My name is actually Ricky, but I have been accidentally posting under my brothers account. Sorry for the confusion. Anyways, thats pretty incredible. I know that they typically start hatching in the fall, which I found strange, because I was wondering how they survived the cold weather so well, being that in New England we can get frost in late September. I was also amazed that he got it to eat a pinkie. I've tried that, but he appears to be too tiny to eat one. I had real hopes of keeping him, and I still might if he eats in the next week or so, but I don't want to risk putting him back too late into the season. I just thought it would be great to have a locally found snake to show people how calm they really are, because people tend to fear snakes around the area. One thing I thought was interesting, too, was that when I found him, he was moving very slowly across the ground, and it made me think that he was a late hatcher, but when I asked my Grandfather, who is a naturalist, he said that it was very typical for them to hatch this late in the year. I was surprised by this, because Garter Snakes tend to hatch towards the end of spring, all the way through the summer. This was definitely the highlight of my reptile finding career, because I almost always just see Garters, with an occasional Red Belly Snake. Also, I'm not sure if you know this, but their are actually two phases of Eastern Milk Snakes. This one is a red-phased, which is identifiable by his red patterns and silvery background color. The other phase is just called an Eastern Milk Snake, so I think it has no phase name, because it's the more common of the two. This phase can be easily identified, because instead of a silvery background color, it will be a very light tan, almost bronzed even, and their patterns will be a slightly darker tan. Almost like a boa constrictors colors. Thats the kind I believe I found when I was 10. I'm not sure if you've ever seen one of them, but they are amazing as well. Thanks for the story, and I will inform you immediately if he eats, and if he does I will definitely send you some progression pics!.
