Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, We had a garter (gardner??) snake that was living under our porch. Although I don't mind snakes and pick them up when I get the chance, my company decided they didn't like it. I moved the snake about a month ago. Last night, I found a baby snake, probably 6-8 inches long, black with red underneath. What kind of snake is that? It came up between the slats on the porch floor. Do you think there is more than one that I should expect? Thank you for your help!

Sounds like a Northern Red-bellied Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata). They can be anywhere from tan to blackish gray above but they almost always have the bright reddish belly.

Search online for images and you should find one that looks like the one you saw.

And the other snakes are called "Garter" snakes, not Gardner. They are named (supposedly) for their bright colors reminding someone of colorful ladies' garters, not for their habit of showing up in gardens.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

I might add that the Western Wormsnake (Carphophis amoenus) also fits this description, but it is only found in far southwestern Wisconsin.

Here's a picture of a Western Wormsnake from Arkansas, however I suspect your snake was a Northern Red-bellied Snake.

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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Thank you! That's what it looks like. Are they poisonous?

No, none of the species we are discussing are venomous. In fact, the only venomous species in Wisconsin are two species of rattlesnakes (the Timber Rattlesnake and the Massasauga). Your snakes wasn't either of these and these have a very limited range in wisconsin (see map on this page - http://learningstore.uwex.edu/pdf/g3139.pdf).

Larry's point about having a neck ring was a good one. Northern Ringneck Snakes are dark slaty gray above with a bright yellow-orange belly (more red towards the tail), but they usually have a prominent orange-yellow ring around the neck. That could be your snake as well.

Take a look at these species online
Northern Red-bellied Snake
Northern Ring-necked Snake
Western Wormsnake (less likely, IMHO)
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

This is very helpful. We just moved to the country so it's all a new experience for us. When I moved the garter snake down the road, I wondered if it had laid eggs under the porch (do they lay eggs or are they born live?). This was about a month ago. For a garter snake, it was really good size! This little guy we found was tiny - so at first I thought it was a baby of the snake we moved. Maybe this isnt' the right forum to ask this, but is there a way to keep them from under our porch without killing them? There isnt' a way right now to keep them from going under, as there are slats in the porch that they slip through. Thank you all so much for the advice. ~Kari

Kari,

There isn't really anything you can do to absolutely prevent snakes from getting around your house.

Keeping down rodent populations by keeping clutter away from your property will minimize the number of larger snakes, but the little ones you are finding eat insects, slugs, worms, etc., so there isn't really a way to keep them away from your house.

But since they are completely harmless, I wouldn't worry about it.

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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

It's the surprise factor that gets me - when they sneak out from the bushes as I"m pulling weeds!! Then I try to catch them - you'd think they wouldn't like that and move. Thanks so much

really the best thing to do with harmless snakes is to ignore them. It's one of the things that goes with living in the country. Some thing you could do is buy a field guide to reptiles and when you see a snake, look it over and try to identify it. Think of it like bird watching. Snakes do some fascinating things if you don't disturb them. And if you watch them and learn to identify the snakes in your area, you'll be educating yourself and that knowledge might one day prevent you or a loved one from being injured by a venomous snake.

See their presence as an opportunity to learn.

just my two cents.
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Thank you, I appreciate that. I rather like the little buggers - they're fun to catch - it's my company that gets a little spooked when they think of the creatures under the porch! I don't like how they can pop out when you're not expecting it, but chipmunks do the same thing. This forum is quite amazing, I'm learning a lot from it.

Yeah, and since many of the things they eat are benficial to your soil, anything you could do to eliminate their food sources is probably a bad idea.

The good news, in case no one's mentioned it yet is that even if we can't say exactly what it is, there is nothing dangerous in your area that remotely matches your description.
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What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.

It didn't have a ring around its neck did it?
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What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.

I don't recall if it had a ring around the neck. Is that a bad thing if it does?

just means its a ringsnake - another harmless species
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Jack Jeansonne

Harmless is good!

To answer your question about the birthing of garter snakes..they give birth, do not lay eggs. The same is true of the red-bellied snake.

~~Greg~~

Interesting - thank you!