Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Few weeks ago, I was bicycling in Eastern Washington at night and I saw on the road, what I initially thought was a cord. As my LED headlight hit it, I saw a long stripe of electric blue color that ran along the the length of this "cord." Not knowing what it was, I was mesmerized by its electric blue band. As I pedalled closer, I realized it was a snake, good 9 feet, though it might have been more like 6 feet, lying on the pavement and I drew closer, it slitered toward me, faster than I could say, "Ahhhhh!" and I swerved my bike to the center lane and barely missed the snake lunging toward me.

Since then, I've tried to tell this story to my friend, but the "electric blue" color of the snake makes them think that I might have been hallucinating. Except that I saw it and I know it was a snake.

Now, is there an expert in this community who can verify my experience and even point me toward which snake it might have been? Do you know if snakes reflect back electric blue colors when lights, specifically powerful LED lights, hit its body at night?

I'd appreciate your input. Thanks!

Jennifer

The best I can think of would be a Racer (Coluber constrictor ssp). I don't know what the local subspecies is for you but the ones here in VT are generally black but can appear bluish. They seem almost iridescent in the light so I wouldn't be surprised if at night they might shine blue under LED light. They are typically diurnal so the night thing holds some mystery for me. The species is rather feisty though and is the only species in VT that has ever been known to "charge" at a person. Most snakes bluff when they do stuff like this but the Racers can sure put on one heck of a convincing show. I am not too familiar with many of your other local species so someone else might have better input.

Thank you for that information! The snake was lying, half coiled initially. I'm thinking when it charged at me, it might also have been surprised. I was going through a construction zone, where the road had been blocked off to most car traffic, so it probably was lying there on hot pavement during day time to warm up. It was only after the light shone, it slitered, so fast, toward me, which seemed like "charging," but perhaps, from its perspective, he was being self-defensive. I was on a bike, so he probably didn't even know I was a human, either.

I'll look up more about Racer.

I did some online search about Racers and saw the pictures of them. The iridescent color on one of the photos, really is the color I saw, though I'm surprised to read that they are only about 3 feet long at most. Because the one that came at me, seemed much longer than that... But, maybe that's the part that's due to my imagination...because it moved so quickly toward me and I was scared. Are the Racers poisonous, by the way?

http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/images/colubertlsisk.jpg

Another question: Could it have been a rattle snake, which I read, can be nocturnal in hot summer months?

Racers are not venomous. They do have teeth and could cause pain, but they are not deadly.
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Holly

0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Lizzie Borden) (missing )
1.0 Florida Kingsnake (Eddie Gein)
0.0.2 Cornsnakes (Lyle & Erik Menendez)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Charley Manson)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Black Cat (Shadowfax)
1.0 Egyptian Arabian (Bagan) (Deceased )
1.0 Tennessee Walking Horse (Durango)

2.0 Toddlers (Justice & Trevor)

I doubt it would have been a rattlesnake but for the record, Racers get WAY bigger than 3-feet. I've seen some up around 6-feet in length. Maybe your ssp is different but it would surprise me.

All the descriptions about the Racer, except its length, seems to fit the description of what I saw--its iridescent coloring on the belly, its speed, and where it resides. So it's good to hear that they can be longer than 3 feet. They might not have been quite 9 feet (When I start imagining how tall a nine feet ceiling is, I realized that's a bit on the large side of the estimate for the length of snake I saw. (=), but it was definitely longer than 3 feet. So, it's good to hear that this is possible.

Thank you very much for helping me out through this research process! Internets have changed the way we find information in the world, indeed!

Your description sounds much more like a racer than a rattlesnake. If the stripe was really well defined, garter snake, as someone mesntioned, sounds like a possibility, but racers get a lot longer (usually).

Many animals that are normally diurnal may come out more at night if the temperatures are getting too hot during the day.
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What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.

The day time temperature was in 100's that day, so I'd say the night time temperature would have been in 70-80's, as the sun had set not too long ago and things had gotten dark not too long ago.

Yes, I do think the snake was Racer, as Garters are much smaller, are they not?

Jennifer,

I suspect the snake was more likely a species of Gartersnake or a Striped Racer (Masticophis taeniatus). There are a few species of gartersnake in your area that have light stripes along their body and the Racer is grayish blue with lighter stripes as well.

I think the light stripes simply reflected the blue LED of your headlights making the stripes appear bluish. None of these snakes would truly fluoresce under LED light.

As for the snake's size, most people overestimate the length of snakes. Even experienced snake people will overestimate the size of a snake seen quickly in the field. Something about the linear nature of their body makes us do this. Inexperienced people (who only see a snake or two a year, for example) can often mistake the size by as much as 200-300%. It is very difficult to judge the length of a snake, particularly if it is moving. So I wouldn't immediately ignore any species possibility as long as it gets over about 3 feet.

In regard to the snake's behavior, I can assure you the perception that it was "lunging" towards you was more about your emotions toward the snake than vice versa. The snake simply was moving to try and get away. Perhaps your light was blinding/distracting it and it couldn't see you or your bicycle. And a snake doesn't "know" what a human is any more than it knows what a bicycle or the space shuttle is. Their brains simply don't function that way. It knew it was being "attacked" and that it had to get away - nothing more sinister or cognizant than that.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

When you say, "None of these snakes would truly fluoresce under LED light," is there an implication that there are some species that does fluoresce? The "electric blue" was so real. It's the same sheen of blue that you can see in peacocks' feathers. Or something from a light show. A stripe of electric blue, along the length of its body.

I do think, though, that I might have over-estimated its length.