WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Garter Snakes

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh, and there's

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<v Speaker 1>Chuck and Jerry's over there sitting him for Dave, who's

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<v Speaker 1>editing this. Hey Dave, um Dave, And this means say

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<v Speaker 1>hey Dave. Everybody. No, Dave's not allowed to talk either.

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<v Speaker 1>We can't play favorites. No. No, I'm telling the listeners

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<v Speaker 1>to say hi to Dave. No. I don't even know. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>let's just forget all that and just start with the

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<v Speaker 1>short stuff about the harmless garter snake, who is not

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<v Speaker 1>only harmless, is actually helpful, especially if you garden. That's right.

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<v Speaker 1>I love garter snakes. I love it when I happened

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<v Speaker 1>upon them. I love to pick them up and hold

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<v Speaker 1>them for a second before I release them back into

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<v Speaker 1>the wild very gently. Do you nuzzle them? Sure? I

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<v Speaker 1>had one bite me once, really where just like on

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<v Speaker 1>the finger. You know, it's cute. It's an adorable little

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<v Speaker 1>attempt at a bite. This one was really little, and

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<v Speaker 1>I was just like, look at you. You think you're

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<v Speaker 1>all tough, right, And I acted like I was scared.

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<v Speaker 1>I was like, oh, and I put it down just

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<v Speaker 1>so it felt good about itself. That. Wow, that was

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<v Speaker 1>really kind of you. They will a little harmless garter

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<v Speaker 1>snake will try and bite you because that is a

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<v Speaker 1>snake is gonna snake. But um, for many many years

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<v Speaker 1>they thought like they had no toxicity whatsoever, but they

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<v Speaker 1>actually do have toxic, neurotoxic venom. It's just it's adorable

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<v Speaker 1>because it's so little of it and it's so mild

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<v Speaker 1>that it doesn't even harm a human. Now, if you're

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<v Speaker 1>like a little tiny mouse field mouse, you probably don't

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<v Speaker 1>find it very adorable because it'll mess you up. But yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>as far as humans are concerned, unless you have a

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<v Speaker 1>very rare and specific allergy to garter snake venom. Even then,

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<v Speaker 1>from what I saw, I think the worst you're gonna

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<v Speaker 1>face is a skin irritation at the bite site. But

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<v Speaker 1>for the most you did you're like, oh my gosh,

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<v Speaker 1>this allergy my hand is Yeah, that snake was like,

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<v Speaker 1>but this little chest out he's very happy. Um. So yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>for the most part, they're just not going to hurt

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<v Speaker 1>you when there when if you're a human. But even

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<v Speaker 1>even more than that, garter snakes are notoriously shy. They

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to have anything to do with you. They

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to try to get near you. They don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to try and hurt your pet or your kid

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<v Speaker 1>or anything. They just want to kind of coexist peacefully

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<v Speaker 1>and remotely from you in your yard, in your garden,

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<v Speaker 1>and again to kind of help you out. Yeah, and

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<v Speaker 1>it saysn't here and we'll talk about where they got

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<v Speaker 1>their name. But it says that there are sometimes erroneously

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<v Speaker 1>called garden snakes. I don't think that's erroneous. I think

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<v Speaker 1>that can just be a sort of a common name

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<v Speaker 1>for him, since you find him in the garden. I

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<v Speaker 1>don't think anyone thinks that's the official scientific name they.

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<v Speaker 1>I will tell you who thinks it's wrong, Doug Wells

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<v Speaker 1>or Wexler wildlife biologists. Who says who gives the most

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<v Speaker 1>improbable explanation for the name garter snake I've ever heard? Actually?

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<v Speaker 1>Which one is improbable to you? The fact that the

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<v Speaker 1>stripes resemble the garters that men used to wear as

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<v Speaker 1>sock garters used to I've got guarters on right now.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like Krusty the clown. He's trying to be relatable.

