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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Could be, I haven't found a skin out there, but that doesn't mean 
anything.  The day I got him he was super red, super coppery, his 
markings were bright, distinct.  A day later, he was dull.
When I turned him loose and as he slowly crawled away into the woods, I 
noted that he was closer to 4 feet long than 3, still, even with muted 
colors, a pretty snake..
I don't think I shared my other little snake story..
The same day as I found 'Red' I had been moving some of the carpet 
around that I use between the beds.  One strip had been rolled up for a 
few days, killing the grass.  I know better than to unroll or move or 
open things by hand, so I was using my prong hoe.  I saw a baby snake, 
about a foot long, so I stopped and looked at it.  Realizing it was 
harmless, I picked it up and moved it over into the grass.  I took my 
prong hoe and hit the carpet roll pretty hard in a couple of places to 
scare anything else that might be in there. I don't like surprises and 
barely *tolerate* non-poisonous snakes.  In the next strip of carpet 
unrolled was another baby snake, but I had mortally wounded it I 
supposed by hitting the carpet.  I just happened to hit it in the 'neck' 
apparently breaking it's spine just behind the head of all places. 
Considering the size of that carpet roll, and the fact that I hit it 
only a few times, to have a hit a pencil sized snake squarely behind the 
head is amazing.  The thing about the second baby snake was that he was 
a 10" long baby copperhead...cute little pit viper mark on the side of 
his triangular head, kind of brown with a yellow tail.  I don't know if 
one snake was hunting the other or if they had found mutual shelter, but 
I thought it was kind of cool.  Baby copperhead became part of my 
homestead food chain, as the chickens fought over his little wiggly 
self.  I suppose I will meet up with the other one next year or thereafter.

Karen L. Black wrote:
> Bev writes:
>
> > Speaking of selling, I could not find a buyer for the red rat snake so 
> as promised, I intend to release him tomorrow.  I did take a picture of 
> him in the dirty little aquarium I put him in, but I noticed that this 
> morning his color has faded in captivity.  His coloration has definitely 
> muted somewhat, but he is still a very pretty snake.  Animals that can 
> change their color have always fascinated me.
>
> I wonder if you might have found this snake right after a molt? I saw a
> garter snake last week that had brilliant bright stripes, which brought it
> to mind.
>
> Karen Black
> Blodgett, OR
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