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This is Moe -- a closeup of his head. Moe was the second snake to hatch from a clutch of 8 eggs. Moe is a little slow. I suspect he may have not gotten enough oxygen in his egg or something. He seems unable or unwilling to hang on when I hold him. Most gopher snakes, in my experience, usually wrap their bodies tight from fear of falling. Moe would flop to the floor if I didn't hold him tight. Let's just say he has a very placid disposition. |
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"You're not taking my picture!" Moe ducks his head into the hideyhole. As you can see, Moe is a classic gopher snake pattern. Black saddles and speckling with cream. Moe - like Curly - is now close to 5 feet in length. |
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This is Curly. Curly
was the last snake in the clutch to hatch. Several
eggs collapsed and at least two
more snakes formed but something prevented the hatchlings from
successful birth. The first thing you note about Curly is his
coloration -- slightly different from Moe. Where Moe is more plain
black and
white, Curly starts out that way -- but then grades to brown and
white with splashes of orange-red. Curly is much more like a typical gopher snake in temperament and is more alert than Moe. Whenever I'm around the cage he pays close attention to my activities. He knows when it is feeding time and you can literally see the excitement that generates in his body language. This ophidian can eat like a race horse! Curly will often just rest his head on the water dish and act like he's watching TV. But since his vision is only good for a few feet, it is the flickering of light and dark that is entertaining him, not the program content. |
 I nicknamed him Cage Climber He's a cute little Pituophis, eh? |
The last two weeks of October 2006 were
warm and that brought the reptiles
out. Lizards sat warming their bellies on my north side fence. It was
tee-shirt weather during the day, although at night the temperatures
drop
sharply and that sends the herps to ground real fast. October 22: On my way to work mid morning, just a few seconds after leaving my house, I came across the dead body of a young gopher snake, a hatchling probably only a few weeks old at most. Just a few yards further up the road -- another one. Given the proximity, they may have been from the same brood, but we have lots of gopher snakes here so that's a guess at best. On October 24 at about noon, just as I was getting my daily mail from the box, I spotted a baby gopher snake lying in the road just in front of the mail truck. The little fellow was just resting in the traffic lane enjoying the warmth of the asphalt. I walked ahead and scooped him up. Seconds later, after the mail truck had moved along two large SUVs roared by. That baby would have been pancaked. He's now residing in a cage and he is a very good eater. Oddly, he isn't too bothered about being handled. He is an accomplished cage climber and has already learned that the top of the cage is an exit. Smart little guy. |