Bad Match Breeding

[ConcinusMan]

Well it is a balancing game. Do I sit and hope no predator (you) sees me or do I make a run for it and blow my cover?

You'll find that the choice a snake makes will vary depending on location, and temperature of the snake/conditions.

Wayne says his wild snakes are "bored" but what happens also depends on numbers. A big cluster of snakes all together and below optimum temperature will make all of them more reluctant to flee. The one that flees from such a situation might be the first and perhaps the only one to get "picked off".

Any snake that is well below optimal "fleeing" temperature or too far from the nearest "for sure" cover, may opt to sit still, even for photos, (haha, better than sitting still to become a meal) and be very reluctant to flee for cover.

Again, it's all dependent on temperature and conditions. Location because what threats are present at that location will vary too. Just like the Galopagos island birds will just come and land on you. They don't see you as a significant threat. Not so in other locations.

[infernalis]

I do to, but mostly the sit there... I have a bored population

Wayne says his wild snakes are "bored" .

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[ConcinusMan]

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Ooops

[d_virginiana]

We have a large population of water snakes since we live near a creek, and it's very easy to get close or even touch them even though they're healthy. There are lots of gigantic rocks (I mean like, hundreds of pounds) that are wedged up about three or four inches off the ground by other rocks. The snakes are always near easy cover and a great basking spot, so I think this makes them bolder than they'd normally be. It's a really unique little area, though it's a little less fun when the copperheads decide they're going to sit there and be just as bold...
But mostly, the snakes around here just run. My dog will chase them to cover somewhere and I can catch them then. Not a lot of garters in this area though...

[kibakiba]

Snakes here will coil up and put their tails over their heads if they see you, but if you get too close they'll make a run for it.

[d_virginiana]

I like the ones that rattle their tails at you before running. It's usually rat snakes that I've seen do that. I wonder if they're trying to imitate rattlers or just attract your attention away from their front ends?

[RedSidedSPR]

I like the ones that rattle their tails at you before running. It's usually rat snakes that I've seen do that. I wonder if they're trying to imitate rattlers or just attract your attention away from their front ends?

I've seen racers do that... Not rat snakes though... Man when they do that, you know it's gonna hurt whenyou grab him

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I've seen racers do that... Not rat snakes though... Man when they do that, you know it's gonna hurt whenyou grab him

pretty much every species of rat snake I have ever kept does the tail rattling. Even the asian king rats. I believe it's actually a defense mechanism common among many snakes from all over, but the rattle snake took it to the next level. It's not that snakes are trying to mimic the rattle snake, it's that a lot of snakes have always done the tail rattling and the rattlesnake took it a step further.

[ConcinusMan]

pretty much every species of rat snake I have ever kept does the tail rattling.

Want to hear something even more interesting? Yellow bellied racers do that from Southern Oregon into CA but only where rattlesnakes also occur. They will often not flee but instead will sit in dry brush and rattle their tails. They do not rattle their tails here in the northwest where rattlesnakes do not also occur, instead preferring to flee rather than stand their ground. Same snake, but different behavior depending on where they are. Now that on the surface seems to support a mimicry theory.

It's either that or the snakes simply evolved the behavior and of course, it was only an advantage where rattlesnakes also occur. Tail rattling was not an advantage where rattlesnakes do not occur, and so they simply dropped the behavior or never developed it in the first place.

In those areas where racers, fence lizards, and rattlesnakes occur, I've seen yellow bellied racers twitch their tails while sitting still, to attract lizards to come closer. In those areas the racers feed almost exclusively on lizards. Here in western WA/OR, they feed mainly on small rodents such as shrews and voles and the very young snakes even eat locusts/grasshoppers.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Want to hear something even more interesting? Yellow bellied racers do that from Southern Oregon into CA but only where rattlesnakes also occur. They will often not flee but instead will sit in dry brush and rattle their tails. They do not rattle their tails here in the northwest where rattlesnakes do not also occur, instead preferring to flee rather than stand their ground. Same snake, but different behavior depending on where they are. Now that on the surface seems to support a mimicry theory.

It's either that or the snakes simply evolved the behavior and of course, it was only an advantage where rattlesnakes also occur. Tail rattling was not an advantage where rattlesnakes do not occur, and so they simply dropped the behavior or never developed it in the first place.

In those areas where racers, fence lizards, and rattlesnakes occur, I've seen yellow bellied racers twitch their tails while sitting still, to attract lizards to come closer. In those areas the racers feed almost exclusively on lizards. Here in western WA/OR, they feed mainly on small rodents such as shrews and voles and the very young snakes even eat locusts/grasshoppers.

It's actually an advantage anywhere... snakes from all over the world do the tail rattling specifically when agitated or threatened. Especially my chinese king rats, and those guys are from china where there are no rattlesnakes to be found. Defensive rattling is something that intimidates a predator even in snakes without a rattle because the snakes purposely slap it against something to make sounds. When my king rats do it, I often get a look of surprise from people who are new to the snakeroom and are nervous about the sound it makes. Snakes using their tails as lures is not uncommon, baby copperheads are born with yellow tails just for this purpose, and the mangshan viper keeps a glow-in-the-dark colored tail it's whole life! (it doesnt actually glow but it looks like it would) Also, females will slap their tails around, especially garters I noticed, when being courted by a male. I have also seen garters do this when introduced to an unfamiliar food item, or to a new snakes they have not met before and are unsure about.

if you want to see a REALLY cool tail luring species, check out Pseudocerastes urarachnoides. Search it on youtube and watch the first video. They literally have a centipede for a tail!