Isn't she a cutie?
I'd layed out a large tarp for my potted figs and this baby found a home underneath. Fall clean-up brought her out.

I am not sure what species it is so I gently found her another home.

It is a corn snake which is a type of rat snake. They are nonvenomous and feed mostly on small mammals, lizards, and are particularly fond of bird eggs. They can climb very good. Generally good to have around. Very pretty color patterns.

Uhm , I'm not a lover of any snakes , but the colors are pretty. Our house here in St. Augustine backs up a made made pond/lake and our next door neighbor said his son was bitten by a water moccasin last summer . I'm deathly afraid for our husky who's very nosy and a hunter ! That visitor we can do without !
Corn snakes are welcome though !!

No she is not at list in this form, belt out of her skin would be nicer.
If I am scared of anything that think is snack.

Hi Patee, are you in St. Augustine FL?

I thought corn snake immediately except for its size. The ones I've run into in the past were much larger than this one. It is probably an infant.
It's underside is was a vibrant checkered black and white.

Moccasins?  So far I've been lucky.

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/ID-help-please...this-one-is-different-5800055?highlight=moccasins

Gorgeous. Take care of her. She is part of the web.

That ear-piercing sound? That was me screaming, and jumping up on the table. Although I'm terribly afraid of snakes, I know that many species are beneficial to have in our gardens.  Especially out where I live, as we have a terrible issue with rodents (rats, mice, rabbits, ground squirrels).  Sounds like a similar experience I had a couple of months ago when doing some volunteer work at the San Diego Botanical Gardens (CRFG do volunteer clean up work there).  One of my colleagues and I were pulling apart 15 gal black plastic pots to use to collect weeds.  They were stuck together, so we were trying to pull them apart.  What we didn't realize was a little garter snake had taken up residence in the bottom part, and while we were jostling the pots, trying to yank them apart, it was frantically trying to escape through one of the bottom holes.  When we saw it, we both yelped and jumped a mile!  Fortunately, it wasn't a rattlesnake, which we've had in larger numbers this last season.  I remember corn snakes from Indiana.  We had to have the kids watch for them in the corn fields when they would go out to do corn detasseling.  They're not poisonous but still can inflict a painful bite.  They do a good job keeping the rodents down, though.

Patty S. I'm with you on the snakes . I know some are beneficial , but not a fan and am a screamer when I see them also.
I just heard on the news that Duval County, FL had a 80 lb cotton mouth ! A guy was clearing land and happened to kill it . I think it was a record there. Ugh that's just soo nasty and downright scary !!
So far haven't read or heard of anything that will keep them out of the yard. Although we haven't seen them , I don't want our husky to find one and get bitten . We are fenced so she won't get to the water. But the snakes can head our way.

@FMD -yes St. Augustine , Florida.

I hear you.  We have killed 6 rattlers on our property over the last 3 1/2 years since we've been here.  Two of them were huge, over 6' long and as big around as my forearm.  That's really, really big for a rattler, and that told me they had been here for years.  I hate to have to kill them, I'd rather re-home them, but that's a dangerous proposition unless you really know what you're doing.  They were all found in areas I garden, or very close to walkways.  We have snake fencing all around our close yard, and 3 were found within that snake fencing.  We have two Aussies, and I get them rattlesnake vaccines every six months to help to protect them and give me some time to get to the vet for anti-venom.  We just happen to be in an area that has a lot of rattlesnakes, sadly.  My outer yard can't be fenced for snakes, so I have to be very careful.  I really should wear tall boots when I go out there to garden - it's where almost all my citrus, avocados, mangos, papayas, and some figs are.  So, I'm trudging around this slope quite a bit.  The only rattler I've run into out there was actually sunning itself on my driveway.  My garden hoe dispatched with that one, while my husband provided technique critiquing ("You missed, you missed, you missed...")  He's lucky he wasn't the next hoe victim.  All done while screaming.  I imagine my neighbors were very entertained that afternoon, lol!!

Patty , I didn't know about the rattlesnake vaccine ! We have pygmy rattlers here and heard they are quite common. I'll have to find a vet here to get her a shot. In the past , we are here mostly in winter - most snakes are hibernating or so I'm told .  We do hope to change to one home this year , want to be closer to our kids and grandkids.
Looks like you have to get those tall boots !! Had to laugh at your hubby's critique !! Guess I have to get me a long handled hoe too !!

