Just a little green

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Kelenken
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Just a little green

Post by Kelenken »

My first smooth green! I think this might be my favorite snake. I've been wanting to find one for ages, after getting a quick glimpse in a herpetology class. No in situ shots because the little lady was skittish when I put her on the ground, and I didn't want to spook her.

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That is a LONG tiny snake!

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That face. Oh man. Is there anything cuter?

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My day was made!
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gone herpin
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Re: Just a little green

Post by gone herpin »

Great looking snake!!!
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Mike VanValen
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Re: Just a little green

Post by Mike VanValen »

Did you flip it? I've been out to look for them only a few times in Connecticut, where they are declining fast. Still haven't seen one.
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Kelenken
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Re: Just a little green

Post by Kelenken »

Nope! It was right out in the open, and in a super-dry pine forest, no less. I'd looked for them in old fields before, but no luck.

What's the cause of the Connecticut decline? Poaching / habitat loss / decline of old field sites?
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Mike VanValen
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Re: Just a little green

Post by Mike VanValen »

Kelenken wrote:
What's the cause of the Connecticut decline? Poaching / habitat loss / decline of old field sites?
Most likely pesticide spraying of habitat, and it may have never been a common species here to begin with.
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Kelenken
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Re: Just a little green

Post by Kelenken »

Arg, that's heartbreaking, especially because greensnakes are natural pesticide.
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SAGlines
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Re: Just a little green

Post by SAGlines »

Awesome find!! It has been almost 20 years since I found my last Green!! It's my goal for this summer!!
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melissaisdown
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Re: Just a little green

Post by melissaisdown »

Great find! I would love to find one of these in my county.
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beemaster
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Location: SE Massachusetts

Re: Just a little green

Post by beemaster »

What city/town, if you don't mind my asking? I don't need a specific locality, just curious how close this is to the general area I herp.

I know a handful of spots in SE MA, but haven't actually seen one yet, myself. I also haven't specifically gone out to spots to look for them, but I've always hoped that I'd eventually run into one at one of my regular spots or simply find a new location on my own. I'm not going to get specific, but the cities/towns I'm sure of (via personal communication with several local herpetologists) include Somerset, Plymouth, and a few locales on the near Cape. Almost all of my herping takes place in the towns sandwiched between those spots, so I've always figured that I have to turn something up eventually. So far, no success.

From what I've been able to gather, they seem to be fairly common out in western MA but have declined in the eastern half. The degree of the decline seems to vary by who I ask; some people tell me that they used to find lots and never see them anymore, others tell me they just find them less often. Still others tell me they still see them fairly regularly, but not in as many spots as they used to.

I'll also add that I, like you, have spent a lot of time flipping in open fields, abandoned farmland and the like, but what I've gathered (again, via personal communication) is that they tend to be more common in upland pine barrens, coastal heathland, and grassy areas on the periphery thereof in the SE part of the state. Not that open fields and abandoned farmland aren't great places; they tend to be thick with racers (another possibly declining species), garters, and good for the occasional milk or ribbon snake. They're also pretty good spots to watch raptors for anyone who is into that. They might be slightly villainous on a herp board, but they're such cool animals to observe.
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Mike VanValen
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Re: Just a little green

Post by Mike VanValen »

I'll always stop and watch a raptor. I once had a juvenile peregrine kill and eat a mockingbird in my backyard.

One of the things I've heard about farmland and open fields as green snake habitat is that pesticide spraying is more common in those areas and may be contributing to the decline of smooth green snakes. I do know they are fairly common in the tri-corner area of the CT, MASS, and NY borders.

In Connecticut they appear to be scattered. There are several known locations but they also tend to appear at random locations throughout the state. I believe there are pockets of them to be discovered in oldfield and pasture locations that haven't been heavily sprayed.
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beemaster
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Re: Just a little green

Post by beemaster »

Mike VanValen wrote:I'll always stop and watch a raptor. I once had a juvenile peregrine kill and eat a mockingbird in my backyard.

One of the things I've heard about farmland and open fields as green snake habitat is that pesticide spraying is more common in those areas and may be contributing to the decline of smooth green snakes. I do know they are fairly common in the tri-corner area of the CT, MASS, and NY borders.

In Connecticut they appear to be scattered. There are several known locations but they also tend to appear at random locations throughout the state. I believe there are pockets of them to be discovered in oldfield and pasture locations that haven't been heavily sprayed.
I don't know whether that's the case, but it makes perfect logical sense. Even if we could pretend that the pesticide would have no harmful effects on the green snakes directly (highly unlikely), the pesticide would certainly eliminate a large percentage of their food source, which is never good for populations.

Around here, they seem to be tied in to similar habitat as hognose snakes, which might explain why I haven't found either. I know several specific and non-specific locations for both species, but I've just been stubborn about trying to find them in new locations where they haven't been documented. One of these days I'm just going to break down and head out to one of the state parks where I already know they exist.
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