Storeria occipitomaculata

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John Vanek
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Location: New Yawk

Storeria occipitomaculata

Post by John Vanek »

I can't get enough of these little gems. However, not only are they gorgeous, they are behaviorally interesting as well. Post your beautiful red-bellies!

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John Vanek
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Re: Storeria occipitomaculata

Post by John Vanek »

That melanistic is beautiful, and that is a great picture of the lip flaring.
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John Vanek
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Re: Storeria occipitomaculata

Post by John Vanek »

That's a great idea.

What do we "know" about red-bellies?

They are supposedly fond of slugs, a very interesting food choice. They also occur in two color phases, those with grey dorsums, and those with brown dorsums. Their venter can be a wide range of colors, usually a lovely coral color, but can range from yellow to orange. Melanistic individuals occur occasionally, as posted above.

they tend to be locally common, but quite rare in many places. I have found over 15 individuals in the same log pile, over the course of several weeks (mark-recapture). I've found two neonates, on the crawl, during the day.

Red-bellies give birth to live young, with short gestation periods.

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John Vanek
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Re: Storeria occipitomaculata

Post by John Vanek »

I love how the dorsal strip varies in color and width.
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