The Snake in the Garden

ring-necked snake juvenile

Today was the day to see our resident snake. It's a ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus). This serpent is harmless to people and an important member of our backyard ecosystem. It eats lizards and their eggs, salamanders, and a range of invertebrates.

The first time I spotted one was in 2012. A year later we found part of a dead individual, though it appeared to be smaller. The last time we had a good look was in 2015 when we found a juvenile. More about ring-necked snakes (2015)

Video of ring-necked snake

clivia provides shelter for the shy snake

Last year there was only a fleeting glimpse as it slide between some plants and disappeared under a large rock. 

Today the ring-necked snake was about 45 cm or 1.5 feet long. I don't know for sure that it is the same individual, but it's not impossible. If it was, it had grown from the width of a slim pen to that of a fine felt-point marker. It still is thinner than a human pinkie finger. 

The ring-necked snake was reclining on a warm garden stepping stone until I came walking along and disturbed it. Quickly it fled for the protection of the clivia. Snakes are generally shy creatures trying to survive in a world where they are demonized. Most snakes are not a threat to people at all.

I admit that I am just as startled as anyone else when a slender snake moves past my blundering foot. But then, I stop, observe, and see that it is my ring-necked friend and I have nothing to fear. The ring-necked snake is a beautiful creature. I watched it go about its business and marked the day because it will probably be 365 days or more before I see it again.

Not a snake! Look closely and you'll see legs. Alligator lizard.

Other snakes - gopher snake; wild gopher snake eating rodent
Lizards: western fence lizard, alligator lizard
Slender salamanders

Creating Native Habitat for Wildlife and You

Ring-necked Snake in the Garden

ring-necked snake

Creating habitat in your yard means inviting in predators as well as prey. You can't have healthy equilibrium without creatures at all levels of the food chain.

One of our predators isn't large or threatening, but it is important. We happened upon this juvenile ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus) spending the day between rocks at the bottom of the fence. See video of this snake on TheEarthMinute.com

Though small in size (typically 30-90 cm) the ring-necked snake is an important predator of small creatures, notably salamanders and lizards in its western distribution. We have both, especially a growing population of western fence lizards. We noticed a couple of years ago that the explosion of young fence lizards had slowed. Around that time came my first observation of a ring-necked snake. Not long after, I found the remains of one that had been eaten.

This snake species is found across North America. The eastern population tends to be smaller with a yellowish belly, while the western population has a bright red belly. In both cases this bright coloration is flashed at would-be predators to scare them off. The color red is often found in nature as a warning color suggesting venom or poison. There are theories that the red scares scrub-jays which might potentially eat these small snakes if they found them in the leaf litter. 

The ring-necked snake is a member of family colubridae, the most numerous group of snakes. Most are harmless to humans. The large eyes indicate that this snake is a visual hunter and as a colubrid with a long thin, fast body, it most likely tracks down its prey. 

Lizards and amphibians can be tricky to catch and subdue. The ring-necked snake is one of many colubrids which is now known to have venom delivered by fixed fangs at the back of the mouth. The venom delivery system has evolved for prey like lizards. The snake bites the lizard, holds on and moves the mouth back and forth to work the venom into the struggling prey. The nature of the venom and the manner of its delivery makes most rear-fanged venomous snakes not dangerous to humans. This little snake does not want to use its valuable venom on a human or a bird predator, that is why it has the warning coloration on its belly. "I could bite you scrub-jay, but I really don't want to. Leave me alone."

We gently relocated the ring-necked snake to the other side of the yard while we were working on the fence. We hope that it stays and continues to live in our yard. Small, unassuming predators like the ring-necked snake are vital to biodiversity and habitat balance. Would you believe that a study of density, found a healthy ecosystem could have 719 - 1,849 of these small snakes in an area the size of two football fields? And most people would have no idea they were there.

  

Worm? Lizard or Snake?

How many times have you found a dried-up worm on the sidewalk? That was my first guess when I saw this desiccated, long-bodied shape on the steps in the backyard. But the body seemed too thick for the worms we typically find in our ground.

My heart sunk. Had someone stepped on one of our slender salamanders? But there were no little legs. Slender salamanders have tiny, but always visible legs.

When I picked it up I knew I was definitely looking at not a worm and not a salamander. This is a reptile. Now the question was lizard or snake?

This is a reptile because small scales are visually apparent. Worms and amphibians are creatures with soft permeable skin, no scales.

The specimen is not a full body. There is no head and no real torso. Some natural predator ate the front portion of this reptile. There are no legs, but I didn’t have much of the body and some lizards are legless. Turning it over instantly told me this was the back section of a snake, specifically a ringneck snake.

 How did I know that? If you look at the belly or dorsal side you can see elongated scales that go across the width of the belly. These are the scute scales that enable the snake to make its way across the ground without having legs. The scute scales end at the cloaca, the opening that serves both reproductive and elimination systems. So we are looking at the last 4-5 inches of a small snake.

The clue that this is a ringneck snake is the vivid orange color on the belly with numerous black spots or flecks. The ringneck snake is the only local California species with this coloration and this is most likely a San Bernardino ringneck snake (Diadophis punctatus modestus) the subspecies typical to our area.

I saw a live adult ringneck snake in the yard almost exactly a year ago. They never get too large, just 10-30 inches. The individual snake I saw was larger than this. Perhaps they are breeding in our oasis of native habitat. There are plenty of salamanders or western fence lizards and their eggs for these small snakes to eat.

I’m sad to see this beneficial and non-threatening snake dead. I’m not sure who ate it. Possibly either the raccoon, skunk or opossum that circle through our yard on a regular basis. I’m hoping that there are more of them hiding in the undergrowth–a healthy habitat needs small predators like snakes. 

Snake in the Yard

Some people might run screaming if they looked down to see a snake in their backyard, but for me it was a moment of soaring gratification.

Our yard is in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Most wild creatures have to be pushy to find a piece of real estate not overwhelmed by people. Gradually over the 19 years we have lived here we have restored native plants and tried to recreate habitat for California wildlife. Our goal was to create a wildlife refuge in our small yard.

CA slender salamanders, food for ring-necked snake

First the California slender salamanders made their presence known. Allen’s hummingbirds and Bewick’s wrens came to nest. Band-tailed pigeons and California towhees started making daily stops, while white-crowned sparrows, dark-eyed juncos and ruby-crowned kinglets began coming to spend the winter.

The birds brought native plant seeds, black nightshade, and attracted predatory birds like the Cooper’s hawk and red-shouldered hawk. The red-shouldered hawk dropped a western fence lizard into the yard. It took up residence. The western fence lizards have thrived.

And now a ring-necked snake, just a bit bigger around than a pencil and about 18” long, has arrived to hunt the young lizards and the salamanders. There is a natural balance settling over the yard. It  just proves that if you create habitat, wildlife will come.

Sorry there’s no photo. When I saw the snake moving gracefully through the grass, I thought about getting the camera. But I decided to just watch it gradually disappear into a bush and relished a moment of wildness in my “city” backyard.  Next time I'll take a picture, until then, check one of my favorite herp websites for photos CaliforniaHerps.com