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Garter snakes coming out of hibernation and into a tens of thousands strong mating ball in southern Manitoba, Canada
(lemmy.world)
this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2025
628 points (99.4% liked)
Mildly Interesting
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My kid used to love going for walks in the woods with me.
One day we came across one of these mating balls, and they had never seen a garter snake before. Despite my assurances that these are literally one of the most harmless things you can find in the woods, my kid has never willingly accompanied me for hikes since.
Snorgy
Thanks, I hate it
I mean yeah it's a giant snake ball but the worst thing a garter can do to you is stink on you as a means of self defense 😄 They're tiny and goofy and among the few potential pet snakes that can be kept without being fed vertebrates.
Well garden spiders also don't pose any harm, but I don't fancy getting into a giant ball of them
That's fair enough
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(5 replies)
Their saliva is mildly toxic so if you're unlucky enough to be allergic you could get an annoying rash from a bite.
Maybe 10k of them slobbering all of you might not be good then
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I’m something of a mating ball, myself.
Ok so why are you taking photos and not joining in on the fun?
Indiana Jones hates this.
I could finally find out how chewing 5 gum supposedly feels
I didnt know Canada was Australia. I always thought Canada was too cold for this shit.
Garter snakes are harmless, they run from you and don't bite.
Even if they did bite it would still be harmless, tiny teeth, low bite force, no venom, would hardly hurt if it managed to hurt at all.
Admit you want to climb into the snake orgy a bit
I've been in one of these before it's nice.
I wish people were mating like this. Not that I want to, just it would be hilarious
Humans really do do everything so wrong
Worlds biggest gangbang
I think there have been many gangbangs of larger scale throughout history.
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I'm going to have nightmares about this.
Humans do this the first weekend of summer vacation at the lake/river.
i kinda wanna know what lakes you go to now
Fuck all of this. I hate snakes more than Indiana Jones does. Last week I was taking laundry down to the basement and stepped directly onto a garter snake. Horrifying.
Poor snake
The snake was probably horrified as well. At least it was a garter and not a rattler or mamba.
Danger noodle ball of Nope
Nah, just a regular noodle ball of nope. Unless they bite you, it gets infected and you choose to ignore it, about the worst a garter snake will do to you is cover whatever part of you is touching them in some stinky piss. Like, leave them alone unless it's absolutely necessary, but garter snakes are pretty chill.
Garter snakes were long thought to be non-venomous, but discoveries in the early 2000s revealed that they produce a neurotoxic venom.[12] Despite this, garter snakes cannot seriously injure or kill humans with the small amounts of comparatively mild venom they produce and they also lack an effective means of delivering it. In a few cases, some swelling and bruising has been reported.[13] They do have enlarged teeth in the back of their mouths[14] but their gums are significantly larger and the secretions of their Duvernoy's gland are only mildly toxic.[13][15]
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This isn't where I parked my car.
Good thing the dont have feet, can you imagine the time lost while all the Canadian snakes had to appologize to each other?
... and some of them have social anxiety ...
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