c/animals · by A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip · 6d

Please help me identify this mini snake, and could it bite me?

Length as seen ~15cm, stretched out approx. 25cm I guess.

Seen the second time over 3 days now. Seems to like my backyard (porch currently awaiting construction).
Southern Finland.

minisnake2 minisnake3

6 points · 6 comments · view on lemmy.world

6 Comments

anon6789@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 6d (4 replies)

It looks like Finland only had 3 snakes and 1 legless lizard. I'm going to agree with the grass snake, as the other guys don't look anything like this snake.

From Out in the Nature

There are three species of snakes in Finland: adder (Vipera berus), grass snake (Natrix natrix), and smooth snake (Coronella austriaca), which can be encountered only in Åland. A slow worm (Anguis fragilis), also known as copper snake in Finland, is not a snake but a legless lizard.

Here's some random reference pics:

Adder

Grass Snake

(You can see here those little white/yellow spots right behind the head like on your snake)

Smooth Snake

Slow Worm

Your snake must be young, as they are Finland's longest snake at around 80cm. That wiki article says they hatch at around 18cm.

It could bite you, like any toothed animals, but they're non-poisonous and eat mainly frogs/toads.

A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip · 2 pts · 6d (3 replies)

Thanks! I wanted to make sure it couldn't be a young adder, because there really is only 2 options around here (I was pretty sure this is an actual snake and not a legless lizard).

I wasn't sure young adders already have that typical pattern, but they do.

The collar of this one was definitely white though, not the slightest bit yellowish, as seen in ALL the pictures I checked by now.

Your snake must be young, as they are Finland’s longest snake at around 80cm. That wiki article says they hatch at around 18cm.

Damn, a baby really. They hatch in autumn? Yes, they do:

The leathery eggs are laid in batches of 8 to 40 between June and July, and hatch after around 10 weeks. To survive and hatch, the eggs require a temperature of at least 21 °C (70 °F), but preferably 28 °C (82 °F) with high humidity. Areas of rotting vegetation, such as compost heaps, are preferred locations.

Right on time. And lucky we had warm days. I guess climate change also means more snakes.

It could bite you, like any toothed animals, but they’re non-poisonous and eat mainly frogs/toads.

Yes but I'd suppose a poisonous snake has the instinct to bite when feeling threatened; I wonder if non-poisonous snakes have it also,

anon6789@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 5d (2 replies)

It did say the third snake is only on some specific islands, so I figured that ruled that out. Thankfully the adder looks different enough that it should be difficult to confuse them. We have a good variety of snakes here and I'm sure many get harmed by people thinking they are something they aren't.

Maybe that patch darkens with age or varies with some environmental factor? I mostly know owls, and their plumage can change in shade based on their local environment. (Not instantly or anything, over time, natural selection and all that...)

That does seem odd to be young so late in the year. It sounds like they take a long time to reach full size also, 3 years for males, 5 for females. I don't know much about reptiles, but questions like this make me wish I did!

We have garter snakes here, which are generally accepted as harmless, and I've handled a number of them over the years, and my cousin used to catch and keep them for brief periods when he was around 6-8 years old and no one thought anything of it, so they are not thought of as bitey. A few years back though, I saw one basking in my garden and leaned in to get a picture and it struck at me 3 times! I was shocked as I'd never seen that behavior, and I was the one cornered, not the snake! All animals have distinct personalities, and sometimes younger animals will behave differently than adults that have better judgement, so just keep in mind it is still a snake and what seems threatening or not to you may not be the same logic it has.

A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip · 2 pts · 4d (1 reply)

OK iI'm not going to get too close.

Update: construction started in my backyard and today the same snake (or identical looking) showed up in my kitchen! No idea how it got there, possibly through the imperfect sewer system this house has, but it seems obvious that it considered my house safer than the ravaged backyard.

I brought it to the other side of the house with the same technique I use with wasps: put a jar over it, then slide a piece of thin cardboard under it, then keep the contraption closed while I move the animal.

anon6789@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 4d

That is exciting you got to assist the little one getting to safety! Even though you seem a little apprehensive about its presence, you've been keeping a good eye on it and you sought out what it was so you where prepared for this potential second encounter. It sounds like you are a good animal neighbor!

I use the same technique for any potentially stingy or bitey things that wander in my house as well. It's safer for both of us than handling them improperly.

oneinthree@feddit.dk · 3 pts · 6d

It looks like a Grass snake