Any clue what kind of snake may be in the surf? My wife/father in law saw a sand-colored “snake” wash up on the beach, wiggle around like crazy for a second, then bury itself head first in a few seconds.
This was on Tybee this weekend about 20’ from me as I pushed my 3 year old boy on a boogie board.
All kinds of critters in the water this weekend. Couldn’t wade 10-20’ in any direction w/o stepping on horseshoe crabs. Other things kept touching me as I waded. Freaked me out a bit, felt like a sissy.
we saw a small snake in the creek yesterday behind Morris…wiggled and struggled to climb out of the water up on a pluff mud flat…then a stingray came by and ate him…kinda bizarre…
All of the barrier islands have a load of rattlesnakes. Not so much on Tybee anymore as the people have about eradicated them, but Little Tybee and Cockspur Island (Ft. Pulaski area) are full of them. Not unusual to see them in the water.
They are somewhat chameleon and change their color to blend with their background. I’ve seen them almost white in the sand dunes.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
That’s the only snake that made sense to me and as I googled it, there was a case in 2011 of a guy trying to grab a snake in a swimming pool on Tybee thinking it was a typical garden or a rat snake, turned out to be the wrong move. He was in ICU.
Pa/Wife said it was 3’ long and as big around as my thumb. No one ID’d it as anything they’d seen.
While they are harmless, be careful in handling them. They are called a glass lizard for a reason
Notes: Glass lizards earned their name by their propensity to “shatter” by breaking their tail, often in several pieces. The common belief that these pieces can rejoin is a myth, although they tail will slowly regrow over a period of months or years.
That’s the only snake that made sense to me and as I googled it, there was a case in 2011 of a guy trying to grab a snake in a swimming pool on Tybee thinking it was a typical garden or a rat snake, turned out to be the wrong move. He was in ICU.
Pa/Wife said it was 3’ long and as big around as my thumb. No one ID’d it as anything they’d seen.
BG
If the burrowing action you saw was up in the lose, dry sand, it may have been a glass lizard. If it was down in the wet sand, though, it was probably an eel, especially if it burrowed along the edge of the water. Rest assured that it was not a rattlesnake or any other pit viper. Glass lizards burrow, but usually only in loose, dry sand, soil, or leaves. They don't really "dig" burrows otherwise, but they often enter burrows made by other critters. They are all over the area here. They mostly hang out in the grass eating bugs and spiders. One species supposedly gets over 3 feet long, but I've rarely seen them over a foot or so. They're usually pretty skinny, too (so, being 3' long but as narrow as your thumb might fit). If it was slimy, it wasn't a snake or lizard. Glass lizards are shiny but not slimy. The water will roll right off of them like off of a duck's back. Eels are slimy. Hope this helps.
Gotcha Covered,
Lee Strickland
Strickland Marine Insurance Agency, Inc. https://stricklandmarine.net
843-795-1000 / 800-446-1862
