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RE: Hibernation
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by SnakeCatcher01 on February 3, 2003
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Cause I need to know where to look for snakes on the road cause there are alot of snakes turning up dead on roads in certain areas and I need to know what dens look like so I can protect the snakes.
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RE: Hibernation
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by TomT on February 4, 2003
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Most dens are situated on certain geographic regions for a reason. Many face the south, and one of the triggers for the snakes to emerge from brumation (as it's probably more aptly called) is temperature. Many other factors influence the time of emergence, like the angle of the sun in the morning sky, barometric pressure, wind direction and the onset of the need to feed again. The best way to find "dens" is to learn about the habitat requirements of the target species and then to purchase topographical maps to aid in the search for a den or dens in your area. Many "dens" aren't any more than a deep crack in the rocks.... search southerly slopes in rocky hillsides adjacent ot good snake habitat, and you'll probably find what you're looking for eventually. The key is to look in "likely" spots.... obviously, you don't want to spend a lot of time looking for Western Diamondback dens in New York.... Other key factors to your success would be availability of food, water, cover and if I were you, I'd start looking near the places where you are finding a lot of snakes crossing (DORs) the roads... Copperheads, black ratsnakes and other species are alleged to share the same over-wintering places.... I've never been in a rattlesnake den myself, so I'd like to hear about the first few you locate (not the location, but the overall sense of how it feels to be in there).... As I said, we don't have many rocky crevaces here on the coastal plain, and our snakes don't spend a lot of time asleep each winter.. .... it isn't uncommon to find a snake in the crawl space in any of the twelve months of the year here.... I removed a large Black Ratsnake from a crawlspace on the 21st of November.... it was below freezing outside, but toasty warm under the house, so there's a nice den for you right there!!
Good luck in your conservation search......
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