Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Once the weather gets better i hope to go looking for some easterns. Any experienced field herpers know what type of areas and what time of year is best for finding these snakes? I'm located in North Eastern MA if that helps any. I don't plan on keeping any, unless I'm lucky enough to find a small juvenile that would be easier to get started, but its a goal of mine to find an eastern since a neighbor of mine caught a large female at her work. Yet every time I go looking for them I can never find them and I'm hoping this season I can complete this goal.

I live in MASS and i find them under boards and logs. Some ppl put boards in a grass field and check them every now and then. They are the best snakes to catch here in MA. Well the black racers are always fun too, but they so fast. The black racers get big. I caught aone that was nearly 6ft.

I've found most of mine under artificial cover (plywood, sheets of metal, etc.) in open fields. Usually these fields were near wooded areas. Mine were almost always found in association with other snakes - garters, ringnecks and DeKay's. Milks are not as common as the smaller types, which makes them pretty exciting to find.

Tim

Third Eye

So if I can find a lot of the smaller species I'll have a better chance of finding the milks? Whys this, they like the same hiding areas or does it have to do with their cannibalistic nature? just out of curiousity.

I don't necessarily know the reason, I simply stated that E. milks are often found in association of smaller snakes. I reckon they could be eating the smaller snakes...or perhaps it's simply good snake habitat for other reasons (e.g. thermoregulation, hiding spots, lack of disturbances, etc.).

Tim

More than likely the AC you flipped happened to be the most hospitable conditions in the area for a multitude of species. Milks are likely more plentiful than anyone realizes, but they take advantage of underground niches more than these other species.

Alot of times it will help if you put down tin or board down. Alot of times with tin it will heat up and reflect the light good also. Usually you can find diffrent species of snakes under tin. It even helps to put bird food down and diffrent species of rodents will come around=snakes. Good Luck!

Well, I usually just wait until they're done shedding, then I snap a pic before they hide again...lol...actually they're not very common here in TN...at least not to me..I've only seen 4...2 of them DOR, one that came out of an old rotten cedar stump I was moving with my tractor, and one, pictured here, that I got to see shed on my old Christmas tree that was outside for months...lol...still there too. ECO