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<v Speaker 1>He's like, yeah, when your butler doesn't get all the

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<v Speaker 1>schmutz off of your socks, garters said No, not quite that. Yeah, that, um,

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<v Speaker 1>I guess it does seem a little improbable. I think

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<v Speaker 1>the other one makes a little more sense is that

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<v Speaker 1>the German word for garden is garden, and it might

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<v Speaker 1>have been just a different or you know, corruption I

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<v Speaker 1>guess of that German version. Yeah, which would make sense

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<v Speaker 1>because again, these are like a gardner's best friend. In

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<v Speaker 1>the United States, sometimes they're called gardeners snakes anyway, So

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<v Speaker 1>I would find that more likely than the sock garter

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<v Speaker 1>story that Weckler's peddling. Agreed, And you know, it's not

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<v Speaker 1>like he wrote a book called garter Snakes. Oh wait

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<v Speaker 1>a minute, he did? He did? I feel bad if

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<v Speaker 1>this gets back to him. I'm sure it's a great book, Doug. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>well done. Yeah, you can get it. It's published by

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<v Speaker 1>Power Kids back in two thousand one, and it's probably

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<v Speaker 1>basically evergreen. Plus, it's not like he's just a slouch

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<v Speaker 1>to He's he's um with the Academy of Natural Sciences

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<v Speaker 1>at Drexel University in Philly, so he's not just some guy.

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<v Speaker 1>You know. It's just promoting a terrible, terrible explanation for

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<v Speaker 1>where this artist snake gets its name. Should we take

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<v Speaker 1>a break, I think, so all right, let's do it.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, Here's what surprised me about the garter snake

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<v Speaker 1>is that it is the state reptile of Massachusetts. That

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<v Speaker 1>is very surprising. Did not know that. And they're all

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<v Speaker 1>over North America, from Canada to Florida. Um. Probably one

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<v Speaker 1>of the most abundant and common snakes in North America. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's particularly abundant in the Eastern US, but it

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<v Speaker 1>goes all the way from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just everywhere. Um, America's snake. And they're very frequently

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<v Speaker 1>in places that you have no idea. Again, they kind

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<v Speaker 1>of try to stay away as much as possible. They're

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<v Speaker 1>fairly small. They usually are about anywhere from eighteen inches

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<v Speaker 1>to fifty four inches, which is under five feet UM.

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<v Speaker 1>They're very light. Uh, they weighed like less than half

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<v Speaker 1>a pound typically. They're just tiny little snakes. And then

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<v Speaker 1>they've got these three stripes that if you see it,

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<v Speaker 1>you're like, gosh, that looks just like a sock garter. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>They have the one I think one striped down the

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<v Speaker 1>back and then a couple on each side of the belly.

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<v Speaker 1>But there are a thirty five species. So there you know,

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<v Speaker 1>they're different kinds. There can be spots on some, and

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<v Speaker 1>the colors can range from kind of olive to brown

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<v Speaker 1>to black to gray. Uh. The fact of the show

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<v Speaker 1>for me, I don't know how I got to fifty

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<v Speaker 1>years old and never knew that Alaska didn't have snakes? Right?

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<v Speaker 1>Did you know that I did not? For some reason,

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<v Speaker 1>it's realing like the most minute bell in my head

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<v Speaker 1>that we've covered it before somewhere. I just that was

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<v Speaker 1>shocked by that because I just figured, like any huge

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<v Speaker 1>natural woodland paradise, there would be snakes everywhere. But there

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<v Speaker 1>are no snakes in Alaska. Yeah. I think it's just

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<v Speaker 1>generally too cold up there. But in two thousand five,

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<v Speaker 1>somebody found a garter snake that had been killed on

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<v Speaker 1>the road, and um, the Journal of Herpetology published a

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<v Speaker 1>study by researchers who who studied this thing tried to

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<v Speaker 1>figure out where it came from. So they studied its

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<v Speaker 1>d n A and they said that it's either a

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<v Speaker 1>from a relict or remnant population, or it was a

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<v Speaker 1>recent natural colonization or a fresh introduction. And if you

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<v Speaker 1>take all these explanations together, you see that they say

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<v Speaker 1>we have no idea how this snake. Here's what we're saying. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it's funny. I was like, is there literally one other

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<v Speaker 1>possibility of how that snake got there unless you talk

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<v Speaker 1>about like you know, it fell from outer space right

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<v Speaker 1>dropped by the hand of God himself or herself exactly

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<v Speaker 1>or their selves. Yes, that's right. So these snakes are

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<v Speaker 1>very active. Uh, they're active during the day, they're active

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<v Speaker 1>during the night. If you are a gardener at your house,

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<v Speaker 1>that's where you're probably gonna find him. If you're doing

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<v Speaker 1>some weeding or something, all of a sudden, one will

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<v Speaker 1>just go yeah, and they'll you'll see him slithering away

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<v Speaker 1>as fast as possible. Exact, but they do. They are

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<v Speaker 1>good for your garden. You know. They'll eat pests, the

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<v Speaker 1>late little rodents, ell eat insects, slugs, sure, get rid

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<v Speaker 1>of the slugs. Snails, yeah, grasshoppers, like all these things

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<v Speaker 1>are things that like eat your garden, and the garden

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<v Speaker 1>snake sorry guard snake um eats these things for you.

