Social behaviour in snakes

[adamanteus]

They are very well studied, but have 'they' ever looked for this kind of thing? It could be right under your nose, but if you're not looking for it...
I don't know. We'd need a 'field man' with a good local population.... feeding information back to us.. for years!

[drache]

We're agreed on that. So, what's your take on these two Adders? They are definitely siblings, the author of my original quote marks his subjects by 'ventral scale clipping' in a unique pattern.. so he knows his individuals. Why do you think these two sisters might spend their time together over so many years? I'll be honest, it's thrown me, and made me want to follow these two (if only I could).

probably recognition of the familiar
I wouldn't necessarily assume that it's because they're sisters
or if it is, perhaps it's just that they ended up with the same scent
is it really so outlandish?

[adamanteus]

is it really so outlandish?

Actually, Rhea, yes it is... it's unprecedented. This behaviour in snakes has (to my knowledge) never been recorded before.

[Steven@HumboldtHerps]

The adder behavior has me stumped as well.

Wayne, I do agree with your idea in the "communal choice" in retreats. It is unintentional in regards to one another, and it is usually environmental conditions or the presence of prey which makes most snakes "flock" together. They don't tell everyone else "Hey, there's fat worms and salamanders under that board; come on! Let's go there!" Most snakes can just sense where the good spots are and "Whalah! Presto!" It looks like a party!

[Garter_Gertie]

"Sisters, sisters
There were never such devoted sisters,
Never had to have a chaperone, No sir,
I'm here to keep my eye on her
Caring, sharing
Every little thing that we are wearing
When a certain gentleman arrived from Rome
She wore the dress, and I stayed home
All kinds of weather, we stick together
The same in the rain and sun
Two different faces, but in tight places
We think and we act as one
Those who have seen us *
Know that not a thing could come between us
Many men have tried to split us up, but no one can
Lord help the mister who comes between me and my sister
And Lord help the sister, who comes between me and my man"

They just make me think of that song.

[infernalis]

They are very well studied, but have 'they' ever looked for this kind of thing? It could be right under your nose, but if you're not looking for it...
I don't know. We'd need a 'field man' with a good local population.... feeding information back to us.. for years!

Guys how about an old farm boy who has been molesting the daylights out of his local population since if I remember correctly 1972? may I volunteer?

What is mind boggling is all the while, I never took any academic look nor approach, I'm looking through different eyes now.

The first time my kids came whining that the frog eggs were drying out, daddy to the rescue takes a large irrigation pump out back and fills er back up. so the kids are happy, mom and dad feel good, we did a deed.

The side effect is plentiful food source for the local garter population, so of course they hang out a lot around here, only encouraging this family of lunatics to keep on doing it.

We have a protected waterway running through the property, Protected as in drinkable quality, I drink from it all the time, flowing spring water.

Next time I have the bulldozer, I really want to dig a nice pond and declare it off limits. The newts, frogs and other amphibians will congregate.

Oh and I almost forgot, Before I die, it is a long time goal of mine to construct a hibernaculum with IR cameras wired to a PC so we could peek in anytime we wanted to without interference. (In the wild)

[drache]

Actually, Rhea, yes it is... it's unprecedented. This behaviour in snakes has (to my knowledge) never been recorded before.

okay, I used the wrong word
something not previously known about is certainly a bit outlandish
I suppose I meant to say, that it doesn't seem unthinkable to me
just because nobody has ever noted this kind of behaviour, doesn't mean it hasn't happened before
I really would be careful to credit the sciences with an all-seeing eye
"facts" have been revised many times over the centuries, mostly because some overlooked or rejected oddity was finally taken into account

[Garter_Gertie]

I like reading Rhea. She thinks well.

Gosh! You logic folks! Blow my mind! I just don't get how you do ti.

[Stefan-A]

Next time I have the bulldozer, I really want to dig a nice pond and declare it off limits. The newts, frogs and other amphibians will congregate.

Oh and I almost forgot, Before I die, it is a long time goal of mine to construct a hibernaculum with IR cameras wired to a PC so we could peek in anytime we wanted to without interference. (In the wild)

Heeey, those are my dreams.

[Zephyr]

Ooh! I've got it!
We could setup a system; a few sets of boards placed at numeric intervals between each other perpendicular to the horizon. We could level the ground where the boards are placed and put a layer of top soil underneath each so the soil conditions would be relatively the same. An area of a certain radius would be weeded as much as possible around the boards. The only thing left to do is check the boards and measured intervals to see if snakes have decided to chill there. The placement of snakes could be measured via a grid that divides each of the boards into a certain number of parts. Any one who knows where garters hang could do this and we could make sure everything is of standard length, measurement and whatnot.