Snake vs Frog

Garter snake eats frog ~ photo by Carrie Kerr

I've got a couple garter snakes living in my garden. They hide amongst the tall grass and weeds, and snuggle beneath the mulch when it gets too hot. I like having them around because they are marvelous at pest control. Garter snakes eat slugs, snails, insects, and earthworms. Sometimes they'll eat other snakes and even frogs and toads.

Every now and then I find toads and frogs hanging out beneath the cabbages or in the beans. They are usually far, far away from the snakes.

But the other day, my friend Carrie found both together in her garden. She says the meeting, while beneficial for the snake, didn't end so well for the frog.

On the other hand, it looks like the snake may have bitten off more than it can chew... the frog is more than a mouthful. How can a thin garter snake eat something so much larger than its head?

The trick is in the jaw. Unlike us, snakes have jaws with joints at the front. These joints - and the hinges at the back where they articulate with the skull - are connected with tendons and ligaments that stretch, allowing them to take enormous bites. For this snake, eating a frog would be like you trying to stuff an entire watermelon into your mouth.

You can find out more about Eastern Garter snakes here and here. And you can read more about snakes here.

Snakes Alive!

Garter Snakes (Photo credit: Miles Frank, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

The other day I was walking down my road and a garter snake slithered out of my way. It was sunning itself on the warm hardpacked oil & stone surface, grateful for warmth after what seems like a late-arriving spring.

I usually have a snake or three hiding in beneath the mulch in my garden, or warming themselves on a stone in the morning. Snakes are great garden workers: they kill pests without poisoning beneficial species, don't eat the plants, and they're usually shy.

Like other reptiles, snakes have scales instead of fur or feathers. Unlike their reptilian relatives, snakes don't have legs, though way back in evolutionary time their ancestors might have. At least that's what some research indicates.

Of the 3,000 or so species of snakes around the world, 17 live in my state of New York. The most common is the garter snake that I see in my garden and along the roads. But I also find Northern redbellies, black rat snakes (really long!), green snakes (aka "grass snakes") ans milk snakes.

This year, 2013, is the Year of the Snake. Get to know some of the snakes in your neighborhood. Where do they hide during the day? Where do they sun themselves? And do they have special sunning places that they return to day after day? Make a "snake map" of your yard.

Check out other science posts and book reviews at STEM Friday.