keeled scales

[Stefan-A]

Damn ... well they love to climb ... ...... but I think the surface area idea wins .... stegasaurus influenced of course

Maybe. I think that the biggest advantage is still that they make the snake less conspicuous. It'd be fun to see if there's any sort of correlation between diurnal habits and keeled scales, or crepuscular/nocturnal habits and smooth scales. Coral snake mimics and subterranean species should be excluded. Maybe the top 10 most venomous species as well.

[Zephyr]

How about threat displays? Perhaps the keeled scales intensify the colors of a flattened snake significantly more than non-keeled scales.
If you look at garters when they inflate and flatten out, their colors do look extremely intensified, and to a predator that detects the bright color as a threat or as possibly toxic meal it would help deter their attack.
Possibly? lol

[Stefan-A]

Not very likely that the keeled scales would have anything to do with it.

[Zephyr]

Then I'd have to go with the heating up/cooling down theory.
Unless they provide defensive purposes... Like plating...
Though it could be both. We'd need to know if garters are the first or the last snakes into brumation as well.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

My 6 foot king rat snake has the msot keeled scales of any snake I have ever touched (besides a file snake or elephant trunk). If you rub your hadn sideways on him... he feels like a big file!

The only thing that I see that keels do to a snake for sure, is make it less shiny

[Zephyr]

The only thing that I see that keels do to a snake for sure, is make it less shiny

Hmm... I guess for a snake that basks often or is often out in the open dull-ness would make it harder for predators to spot...
Of course we could just be blowing things out of proportion; they could just be there with no noteworthy purpose. XD

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Of course we could just be blowing things out of proportion; they could just be there with no noteworthy purpose. XD

that is exactly where I was getting with that

[big J]

wow shannon I just chekced out that king ratsnake and it is gorgeous. so i see that we have way different opinions about this subject. maybe i'll email scott and alan francis to see what they have to say about it.

[big J]

scott had emailed me back today and he hasn't a clue although he says that wanderings scales are not keeled Interesting i think. so not all garters have keeled scales

[Zephyr]

They aren't keeled? o.o