More than 50 people packed Cragin Memorial Library to learn about snakes in Connecticut at a presentation by Department of Environmental Protection Wildlife Biologist Julie Victoria.
Ernie Boughton and his grandson Lucas Lawley, 10, both wanted to learn more about snakes.
“I always find them and catch them,” Lawley said. He had seen a snake in the wild, a ringneck snake.
“I could tell by the yellow rings on his neck,” Lawley said. “I hold them by the neck so they can’t bite you and hold their tails.”
Victoria explained snakes in Connecticut fall into three categories: Endangered, special concern and regulated. The two venomous snakes in Connecticut have never been seen in Colchester. However, northern copperheads have been seen in East Hampton, East Lyme and Salem. The endangered timber rattlesnake has been seen in East Hampton and Marlborough.
“The territory comes down the Connecticut River watershed and fans out at the shoreline,” Victoria said.
Victoria said nobody in Connecticut has died from snake venom in at least 20 years, but the scars from venom are disfiguring.
“Venomous or not, get in the car and go get medical help,” she said.
In the winter, snakes hibernate below the frost line, usually by the beginning of November. They eat a variety of foods including insects, worms, toads, mice, small mammals and birds, depending on the species.
Snakes in Connecticut range in size from seven to 68 inches.
“Snake skin is usually two to three times larger than the actual snake. When they wiggle their way out, they stretch it,” said Victoria, who had brought several skins with her. Maximum life span ranges from five to 50 years, depending on size.
The eastern milk snake was named by farmers who found them in cow barns.
“They thought they liked milk, but they’re really good mousers,” Victoria said. “You can’t get rid of the snake. You have to get rid of the mice.”
Dayna Beal, who came with her son, Sumner, and daughter Grace, 9, is a snake enthusiast.
“I used to jump into a snake pit when I was a teenager,” Beal said. “I was a nature director at a camp in Massachusetts.”
Other snakes are named based on their appearance, such as the Eastern Hognose.
“Its nose is kind of pointing like a pig,” Victoria said.