Best greetings, Johanna

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  16. Sarah KlassenMay 7, 2011 at 9:28 PM

    Hello Mariette,

    Well, goodness me, you are my hero! You constantly surprise me. The very sight of a snake would have had me on a chair and yelling for the nearest boy to help me. Not you -- you celebrate the beauty of this creature. They are absolutely fascinating!

    Hope you are having a lovely Saturday. Thank you so much for the comments. They so often teach me something that I never knew or you look at something in a rather new light, which I really enjoy :)

    xoxo,
    Sarah

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  17. Dee ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️April 25, 2012 at 8:40 AM

    Mariette,

    Cool looking snake. We have a western hognose snake.

    Dee

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your visit and comment.

Mariette...