This is an Eastern Ribbon Snake. There’s no doubt, when you look at the photo (above) ,why they are called Ribbon Snakes. They are very long and sleek. They are often confused with Garter Snakes (below)which are thicker and shorter.
I had to get a Garter Snake photo from elsewhere. My old photos are badly organized. Betcha know how that is?
As for Ribbon Snakes, both they and Garter Snakes, bear their young “live” in late summer (no egg laying for them). When I took many of my Ribbon snake photos, she was surrounded with smaller snakes. I figured they were males trying to mate with her. Later on, I realized she was surrounded by her offspring since it was September and not mating season. (See how rumors get started?)
Ribbon Snakes eat bugs, small rodents and amphibians. They like to swim and are found hunting and living by water.
The one that I photographed (above) was a very large female. She was close to the maximum length of 29″. Yes, she was living right beside my little frog pond. I watched her swimming on several occasions.
As usual, click on photos for a closer look.
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