What I didn't know was that this behavior is common is snakes that are not handled often. I discovered my fondness for snakes while working at the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History when I was 18. Lots of the interns and regular staff would walk around with a snake around their neck, in their belt loops, and sometimes hidden in there hair! Needless to say I was captivated. I had never seen snakes treated so candidly without the warning of "watch out he bites ". This is not to say the potential for a bite wasn't there, or to treat a snake with anything but caution (like you would any animal with teeth). These snakes were deliberately kept out often so that they were easy to handle for children's programs.
Maria (the educational coordinator) often told me that snakes forget how to act in public if they are not handled often, and would revert to instinct if left alone for too long. Thus began my admiration of snakes. Soon I was handling them with out fear and letting them crawl in MY hair.
(This is a picture of me with Jack, a speckled kingsnake, one of the first snakes I ever handled).
While looking at the U.S. Wild life and Fisheries list of threatened and endangered reptiles I came across the the Eastern Indigo snake. I'd never heard of it so I Googled some pictures and was fascinated thus this blog was born!
Here is a link to the Wildlife and Fisheries profile of the Eastern Indigo.
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