"My garden hoe dispatched with that one, while my husband provided technique critiquing ("You missed, you missed, you missed...") He's lucky he wasn't the next hoe victim."

ROFL...
Usually it's the other way around, ie husbands and wives.

When I was a kid I caught one of those (corn snakes) and for 2 days I tried to keep it as a pet.  I let it go (felt sorry for it being in captivity).  They're fast, strong (they're constrictors), and a very beneficial snake to have around.  Many  of the things they eat are nuisances to gardeners, by the way (particularly rodents, but also some other reptiles).  Don't be scared of this pretty and nonvenomous snake... they're not like rattlers at all.
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ReptilesAmphibians/Facts/FactSheets/Cornsnake.cfm

Mike

I was in Cyprus once and visited a dog shelter to walk dogs. They had the problem of snakes coming into the shelter property seeking water, the dogs would see them and go for snakes/get bit. They put water bowls outside the perimeter fencing and it drastically reduced the amounts of dogs getting bit from snakes, since the snakes didn't need to come into the shelter area for water anymore....

I know, Frank.  It just happened that I had a hoe in hand, and shoes on.  Dave was in the house working and ran out, barefoot (in response to all the screaming of course, lol!)  So, I had to do the dirty deed.  I was starting to get pretty ticked off about all the critiquing, honestly.  After about the 6th whack, the snake was dispatched with.  It was a baby, and would have never given me any warning that he was there before a strike, as all it had was one button.  And Gina, I hear you.  I hate to have to kill them, but I'm not skilled enough to scoop them up, and re-home them somewhere more remote.  So, for my safety, my family and friend's/visitor's safety, and especially me dogs' safety, I have to dispatch with the rattlers.  Fortunately, we have plenty of Califorinia King snakes, Garter snakes and Gopher snakes on my property that we just let be.  They help keep my rodent population down, along with all the owls, falcons, hawks, coyotes, weasels and bobcats we have out here in the hills of N. San Diego county. 

no wonder the rats are taking over the city and its gardens! no predators for them here... they are HUGE.

Maybe so, but Seattle is a beautiful city. I have never seen so much greenery in my life. I fell in love with all the Japaneses maples there in every yard.
I bet you have more snakes then you think you do.

A beautiful and welcome member of your local ecosystem....lucky you!

Womak had it 100% correct. Beautiful, harmless Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus guttatus = use to be in the Elaphe genus).

I caught dozens of these when I lived in S. FL. Yes, picked them up, handled them, bitten by them, etc (these comments are shared especially for the squeamish ones :-O) :).

Never kill a snake unless you fear it is venomous AND too close to an inhabited dwelling. Even then it's best to leave them alone because all too often the person who gets bitten is the person trying to kill the snake. It's best to leave them alone and call a professional if you are overly concerned about living in proximity to them. They are a very important part of the natural ecosystems and far too many snakes are killed needlessly every year.

Food for thought.......

Dale, I work in some buildings downtown, near many fancy restaurants that I wish I could afford to try, smells so good, but one day, coming to get my car, I literraly had to jump to avoid being run over by these 20" rats, and they squeased themselves and under the restaurant door they went...  and the city remove the dumpters, as the street people were sleeping and doing their drugs behind them...so garbage now in bags and spread in the alleys and a party place for those rats, yes, they forgot to let out the snakes here.

I happen to like snakes.  We have rattlesnakes here and pygmy rattlesnakes as well as black snakes and the oh so gorgeous coral snakes they all get a pass from me.  Rat snakes on the other hand are dispatched.  I have both chickens (11) and ducks (23) and they are just too hard on the eggs and young ducklings.  I never enjoy dispatching them but relocation does not work as they come back.  

We've got king, gopher, and rattlers here. When new neighbors move in -before people can educate them- many automatically kill anything that slithers... not knowing snakes keep the rats, mice and gophers in quite good check without the use of further damaging poisons that secondarily can kill dogs, cats, birds....

Like most people, I don't much like to suddenly come upon snakes, but they do keep nature in balance.

Gorgeous little corn snake--one of the prettiest snake species in the US, and very popular as pets. I wish they lived in Tucson. When I was a kid and kept a variety of pet snakes, I always wanted a corn but never had one. This one is lucky to have wandered into a friendly yard.

I found this little grey rat snake in a mulberry tree next to my house. The non-poisonous snakes are welcome visitors.

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/50/ratsnakeinmulberrytreec.jpg