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Eastern Fox Snake Common Name: Eastern Fox Snake Scientific Name: Elaphe gloydi Information Sheet - Eastern Fox Snake
Introduction:Eastern Fox Snake is one of the largest snakes in Ohio. It has a background color of yellowish and light brown skin contrasting with its background color. It has dark patches lining on either side of its body down to the tail. The skin has smaller black patches in a row alternating with black patches. It is mostly mistaken with the venomous Northern Copperhead Snake. It is a subspecies of the Elaphe vulpina.General:The Eastern Fox Snake ranges between lengths of between 91cm to 183cm. The reptile feeds primarily on frogs, eggs, birds, and small mammals. The species is harmless but often killed by people who mistake it for a rattlesnake. It has developed behavioral adaptations where it digs deep into the ground to prevent it from freezing in winter. They are common in places where rodents are in plenty. It constricts and suffocates its prey by coiling around it.Habitat:It lives in lake regions such as lake marshes, ponds, grasslands, and farm fields. In addition, it inhabits the rocky shores of Lake Erie. Geographical Range:It ranges from South Dakota, to Ohio, lake regions of Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ottawa and Lucas, Sandusky, Erie countries, and Wood.Captivity:They are wonderful pets since they exhibit docile and calm tendencies.Reproduction:They mate in spring and the females lay between 6 and 29 eggs in July, which hatch in August or September. The female coils around her eggs to protect them from predators but abandons them once they hatch.Behavior:Eastern Fox Snake is a terrestrial and diurnal reptile. It exhibits docile behavior and is never aggressive. However, it vibrates its tail when under duress. They release a musky secretion with a fox excrement smell thus its reference to the "fox". It hibernates and relates well with other snakes of other species. |
