Figure 1: Snake with Ruler
On Friday 14-Sep-2012 I caught a small snake. No guarantees, but I reckon it’s probably a Sonoran Night Snake i.e. Hypsiglena torquata.
This snake has perhaps the sweetest disposition of any snake I have ever encountered. He doesn’t hiss, he doesn’t bite or even threaten to bite, and he makes only half-hearted efforts to run away. When I first disturbed him, he reacted by winding himself around and around and around, forming a tight little ball with his head tucked inside – about the most un-threatening pose imaginable.
(Click on the thumbnail to see the full-size image.)
Night snakes are considered mildly venomous, not a danger to humans.
In figure 1, note the distinctive markings. On the back, there are spots left and right of the midline. In some places the left spots are out of phase with the right spots ... then they drift into phase ... then they drift out of phase. I call this the “Vernier” pattern.
He’s about 20cm long. I found him hiding under a rock in Tucson, Arizona. The rock is about 30cm × 20cm × 20cm. There were dozens of small crickets and other bugs under the rock.
Figure 2 shows the same snake, sitting in my hand, flicking his tongue. Note the vertical-slit iris.
Figure 3 is another close-up of his head.
Figure 4 is a picture of his belly. It is white with a pinkish stripe down the midline.
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