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Although the weather was cold and rainy, I decided to head down south to Brazos Island to photograph the habitat and hopefully see a ratsnake in the wild. No luck on a finding Brazos Island Ratsnake (E. g. meahllmorum), but I did see a Coachwhip and Texas Brown Snake under debris. With minimal natural cover I believe these snakes retreat into rodent and crab burrows. This is somewhat confirmed when I found the coachwhip 75% within a burrow.
Anyways, here are the pics...
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Another...
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Another...
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Another....
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And the last....
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That certainly looks tough to hunt, I am pretty sure you got the scoop on these guys!
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Todd Hughes
Thanks Todd...yeah, today was an eye opener. I'll probably head down next mid-week for a few days of camping. There is no trick to finding them on the island. Like most "hiking", you just gotta walk, walk, walk..the more area covered, the better chance of seeing one. I've heard that it takes 20-30 man hours per ratsnake seen.
Graham
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Have you run across any a/c on the island? I would think if any were to be found, they would congregate under such.
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Todd Hughes
That was my first trip...I was hoping the cold weather would have had more things under the hurricane debris. It looks as if someone had flipped some of the stuff before us (I tried to put the cover back to it's orig position)... lots of geckos...lots of mice & rats...and even a colorful crab (purple and orange...like the "halloween crabs" being sold in the pet trade). Hopefully I'll see more stuff next time!
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Interesting (subtropical?) habitat. Now I'm curious as to what the snake looks like. Best of luck w/ spotting one out there.
reako45
>>Interesting (subtropical?) habitat. Now I'm curious as to what the snake looks like. Best of luck w/ spotting one out there.
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>>reako45
Here's an older pic of my adult female....
This one shows the ventral aspect of my adult male...
And a little habitat...
The island is subtropical and the soil is very sandy and porous. Snakes have to retreat underground to avoid dessication. Brazos Island ratsnakes tend to be nocturnal also. They're probably easiest to find by road cruising in summer.
Cheers...
Terry Cox/Ratsnake Haven
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