# Is this a Snake



## Dupont (6 mo ago)

Please can anyone here help? I was just moving my potted tomato plants and noticed this at the side of one of them. I thought at first it was a big fat Caterpillar but it was about 4 inches long.

Is it a baby snake?


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## Thrasops (Apr 15, 2008)

It is an elephant hawk moth caterpillar.


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## Dupont (6 mo ago)

Thrasops said:


> It is an elephant hawk moth caterpillar.


Thank you. How can you tell the difference?

It was huge. Never seen a caterpillar so big in my life!


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## ian14 (Jan 2, 2008)

If you have a greenhouse they are fairly easy to pupate. A great project if you have young children!
My mum found quite a few last year so kept them to let my nephews watch how they developed.
100% success rate, every single one successfully developed to the adult moth and were released in the garden.


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## ian14 (Jan 2, 2008)

Dupont said:


> Thank you. How can you tell the difference?
> 
> It was huge. Never seen a caterpillar so big in my life!


It's quite easy. 
One is a snake, the other is, well, a caterpillar! 🤣😅🤣
If you decide to try to keep one to pupate, it does need a cold overwintering period. If you would like some advice on how to do this im happy to ask and let you know.
This is what it will turn into:


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## spigotbush (Feb 8, 2019)

Dupont said:


> Thank you. How can you tell the difference?
> 
> It was huge. Never seen a caterpillar so big in my life!


baby snakes would be much more slender and reactive. for example, baby grass snakes are pencil sized and very fast. with their camouflage you would have a hard time even noticing it unless you were looking for them.

the caterpillars are always fun to find though. we kept one last year and it was fun watching it do its thing. ours was about 3" long.


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