Snakes are a species of reptile found throughout the Mouse Territories. Snakes are a great danger to mousekind, the Guard are often relied on to keep these monsters at bay.[1]
Species[]
Garter snakes[]
The most common snake in the Mouse Territories is the Garter Snake. It's slender and about 5-mice long. Though not venomous, this snake does hunt and kill Insects, Squirrels and Mice.
Rat snakes[]
Rat snakes are terrifying predators. They strike from ambush with their bite while rattling their tail. Their fangs are not venomous, however. They are only used to grasp hold of its prey so the snake can wrap its coils around its victim and squeeze it to death. Rat snakes hide in deep burrows during the winter, but during the rest of the year, they can be found hunting mice, newts and birds.
Pine snakes[]
Pine snakes are non-venomous constrictors that prefer to eat mice and birds. They are excellent climbers and have an appearance and manner similar to that of a rattlesnake.
Known Snakes[]
In Fall 1152 "Chapter 1 - Belly Of The Beast", the Grain peddler is ambushed by a Rat snake and swallowed whole. While searching for the peddler, Kenzie, Saxon and Lieam find themselves faced with that same snake and make a hasty retreat. In a hole, the three mice find a clutch of the snake's eggs, so Kenzie and Saxon promptly smash them. Lieam is almost swallowed by the snake, but he plunges his dagger through the roof of the snake's mouth, killing her. Saxon slices open the snake's belly and find the remains of the grain peddler.
In Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard Volume One, the mouse Kole tells a tale of a mouse called Oleg who presumably ends up being eaten by snake after he misinterpreted the blind Staretz's warning "Your steed will be the death of you".
In Legends of the Guard Volume Three, the mouse Asa tells a tale of a mouse called Lenora who was eaten by a snake, while wearing her wedding gown and became some sort of siren-like of ghost. A tale called "Legend of the Cloverdale Snake Tamer" in which a mouse raised the snake since birth, but ultimately put the town at risk.
In Spring 1126, "The Tale of the Wise Weaver", a mouse known as the Wise weaver persuaded a snake to aid him against the predators that threatened it and was able to gain some drops of its venom. The Weaver uses a piece of the crab shell to kill the snake, then kills the Crab. Finally the Weaver tricks the Hawk into drinking the snake venom, killing it in seconds.
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