Tail detaches?!

[aquamentus_11]

I've never heard of a snake doing this. 5th paragraph from the top. I usually trust wise geeks, but not this one.

What Is a Ribbon Snake?

[guidofatherof5]

That would be the first time I've ever seen that statement about a ribbon snakes.

[aquamentus_11]

i've never heard that about ANY snake

[kimbosaur]

I don't see it? Was it removed?

[mikem]

here ya go, bolded the detach part:

"When confronted by a predator, the ribbon snake will first try to escape, darting into thick vegetation or plunging into water. If they are caught, ribbon snakes will thrash about, flatten their heads, or coil, exhibiting the protective behaviors of some venomous snakes. The ribbon snake rarely strikes and is not poisonous. It does shower its attacker with feces and a strong musk scent. A last resort for the ribbon snake is to detach its tail as some lizards do—the tails of ribbon snakes do not regenerate."

[chris-uk]

I think someone may have got confused. If ribbons really did drop their tail as a last resort I'm pretty sure someone here would have seen it.
The author may have got confused by seeing odd ribbons that have lost some of their tails due to a bad shed, and come to the conclusion that they are able to intentionally drop their tails. Or they've believed some "friend of a friend's ribbon did this" story.

[kibakiba]

Or perhaps someone found a garter snakes and tried to catch it, and it had its tail already falling off from an incomplete shed... And they assumed that it was because the snake felt threatened.

[EasternGirl]

That is definitely one of the weirdest things I have ever heard concerning snakes. You may want to reconsider the ribbon, Nate...what with tails flying all over the place...you might wake up one morning with a tail up your nose or something. Ha ha ha...

They also failed to mention false-striking and playing dead. Any way to contact that site and tell them that they are...ummm...nuts?

[kibakiba]

Well they do false strike, and trust me, some snakes will play dead. Snap has on many occasions. She goes limp with her mouth open and her tongue out, musks and then goes stiff. She'll lay like that until you put her down then she darts off.

[aquamentus_11]

Scylla went limp after I held her for the photoshoot of her junk. She twisted oddly to lie on her side in my hands and let her head fall over the edge of my hand very dramatically. She was watching me the whole time though and stopped after a minute or so. Wish she didn't have mites