WARNING! This is not a professional website! I am NOT an expert. Do NOT believe everything on this site.

Last Updated: 8/29/07

Mammals, birds, and reptiles - friends and foes of your pond

Mammals - now on their own page

• Cats
  
• Beavers
  
• Deer
  
• Dogs
  
• Foxes
  
• Humans
  
• Moles
  
• Muskrats
  
• Opossums
  
• Raccoons
  
• Skunks

Birds - now in their own directory

• Pond Birds Index
  
• Songbirds
  
• Birds of Prey - eagles, hawks, falcons, kingfishers, ospreys, and owls
  
• Herons and Egrets - including thwarting the heron, species, and my experiences
  
• Waterfowl - ducks, geese, swans, and cormorants

On This Page:

Reptiles

• Turtles - on their own directory
  
• Common Water Snake
  
• Corn Snake
  
• Eastern Ribbon Snake
  
• Garter Snake

Deterring Wildlife from Harming the Pond

Attracting Wildlife to the Pond

Books

For information on wildlife including web sites and habitats, see my wildlife page.

See my July 2005 newsletter for a short section on how to try to determine which predator got your fish.

I am currently working on a new birds directory and then will do animals and most of these pages will be expanded and redone over the next 2 to 4 months.

Snakes

Note: Additional snake photos can be found on my snake page. Eventually, this section will join that one when I have time to work on it.

There is a lot of information on various snakes on the internet. Here is but one site I found.
Mike's Life List - includes photos and a little information on about 74 species of snake including 10 species of water snakes.

Snake Tracks - a new, large snake site.

I went to the zoo on 6/7/06 and took these two photos of snakes while there.
Copperhead snake
Black rat snake

There is another photo of a black rat snake on this page.

Common Water Snake

The common water snake is Serodia sipedon or Natrix sipedon. It is a harmless (to you), quick, up to 3 feet long snake. They will eat whatever aquatic critters they can catch. They give birth to live young.

For a site with photos of the Diamondback and Yellowbellied water snakes, go to this site. They try to eat big goldfish in Elizabeth's pond but cannot always swallow!

Candy sent this photos of a water snake in her pond on 5/30/07. I am not sure which species it is. It might be a Southern water snake or Nerodia fasciata or maybe a brown water snake or Northern water snake. They all look so similar! Enature lists 11 water snake species in the US here. There is also a neat spider in the photo. I was told that it is a fishing spider, the six spotted Dolomedes triton.
Water snake

Corn Snake

The corn snake is not one you would normally find by your pond but it is common in backyards across most of the Eastern half of the United States. As I wrote a report on this snake for work (a food company found it in a shipment), I thought I would add the information I gathered to this site for those who are curious.

The corn snake (Elaphe guttata) comes in both orange and dark-phases. The dark- phased snake is often confused with rattlers but it does not have a rattle. Corn snakes belong to the family Colubridae (rat snakes). Aside from the general appearance of the reptile, there are two identifying stripes at the underside of the base of the tail. A good photo of an adult dark-phase corn snake can be seen at this site and another photo can be seen at this site. A site with information on identifying characteristics of corn snakes is found here. The corn snake is more commonly known for its orange color phase. Corn snakes are found in most of the Eastern half of the United States, as far west as Colorado, north to New Jersey, and south to Florida. Corn snakes are not poisonous. When cornered, corn snakes will lift their heads, hiss, shake their tails, and act aggressively. Born at 10-15 inches long, they grow to three to five feet long over three years. Corn snakes may live 20 years. They are found in many different rural and suburban habitats including fields, woods, rock piles, wetlands, barns, and back yards. Primarily nocturnal, they hunt most small animals including rodents (mice, rats, moles, voles), frogs, birds, bats, and bird's eggs. Young snakes will hunt baby rodents, bird's eggs, large insects, and other small animals. During daylight, corn snakes will make every effort to hide in a dark location.

Eastern Ribbon Snake

Thamnophis sauritus is the Eastern ribbon snake. They might visit your pond.

Garter Snake

Thamnophis sirtalis is the common garter snake but there are almost a dozen species of garter snake growing from 1.5 to 3 feet long. They are very opportunistic, eating whatever is available. Some are semi-aquatic. They are harmless to large mammals.

