These are the skulls of typical colubrids, the largest family of snakes, including all of our local Nova Scotia species. Our only real “biters” are garter snakes, who tend to clamp on until you release them.Snakes have very tiny, recurved teeth that are designed to simply HOLD prey and prevent it from backing out and escaping. Unlike dogs or cats, they can’t grind or tear their food, so they swallow it whole. Even a vigorous bite can’t do much damage, and an ornery snake will typically release you just as soon as you let it go, though a little squirt of water will often speed things along.
Handy Snakebite Tip: Because their teeth are curved, yanking your finger/hand back will cause more damage to both you and the snake. It’s better to push your finger deeper INTO the snake’s mouth just a tiny bit to dislodge the teeth from your skin first. Often that action alone will trigger a release.
