I received a phone call the other day from a woman who wanted to know what to do with a large black rat snake she had found, sprawled out, too cold to move, in her attic. Everyone knows snakes are cold-blooded and they hibernate in the winter. But when it is cold outside, the feistiest black racer to the calmest black rat snake will stop moving, and her attic was not heated. It takes energy and movement to get to an appropriate spot, and it was too cold to simply put the snake outside.

I advised against keeping the snake inside, as it would be too warm to hibernate but might be too cold to eat properly. The snake was probably in her attic eating rodents and is part of the local ecology.

The solution? On a warm afternoon dig a hole 4-6 inches deep, place the snake in the hole, cover with leaf litter and top with a log or cover. This will afford protection from severe weather and a place to chill out for the winter. In the spring the snake will resume rodent patrol.

If you have wildlife questions, call Piedmont Wildlife Center 572-9453 or check out www.piedmontwildlifecenter.org.