The strand started last week is getting buried and some new info has surfaced. Check the link for a post from Gus Renfro and lots of new pics.



Here is a photo of my yearling, male, Brazos Island Ratsnake showing the venter which is pinkish and has very little spotting, except on the tail....



Behavior is one of the things you don't see when looking at a picture of a speciman. When you have a unique habitat, the behavior of the animal changes to adapt and survive in that habitat. I'm mostly interested in the ecology and behavior of snakes that are adapting to special habitats. The color and pattern are bonuses.



Until I can find time to get down to Brazos Island at the right time of year, I'll have to be content to study habitats here at home which offer somewhat similar conditions. The dunes ecosystem along Lake Michigan is somewhat similar and here are some reptiles that can do well in that system.



The smooth green snake....



The Eastern milksnake....



The Eastern garter snake...



The Eastern hognose snake...



The Northern ringneck snake....



And the Eastern box turtle...



The Fowler's toad also occurs in this habitat, and only in a few other sandy places in MI.



I would imagine Brazos Island has some equivalent species as these. Northern Michigan is the northern limit in the ranges of many species, and I think s. Texas may be the southern limit in the ranges of many similar species. Of course, the dunes habitat in MI certainly has some differences from the dunes habitat on Brazos Island. Check the link below to go to the previous strand and get more info and pics.



All comments welcome.



TC
Brazos Island Ratsnake


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Ratsnake Haven: Calico and hypo Chinese beauty snakes, Mandarin ratsnakes, Chinese twin-spotted ratsnakes, South Korean Dione's ratsnake, leopard snakes, Great Plains ratsnakes, and corn snakes

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