I'm not sure if this is where I can post a related question... I live in SW Missouri and was hoeing some weeds beside my house and accidentally chopped a small snake in two. I've identified it as a Midland Brown Snake. I noticed the mortally injured snake, though only 7 or 8 inches long, had babies wriggling out of its belly. So I pulled all of them out and carefully placed them into a jar. There are about a dozen that are still alive. I've had them about 3 hours now. Any suggestions on what to feed them? They're about the size of a toothpick and I can't imagine they could feed themselves on their own. I'm wondering if earthworms cut into tiny pieces would work for them...

Larry, all snakes have teeth. The rows of teeth in a Gray (or Black) Rat Snake will look like fangs. A Water Moccasin, or Cottonmouth, is a snake of swamps, and does not approach this size. Also, a Cottonmouth has a completely different pattern. Almost all snakes have a white inner lining of the mouth, making them look like a Cottonmouth when alarmed; the Black Rat Snake I caught Tuesday showed a white lining to the mouth while biting me three times (she was very frightened), plus, when looking in the Peterson's Guide, it doesn't look like Cottonmouths make it to Northern Alabama. Of course, people will call me a liar, and say they have seen "Water Moccasins", but these are simply Water Snakes, and are harmless.

It is indeed a Glass Lizard. Find a copy of Peterson's Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern/Central North America, and look up the Glass Lizards. Looks to me like an Eastern. I have seen exactly one live one, and it was too fast for me. Called "Glass Snake" and "Joint Snake" due to the ease with which the tail breaks off, sometimes into several pieces. The "old husband's tale" goes that they will break apart at a blow, and reassemble themselves after the attacker leaves.

Garter snake. Not venomous, eats slugs and other things. Don't try to handle them - they can secrete a very smelly substance to make predators go away.