Do snakes eat skunks? Snakes are carnivorous, so you wonder if you can consider the smelly critters for your slithering pet’s next meal.
Unfortunately, snakes don’t naturally eat skunks. On the contrary, skunks may eat these scaly animals, including venomous species. These nasty critters are even known to survive venomous bites from vipers.
Snakes and skunks thus have an interesting predator-prey relationship.
So, I gathered some interesting facts about them in this post. And you can use these details for your scaly pet’s safety from these smelly pests.
Do Snakes Eat Skunks Naturally?
Snakes don’t eat skunks because they avoid the nasty smell these critters release. Remember that these reptiles have a strong sense of smell to supplement their poor hearing and eyesight. So, the odorous spray from these little pests can greatly irritate snakes.
Moreover, skunks are immune to a dose of venom and naturally prey on slithering reptiles. Your pet may thus think these little creatures are threats to their safety.
Why Can’t Snake Venom Kill Skunks?
These little creatures have developed resistance against a dose of venom as they often need to deal with vipers in their natural habitat.
Vipers stay away from these critters to avoid the irritating smelly spray. And as these small mammals eat slithering reptiles like rattlesnakes, they must develop venom resistance. It protects them from deadly bites while killing their prey and avoid poisoning while eating.
What Other Animals Have Venom Resistance?
Some other animals also have venom resistance through different physical characteristics, like mongooses, pigs, hedgehogs, and opossums.
For example, a pig may resist a single deadly bite as its thick fat layer slows down the venom. In another example, opossums have peptides in their blood that can neutralize the lethal chemical. Scientists are also studying opossum blood to see if they can produce universal anti-venom from it.
How Skunks Eat Snakes?
Snakes don’t eat skunks naturally. However, these smelly critters may kill and eat slithering reptiles, so keep them away from your scaly pet.
These small mammals eat any available food in their habitat, including plants and meat. Thus, they may eat fruits in your backyard and any suitable animals on your property.
Typical food options include birds, rodents, insects, and worms, but they also eat reptiles like rattlesnakes. They may also target small slithering reptiles that are easy to kill or carcasses of previously killed animals.
So, keep these critters away if you have small snake species or hatchlings at home. It’s also better to immediately remove any little intruders you find inside or near your property.
Watch this video Snake Vs Skunk
How Does Skunks’ Spray Affect Snakes?
Aside from being smelly, the skunk’s spray may also irritate your reptilian pet. And it could affect any snake, regardless of size and species.
For example, it may irritate your pet’s eyes and cause pain. The odor may also agitate the slithering animal, especially since they have a sharp sense of smell.
Call a veterinarian for a check-up if a nasty critter has sprayed on your scaly pet.
How to Keep Skunks Away from Your Snake?
As you can see, these smelly intruders could threaten your scaly pet’s safety. So, remember these quick tips to keep those pests away:
1. Eliminate Food Source
These small intruders come into your place to find food. Thus, you should remove their usual food sources to keep them away.
First, remember that these smelly critters love worms and grubs. So, hire a grub control service to treat your yard.
Next, keep your garbage out of their reach because skunks eat anything available and will also target food items in your trash bin.
Keep your garbage container in a safe place away from your yard. You may also use trash bins that these pesky animals have difficulty opening, like trash bins with metallic lids.
2. Use Skunk Repellant Smells
You may use certain odors to scare off these critters, like mothballs, citrus, and ammonia. They also avoid the odors of their predator’s urine, like the urine of dogs and coyotes.
On a side note, remember that your slithering pets also have a sharp sense of smell. So, place the repellants at a safe distance from their enclosures.
Especially be careful with ammonia and mothballs, as they could poison your pets and kids.
You might be interested in Do Snakes Eat Moles?
3. Install Outdoor Lightings
Skunks are nocturnal and often sleep during the day and hunt at night. You can thus use outdoor lighting to scare them away. A good option is motion-sensing lighting that suddenly turns on upon detecting any movement, like intruding critters.
4. Cover Entry points
Install proper fencing around your property to keep skunks from coming inside. You can use wire mesh, chicken wires, wood, sheet metal, or concrete.
Fence your yard’s parameters or boundaries and the spots where these pests typically den, like under the house, porch, or shed.
Moreover, cover all holes or entry points into your home, including the windows. This way, you could keep your scaly pet safe, even if the intruder made it into your yard.
5. Remove Skunks from Their Den
Immediately remove skunks if they manage to invade your garden. You can thus prevent them from destroying your plants and harming your pets.
You can cover the den with rags soaked with repellants like mothballs and ammonia. Just be sure you leave an opening for your unwanted visitor to escape.
Another option is using a cage trap with honey, peanut butter, marshmallow, or spoiled meat as bait. However, some states prohibit certain traps for catching wildlife, so it’s better to know your local regulations beforehand.
You can also call a wildlife control specialist to remove and relocate your unwanted visitor.
Summary
So, do snakes eat skunks?
They don’t, so you should keep those smelly critters away from your slithering pet. Skunks can eat any suitable food they find, including snakes.
They’ve even developed natural venom resistance to attack and eat vipers. Thus, only feed your scaly friend with its usual meal and look for ways to keep the pesky skunks away from your home.
