Snakes

Finding snakes is one of my favourite springtime activities. Cooler weather means they spend more time sunning themselves in the open, and the still-short vegetation makes them easier to spot. With apologies to those with ophidiophobia (fear of snakes), let’s explore PEI’s civil serpents!

Compared to the mainland, our Island is reptile-poor. We have no wild turtles or tortoises, and only three species of snakes (compared to four in NB and five in NS). Historical accounts of the Island’s snakes are often questionable, such as those of John Mellish in 1876. I might be convinced to believe his reports of snakes nearly five feet long if he hadn’t also written about them springing several yards though the air to attack, swallowing their young to protect them, and charming birds like hypnotists! 

Photo 1: A Maritime Garter Snake on PEI.

Our most common species is the Maritime Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis pallidulus, Photo 1). This is our largest snake, and it’s easy to overestimate their size; despite appearances, a typical Garter Snake is just a couple of feet long. They’re usually shades of green or brown with lighter, lengthwise stripes, often with a distinctive checkered pattern. Larger, checkered Garter Snakes can fool people into thinking they must be some other species; there are very dark variations that can be mistaken as well.

Garters are venomous, but don’t worry! They’re too small to pose any threat to humans (though they will try to bite – these are the grouchiest of our three species). Garter Snakes prey on worms, slugs, small frogs and salamanders, and occasionally small rodents. Spring is the time when we expect to see young wildlife, but don’t bother looking for baby Garters just yet. They give birth in late summer, just in time for the snakelets to fatten up a bit in fall before winter hibernation. 

Photo 2: A Northern Red-bellied Snake on PEI. Photo by Garry Gregory, used with permission.

Common but less often seen than Garters are Northern Red-bellied Snakes (Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata, Photo 2 by Garry Gregory, used with permission). These are the smallest of our snakes; a big Red-belly could measure about a foot or so long, though the ones I see are usually smaller than that. They’re brown above with darker lines running lengthwise, and – as you might expect – bright red or orange bellies underneath. Gently pick up your nearest Red-bellied Snake and you’ll quickly see how it gets its name. (They’re also much friendlier than Garters).

One reason you may see this species less often than its larger relatives is that, unlike Garters, Red-Bellied Snakes are mostly nocturnal. I find them in bogs and damp meadows, as well as around fields if there’s a stream or wetland nearby. Back in the days when I square-baled hay for my sheep, I’d usually find a Red-belly or two under bales left out overnight at the edges of fields. Like Garters, Red-bellies give birth to live young in late summer. 

Photo 3: An Eastern Smooth Green Snake on PEI.

The rarest of our species is the Eastern Smooth Green Snake (Opheodrys vernalis, Photo 3). These are sometimes called Grass Snakes, for good reason: they are grass-coloured, and blend in well to their habitat of grassy areas, meadows, and the edges of freshwater streams and wetlands. This camouflage does make them hard to spot, but I don’t think that’s why they’re so rarely seen. They are legitimately much less common on the Island than they once were, likely due to a combination of factors including habitat loss and fragmentation.

Unlike our other two species, Eastern Smooth Green Snakes lay eggs rather than bearing live young. They’ll seek out damp, shaded areas (often under rocks or rotting logs) in late July and early August to deposit up to eight eggs that look a bit like inch-long, whitish medical capsules. Adults don’t guard or incubate the eggs and, if all goes well, each one will hatch into a tiny, darker-coloured snakelet within a few weeks. Eastern Smooth Green Snakes transition to their bright green adult colour over two years.

Snakes too often get bad press in literature, mythology, and even our common lexicon (think snake oil, snake in the grass, snake eyes). These are beautiful, important, and helpful members of PEI Untamed!