Found adult eastern milk in my garage

This has been a great year for finding hatchlings and adult eastern milksnakes in my yard, basement and now my garage. I'm a little shocked at how late I found this guy (Nov. 11) but it has been mild in central Mass. even though we had 20 inches of snow in a freak storm on Oct. 29.

So I found this adult male eastern in my garage on Friday. He is the lightest colored and slightly brownish in color eastern I have found around my house - they tend to be redder and darker. He has kind of a peach wash all over his body and especially near the tail. Thin black bands. He is 32 inches long (I've seen bigger in my neighborhood).

So I found him, took some photos and then do what I always do with all wild snakes I find - I let him go at the edge of the woods near a wood pile at the rear of my property.

Well, tonight (Sunday) I found him in my garage again. I compared him to the photos I took and it is the exact same snake! So I let him stay in the garage near my wood bin where I found him both times. If he trekked all the way up from the woods and across my yard and somehow found his way in through a crack in the foundation behind the front steps he is welcome to stay in the garage in the foundation for the winter. He obviously has been staying in there for some time. Bonus: My wife was very understanding about this. She actually felt bad I evicted him the first time I found him on Friday.

The photos attached show a full body shot, a head close-up shot and a side body shot to try and show the peach wash and the almost olive colored blotches. He was very calm, though alert, and never tried to bite. It might be because it was only in the upper 40s to low 50s.

I feel pretty lucky.

Rob Haneisen

Hey Rob, I'm wildly jealous of you can find so cool a snake in your garden and garage.

I myself live in Denmark, and here we have only two species of snakes, and none of those come to visit in my apartment on the 3 floor.

It is a really nice triangulum, really like that it is pale in color. And super cool to leave it in hibernation in the garage.

Morten Guldhammer

put a bowl of water for him by the wood pile haha. I bet he is just trying to find a cozy spot to den up for the winter. hell, if you see him again, toss him a mouse too!

So pretty. I know we have these in my state too but I've never found any myself. You are so lucky!

Your story reminds me of my black rat snake. She likes to hang out around my house. I guess she likes eating the chipmunks. They are everywhere and live under my house! I know it's the same snake because she has a big scar across her back. I most often find her in my driveway in the early mornings.

We would love to have one of these for our native species display at the shop!