|
|
|
Image Credit: sketch of Desert Night Snake in Reptiles  Night Snake Hypsiglena torguata
The Night Snake is a small reptile. It does not have skin like
a tiger salamander. Instead it has scales that cover its whole
body. The scales are grey on its back and white on its belly.
It also has dark spots down its back, and a dark strip on each
side of its head.
This snake has poisonous fangs in the back of its mouth. The fangs
are used to grasp food and poison prey. The Night Snake hunts
frogs, other snakes, salamanders and lizards by using its poison
to paralyze them.
The Night Snake lives in the hot desert, the grassy valley bottoms,
and the Ponderosa Pine forests of the Thompson-Okanagan.
In order to keep cool in the summer time, the snake hides under
rocks and sleeps during the day. At night, the snake comes out
but is very secretive about where it goes. Whatever it does, it
always makes sure that it is back in its hiding spot before the
hot sun comes up.
During the winter, the snake hibernates in a den protected from
the cold winter snow. When spring arrives, the female snake lays
her eggs. Soon the baby snakes break out of their shells. The
new babies are only 1.5 to 2 cm long.
Night snakes are endangered in the Thompson-Okanagan because the
places where they live are being dug up and used to build houses.
Sometimes the eggs are destroyed by bad weather.
this section sponsored by:
|
|
Located at: 
|
All rights reserved
|
Industry Canada