On 8/24/98, my brother says he saw a garter snake undulating across my pond. Actually, he thought it was a ribbon snake. It had stripes of yellow and black and was only a few feet long. Whether it ate some of my minnows, tadpoles, frogs, or something else, we will never know. I doubt it was there to take a bath. I saw a garter snake in the water and rocks on 10/11/98. Thus, I assume that it is the same one as my brother saw on 8/24, and he says they look the same. It was kind of cute and did not bite when I touched its head with a stick. As long as it only eats my surplus minnows and tadpoles, I welcome it. If the snake decides my goldfish are handy snacks, I would not be so happy.

Update on our pond garter snake: I found it dead with its head bitten off! I think the raccoon did it. I have not seen any garter snakes since then (4/99) but do see black snakes occasionally.

Discouraging snakes from frequenting your pond:

Remove all rocks from the area and all other hiding places. I cannot do this since my pond is held together with 6 tons of Pennsylvania fieldstone! Most snakes that will visit an ornamental pond do little harm as they eat only a few small animals and few are poisonous or will even bite. Snakes rarely stay around any one pond for any length of time.

Aside from outright killing the animals (which I oppose), below are listed some of the methods for deterring wildlife from visiting your ponds to eat your prized fish and lilies.

• Build steep edges to the pond and reduce shallow areas. My pond has a foot drop from the edging to the water. Herons, raccoons, opposums, skunks, dogs, cats, people, etc. are not as apt to hunt fish or eat plants if they cannot easily walk into the pond or reach the water from the edge of the pond. This method does no good against dive-bombing birds like kingfishers.
  
• Reduce or remove rock work and plants around the pond so there are fewer places for animals to hide. Since I actually want snakes, turtles, frogs, and small mammals to come to my pond for a drink and a minor snack, I have lots of rocks and plants. This method would have no effect on larger mammals who are not scared.
  
• Add extra plants and animals specifically for the predator to eat. If, for example, you add say a few hundred rosy red minnows or a few hundred extra anacharis, then that raccoon, snake, skunk, or turtle, etc. will be so busy eating those to even bother with the goldfish or lilies. You can also provide food scraps away from the pond to stuff them. Our raccoon prefers junk food to fish since he is lazy, and it takes energy to chase down fish.
  
• Provide lots of hiding spots for the fish. This naturally gives them a little bit more of an advantage. I have large PVC pipe pieces and clay flower pots in the bottom of my pond as well as plenty of plants (but they are not present in winter for protection).
  
• Buy a motion detector that is rigged to a water squirter. Most pond catalogs sell "scarecrow" squirters. Some animals may find this fun though.
  
• Similarly motion detectors rigged to noise makers and/or lights may discourage large mammals for a while but they usually get used to them or figure out how to avoid them.
  
• Buy a dog and keep it outside at night (or day for herons) (enclosed in a fence or otherwise prevented from leaving the property of course). Of course, this may not be so humane for the dog. This method works almost too well. Some ponders report their dogs killing raccoons, opposums, etc. And you had better hope there are no skunks around! Dogs are also good at keeping deer away from eating your plants.
  
• Put a net over the pond. This provides the most protection but sometimes animals learn to get in anyway. During the fall, my pond is netted but a squirrel ate through it to get a drink! Larger animals could move the netting if not secured while smaller animals like snakes could easily find an opening.
  
• Put out a "Have-A-Heart' trap for larger mammals (raccoons, opposums, foxes, skunks (oh, no!), cats, etc.). Then, move them to a more appropriate home.

To attract wildlife to the pond, do the opposite of most of the advise above on deterring wildlife. Provide shallow areas; ramps in and out of the water; and lots of hiding places, plants, and rocks. Plant lots of vegetation in and around the pond. Put as many compatible species in the pond as is reasonable. Provide different habitats from tiny, fish-less ponds for amphibians to use to large ponds with fish; deep areas and shallow areas; sunny areas and shady areas. Also, add plants and animals that wildlife want to eat. "If you build it, they will come." Filling the pond and area around it with animals and plants that are native to your area will attract the greatest number of visitors. Local wildlife is adapted to local species for food, cover, etc. Information on creating wildlife habitats can be found on my wildlife page under web sites and wildlife habitats.

These are the books that I own and that I used as references for this web page.

Familiar Reptiles & Amphibians of North America, National Audobon Society Pocket Guide, Alfred A. Knopf, 1996.

Pond Life: A Guide to Common Plants and Animals of North American Ponds and Lakes by Dr. George K. Reid, Golden Press, 1967. A book chock full of information.

The Audubon Society Nature Guides: Wetlands by William A. Niering, Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.

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