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<v Speaker 1>So they it's like a natural pest clear that again

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't want to hurt your dog. It doesn't want to

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<v Speaker 1>hurt your dog or your kid or whatever. And in fact,

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<v Speaker 1>it can be a really fun way to introduce your

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<v Speaker 1>kid to snakes, uh, and let them hold a guard

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<v Speaker 1>snake because they're, um, they're you know, they're kind of

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<v Speaker 1>fun to hold. In it, you can get rid of

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<v Speaker 1>some of that fear of snakes that we tried so

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<v Speaker 1>hard to dispel in our Snakes episode. Right, It's a

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<v Speaker 1>good starter to teach your kid how to create their

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<v Speaker 1>own like freaky thing. It's like their thing that they're

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<v Speaker 1>known for throughout high school. It's a starter snake. I

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<v Speaker 1>love it. Sure, you can't have them as pets, but

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<v Speaker 1>they say if you find one in your garden, don't

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<v Speaker 1>just just let it go. Don't take that thing inside.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a wild animal. It may even be against the

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<v Speaker 1>law depending on where you live. But also, they actually

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<v Speaker 1>do breed garter snakes as pets, and I would guess

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<v Speaker 1>it's probably better for the garter snake to be born

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<v Speaker 1>in captivity and kept in captivity, then raised in the

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<v Speaker 1>wild and brought into a thirty gallon aquarium, you know, right. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>The other thing about garter snakes that you'll notice too is, again,

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<v Speaker 1>they're venomous, but they're harmless to humans. And one of

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<v Speaker 1>the reasons people thought they were non venomous for so long.

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<v Speaker 1>Is because their head is about the same size as

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<v Speaker 1>like the rest of their body, and that's usually a

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<v Speaker 1>big differentiator. Um. Just as a rule of thumb, a

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<v Speaker 1>thumb that you want to keep away from whatever snake

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<v Speaker 1>you're sizing up to that moment, that if the head

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<v Speaker 1>is about the same size as the body, is probably

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<v Speaker 1>not venomous. Yeah. Here in the United States for sure. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>And there are no you know, I've seen a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of erroneous uh hardened fast rules that aren't really always

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<v Speaker 1>hardened fast. But definitely, if you see a snake that

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<v Speaker 1>has a big sort of you know, diamond shaped head,

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<v Speaker 1>give it some space. It would just be my advice.

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<v Speaker 1>It might be fine, but give it space anyway, especially

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<v Speaker 1>if it's making a rattling sound with its tail. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>that's a dead giveaway. Um. There's one other thing about

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<v Speaker 1>garter snakes too that you should know that if you

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<v Speaker 1>are going to get curious and pick it up, which

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<v Speaker 1>is mean again, they're very shy. They don't want to

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<v Speaker 1>have anything to do with you, and they certainly don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to be picked up. Um. It may not only

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<v Speaker 1>bite you on the finger, like the one bit, chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>but it also could emit a foul smell. They're very

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<v Speaker 1>well known. Snakes generally do this, but garter snakes are

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<v Speaker 1>well known for basically spring poop, pea and musk combo out.

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<v Speaker 1>And that makes you want to drop it because you're

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<v Speaker 1>just like, yeah, and you should play that up too,

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<v Speaker 1>because they like hitting up props for that too, like,

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<v Speaker 1>oh my god, the smell. I can't take it. That's

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<v Speaker 1>very nice, Chuck, I love it. Are you got anything else?

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<v Speaker 1>I have nothing else, sir, well, And that's it for

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<v Speaker 1>short stuff, everybody. Hope you enjoyed. Be kind to garter snakes.

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<v Speaker 1>I think that the big takeaway from this one, which

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<v Speaker 1>means short stuff is out. Stuff you should know is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts my

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H