Facts about Queen Snakes
The Queen snake (Regina septemvittata) is a non-venomous member of the colubrid family of snakes. This species ranges through the temperate region of North America east of the Mississippi River from western New York state to Wisconsin and south to Alabama and northern Florida. The Queen snake is also found in the southwestern parts of Ontario. The Queen snake is similar in appearance to a Garter snake, genus Thamnophis, so is often confused with that group. Male Queen Snakes have relatively longer tails than females. The Queen snake is olive to gray or dark brown in overall colouration, with peach or yellow stripes that run down its length at the first scale row. There are also prominent ventral stripes of a darker colour and as no other species has stripes running down the length of its belly, this is an important feature in identifying the Queen snake. The belly of the snake is a cream to yellow colour. Queen snake may consume over 90% of its diet strictly on crayfish. The head of the Queen snake is narrow and has nine large plate-like scales on the top and the chin has several rows of thicker scales. This is a protective adaptation, for the snake's feeding habit of chasing its prey under rocks. The pupils of the eye are round, a feature shared with all other colubrids. There are 19 scale rows at midbody and these scales are keeled, and the anal plate is divided. The sexes are often difficult to distinguish based on external characteristics. Males have from 65 to 89 subcaudal scutes (average 76), with the tail from 23 % to 34 % of the snake's total length. Females have 54 to 87 subcaudals (average 69), with tails equal to 19 % to 27 % of total length. Queen snakes are not large, and they seldom grow more than 24 inches (60cm.) in length. The females are generally slightly larger than the male. Female Queen snakes will be fully mature at three years of age, the males at two. Breeding takes place in the spring and autumn months. If mating was in the autumn, the female can delay giving birth till spring, storing the energy she will need through the months that she will be hibernating. This snake is ovoviviparous, the female giving birth to live young after carrying the eggs within her body. Litter size can vary from 5 to 20, and the time for an individual birth is from 1.5 to 2.5 minutes. Time between individual births given by female Queen snakes is 4 minutes to 1 hour, with the average time being 11 minutes. The newly born snakes will be approximately 6 in (15 cm) long and weigh 0.1 oz (3 g). Newborn snakes begin to grow very rapidly and may shed their skin twice in their first week while living off of the nutrient rich yolk stores they preserve through this time in their lives. The baby snakes are able to swim and move about and they must fend for themselves independently directly after birth. Juvenile Queen snakes range from 17.5 to 23 cm (6.9 to 9 in) in length. The habitat requirements for the Queen snake are very specific, and this snake is never found in areas that lack clean running streams and watersheds with stony and rocky bottoms. The water temperature must be a minimum of 50°F (28°C) during the snake's active months. The Queen snake hibernates throughout the winter months and groups of them can be found in "hibernaculum", near water. Predators of Queen snakes are raccoons, otters, mink, hawks and herons. Large frogs and fish will also eat the young snakes. Linus, a character in the Peanuts comic strip, is deathly afraid of Queen snakes. |
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