Janson,

I believe I mentioned about 1 to 2 years old. As shown, the dorsal coloration is rather dark for a recently new born boa. Thus if you found in it Sept. or Oct., in all likelihood it would have been born the year before. If you found it anytime between March and the end of August, it also would have been born the year before. It is also possible that instead of being born in 2003, it was born in 2002 as there usually is very little growth between the first and second year of age.



C bottae can sometimes be found in aggregation similar to many other species. This is particularly true where they hibernate and in the early spring when they are thermoregulating before going forth to seek prey and when they are seeking mates. The most I have found at one time was 9, two females being courted by 7 males under part of a metal sign in Salem, Oregon.



Best time of year to find the species is in the spring and time of day depends on specific environmental conditions of sunlight exposure and temperature. In your region of the Sierras, I suspect the species begins to show up around 4000 ft. Once you get 3 -4 days of sunshine with temperatures in the mid to high 50's and above, adult males can be found. This can occur in March or possibly earlier in the Sierra. They can be found here in Oregon and in the Bay Area in Feb. and sometimes in Jan. Adult females begin to emerge about 3 - 4 weeks later than the adult males.



Contia tenuis can be found every month of the year at lower elevations when sunlight warms surface objects. As mentioned earlier on Kingsnake, I found 8 Sharp-tailed Snakes thsi past Dec. 24th at Wheatland, Calif. on our way south of Christmas with my kin. The one research paper on the species by Cook (1960) showed that the species is most frequently found in Calif. during Feb. - March and again in November.



Richard F. Hoyer

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