|
 Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus
Our Ambassador
Purchased from a legal breeder in 2007. He eats 2 mice every week in the spring and summer months.
Habitat
Pine snakes live in long leaf pine or turkey oak forests. They are sometimes found in abandoned fields and dry mountain ridges. Infertile, sandy soils are important habitat for pine snakes because they dig both hibernacula and summer dens.
Size
48 - 100 inches
Appearance
They are large and fairly heavy-bodied, with white, yellow, or light gray base colors. They have dark, somewhat square blotches on the sides and back which are lighter toward the tail, and darker near the head. The belly is white with dark spots on the sides. Pine snakes have a relatively small head in comparison to other large colubrids. They have a rather pointed snout which is used for burrowing.
Eating Habits
Pine snakes eat small rodents, rabbits, lizards, birds and their eggs. Prey is constricted and swallowed whole.
Reproduction
The Northern pine snake mates in spring after coming out of winter hibernation. Females dig massive burrows in which they deposit 3 - 27 cream to white eggs. The“nesting” burrows can be over 10 feet long and 2 feet deep. Eggs hatch in 64 - 79 days. Young are 9 - 20 inches long at hatching.
Life Span
Unknown in the wild; Up to 20 years in captivity
Interesting Facts
- The threat display by the pine snake involves making a loud hissing sound by forcing air from their lungs over a special flap of skin in their windpipe.
- The pine snake is a secretive, burrowing species. They spend much of their time in abandoned animal burrows or burrows of their own construction dug under old stumps or similar cover. To construct a burrow, pine snakes use their heads to loosen the soil and push it back. They then use their coiled bodies and tails to shift the sand further backward and out of the burrow. They spend winters in deep underground burrows and summers in shallower underground dens.
- The pine snake is listed as threatened in Tennessee with a Management Concern, an unofficial indication that this species has been brought to federal attention for review for possible future federal listing.
Resources
|
