Ophidiophobia

I took advantage of a real spring day yesterday.  April in Chicago, gotta use them when they actually show up. Did some cleaning up, all the debris from last fall that took refuge in my yard and hibernated all winter. I find yard work quite satisfying, much more so than housework.  My darling daughter showed up, hung out to visit for a while.  At one point, we spotted a garter snake just passing though into the next yard.  She almost yelled out, “Eeek, a snake!”  After 24 years, I just found out that she is afraid of snakes.  Huh?  Is the mother always the last to know?

Well, needless to say this surprised me.  Not only because she had imaginary worms as friends when she was a kid, (another story for another day) and yes, I know snakes are different from worms.  She grew up around here, and there have always been little snakes around.  I just never knew of this fear.  OK, it’s not like she jumped up on a table, or ran into the house.  (My husband also has a fear of these little creatures, he would be the one to go in the house)  Anyway, my daughter began asking me snake questions, which I did not know the answers to, but was curious enough to find out.  Thought I’d share a little snake knowledge:

Fear of snakes:  Ophidiophobia    

 The garter snake is the most common of snakes,  named for their resemblance to the “garter” once worn by men to hold up their socks.   

 Because of their small size, they warm up quickly, but cool down just as fast.

They hibernate in the winter, stocking up on body fat by eating heavily in the late summer.  A common food is earthworms, which are swallowed whole.   

 Garter snakes in the wild have an average lifespan of 2 years.  In captivity, 6-10 years.    

 Snakes can’t crawl backwards 

Although they have no external ears, they can hear.  Sound waves are transmitted from the skin on their skull, to the jaw muscle, to the ear bone. 

OK, this concludes our snake lesson for today, and remember, a little garter snake never hurt anyone.  If you tripped and fell running from one, well….whose fault is that?