Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I always thought that snakes were not social animals. I realize that sometimes they may be found in large quantities at dens. I have a favorite spot that I go to every year. I always find northern copperhears basking on the rocks and ledges. Many times I have found them laying in a pile intertwined. this has nothing to do with den emergence. I realize it may be a favorite basking spot, but why do they choose to lay on top of each other instead of just basking in the same vicintity? I have a realy good pic of them i'd like to show you, but I don't know how to post a picture. Chris

Hey Chris-
Try going to "Photo Gallery" above. Then "Upload Photos" found above the red Header on the next page that appears. Upload photo from your doccuments to the gallery. Then you can retrieve the image and include it with a subsequent post.

thanks Bill

This has been a heated debate with certain individuals in the monitor forum. I start to question anything when all or every start to get associated with theory. I think that some snakes may very well be social, but they also may not. Social needs to be defined clearly and then investigated from there, because to me communal denning is a social thing. Why do some snakes to it and others do not? There could be alot of other things going on we don't understand. I would have never believed that bald eagles hunted in groups until I saw it myself.
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Jason L. Dobry
Research Associate
College of Veterinary Medicine
Department of Veterinary Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology and Physiology
Washington State University