
Originally Posted by
Katherine Enns
So that is why it was so tightly coiled. I get it, now. I am new to this site, and a biologist, so I have to ask if this sort of thing is really common? A Charina rubber boa juvenile found in cold condition at 10 PM, so it was slow enough to not evade capture, is then placed in a plastic chest with poor air quality and no thermal protection over night so it could have the best of light some 9 hours later? A difference of a couple of degrees can make a huge difference to snakes. They absorbe a lot through thier skins. The fact that it could be moved around like a prop didnt give the impression of stress? I am not saying you killed it, or anything, but I certainly hope it was a warm day after that, and that the animal was placed well away from the road where it was trying to get thermal relief when it was captured. Snakes often chose, disasterously, especailly juveniles, to try and get warm from road surfaces, as they hold warmth longer than rock under road side vegetation....
EDITED to say instead: I am told there is a discussion on this site about putting subjects at risk. Perhaps I should have just posted there? Dan, maybe you just didnt realize that this is a stress pose and that this species is normally wicked fast, except when very cold. Putting it in a previously used plastic or metal cooler over night, even if it was warm inside, would not have been good unless it was well ventilated. And more than a couple of hours is a long time for a juvenile to remain in a stressed cold condition. I dont want to offend people here, but doesnt anyone else think this is too much interference with a juvenile? BTW this is an endangered species in Canada.
katherine enns