Tag Archives: reptile

It’s Spring for Snakes

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The temperature topped 80 degrees F today in the Platte River Prairies.  I heard a frog plop into the water as I walked along a wetland edge.  Red-winged blackbirds were defending territories. 

…and apparently red-sided garter snakes were feeling the spring too.

A small mating ball of red-sided garter snakes. Platte River Prairies, Nebraska. Click on the picture for a larger, sharper image - if you dare.

When I first came upon these garter snakes, there were four of them.  As I neared, the writhing mass of snakes separated, and they all started for me like they thought I was going to give them something to eat.  I have no idea what that was about, but it’s a good thing I’m not afraid of snakes!  As I got my camera out of the truck, the snakes scattered, and one went a different direction from the others.  The other three slithered about 10 feet away and then re-formed their mating ball.  I’m assuming the bigger of the three snakes was the female, but it can be hard to tell.

Apparently, even snakes can have a hard time telling males from females in this kind of mating frenzy.  As garter snakes emerge from their winter dens, males come out first and and lie in wait for females.  When a female arrives on the scene it’s mobbed by a group of waiting males and they writhe around together until a pair finally mates.  Just to make things interesting, though, sometimes males can pretend to be females, and can even exude a female pheromone.  It’s not clear why the “she-males” do this, but there are some theories.  Since newly emerging snakes are cold, and thus slow, it may be that she-males are trying to warm up by attracting a “snake blanket”.  Besides the warmth advantage, being in the middle of a big ball of snakes might be good protection from any nearby predator, who is likely to pick off the snakes from the outside of the ball, not the inside.  On the other hand, it seems like a ball of snakes might attract more predators than a single slow-moving cold snake!

It was a great spring day to be outside.  Apparently, the snakes thought so too!

Photo of the Week – March 2, 2012

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Spiny softshell turtle. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you might barely be able to see the little projections from the center of his nose that distinguish spiny softshells from smooth softshells.

Meet Henry.  Henry is a very small softshell turtle that spent a few days at our house in late August, 2010.  I’m not sure what Henry thought of the ordeal, but our family sure enjoyed having him.  He even went to school one day.

I found Henry along the Platte River and brought him home so my family and I could learn more about softshells – and I could get some photos.  Those of you who have followed this blog for a while will remember how I photograph small creatures like this (if you don’t remember, you can read about it here.)  Henry’s visit turned out to be a big success, at least from our standpoint, and we delivered him safely back to where I’d found him a few days later.

Spiny softshells are very good at burying themselves in sediment.

One of the things we learned was that softshells are very good at burying themselves in the sand – and they can do it amazingly quickly.  We’d be watching Henry walk along or sit and look at us, and then within about 5 seconds, he’d be gone.  It was really hard to tell how he did it – it was like he just slid into the wet sand.

Here, Henry shows off the length of his neck.

According to Dan Fogell’s excellent new field guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Nebraska, Henry really is a “Henry” – not a “Henrietta” because of the distinct spots on his back.  My kids, who named him (clearly) are relieved to know that.  Softshells have a smooth leathery carapace without the hard plates that are characteristic of most other turtles.  According to Fogell, they eat mainly small invertebrates, but will also scavenge on dead fish and even eat vegetable matter at times.  During  his short stay with us, Henry didn’t eat any of the offerings from my kids.

Henry - striking a regal pose.

Although I’m not a big fan of people taking animals out of nature, I do think there can be great value in employing them as ambassadors in certain circumstances.  I hope Henry recovered from his time with us, and is living a normal life in the river now.  My kids will certainly never forget the experience, and still talk about Henry fairly often.  Whenever we go to the river, we keep our eyes out for him – and his colleagues – and it’s hard to wonder how many softshells are watching us from their submerged hiding places as we walk around.  Because they were able to form a “relationship” with one of the inhabitants of the river, my kids now see that river differently.  Rather than water flowing through sand, it’s a place where creatures like Henry live.  From a conservation standpoint, that’s a pretty important distinction that I’d like everyone to make.

Thanks Henry.