I was working on cleaning filters this morning and opened the lid on the remodeled Goldfish Pond only to discover that I have a visitor. This is probably the same snake that has been hanging around and that I saw in the bog of the 6000 gallon pond last week. It is about 24 inches or so long and is probably a Red Striped Ribbon Snake. When I saw it in the bog it was out of the water and the red stripe on its back was very visible. Not so much under water.

When I first spotted it, the head was out of the water as it was slithering through from the filter side to the pump side. By the time I got back with the camera, these shots were the best I could get.

This last one shows the snake sitting underwater with the head up. Obviously, they can breathe to some extent while submerged.

This reminds me not to stick my hand in any of the filters without checking first. Hope that it decides to move away soon as I don’t plan on disturbing it too much.