Several years ago, we had a huge rat snake that stayed primarily in the rose arbors. The snake would travel the jasmine laden fence lines from arbor to arbor. I realize that it ate its share of birds but it did a fine job of keeping varmints at a minimum, as well. The snake was every bit of seven feet in length and as big around as my arm. Even at that size, she was gentle and would let me "pet" her or hold her. The last I saw of her was last winter. She climbed up to the top of the old gum tree and went into a hole where she went into brumation. Come spring, she never returned. I am assuming that old age caught up with her.
Last year, however, we had tons of baby rat snakes appear. While I cannot be certain that these are from my big rat snake friend, it is a comforting thought to think they may be. For the past few weeks, these "baby" rat snakes have been quite active in the yard. As juveniles, they are still relatively small (about 3ft) but are feisty enough to tackle most anything even if it is too large for them. I have had to "discourage" several from raiding the birds' nests in the yard. I find it is easy to pick up the snakes and move them to a better location. Once the little birds leave the nests, the snakes are more than welcome to come back into the gardens.
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