Bad Match Breeding

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

the garters I usually catch are the ones that are moving. I usually find garters by sound.

[RedSidedSPR]

i don't catch garters... EVER, i've only found two my whole life...

But i know what you mean about the sound. That's often how i notice them.

[kibakiba]

I notice them with my eyes, I can't hear very well in the one ear that is almost always facing the snake...

[ConcinusMan]

the garters I usually catch are the ones that are moving. I usually find garters by sound.

Same here. Even if I was completely blind, listening is still the better way to locate a healthy garter in the wild. They will see you before you see them, and be on the move immediately. The harder to catch, the better. If the snake is all out in the open, slow and sluggish, and hasn't just obviously swallowed something large, then something else is wrong.

Remember, the natural way of things is that predators (when herping, that's you) pick off the sick, slow, weakened, or otherwise disadvantaged. A snake that is fast, vigorous, sees you first and flees, and is otherwise hard to catch, is usually in good health.

That sound of a snake moving when it spots you, is as, if not more important than those you see first. My eyes are only secondary when herping for snakes that are active during the day. Sound comes first. It tells me which direction to look.

[RedSidedSPR]

Well, some snakes sit there hoping you don't see them. Ive found many a snake "kinked" in front of me, not moving until I lean over.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Well, some snakes sit there hoping you don't see them. Ive found many a snake "kinked" in front of me, not moving until I lean over.

Yes they do, but the majority of them book it. I usually spot the ones that are lying still, but the majority of them don't hold out.

[RedSidedSPR]

Well, yeah, but i've never seen a rat snake book it. They are the easiest to catch, cause they sit there for ya

[infernalis]

I have sheets of plywood on the ground, half the time the snakes under it bolt so fast I can't even bend over fast enough to grab them or even get a clean photo.

[RedSidedSPR]

I do to, but mostly the sit there... I have a bored population

[ConcinusMan]

Well it is a balancing game. Do I sit and hope no predator (you) sees me or do I make a run for it and blow my cover?

You'll find that the choice a snake makes will vary depending on location, and temperature of the snake/conditions.

Wayne says his wild snakes are "bored" but what happens also depends on numbers. A big cluster of snakes all together and below optimum temperature will make all of them more reluctant to flee. The one that flees from such a situation might be the first and perhaps the only one to get "picked off".

Any snake that is well below optimal "fleeing" temperature or too far from the nearest "for sure" cover, may opt to sit still, even for photos, (haha, better than sitting still to become a meal) and be very reluctant to flee for cover.

Again, it's all dependent on temperature and conditions. Location because what threats are present at that location will vary too. Just like the Galopagos island birds will just come and land on you. They don't see you as a significant threat. Not so in other locations.