HumboldtHerps.com
Complete
Hypsiglena
Family - Colubridae
Family - Colubridae
Genus - Hypsiglena
SIGHTINGS pictures for this genus are listed below. This is to assist in visual
comparisons, as texts for this page are still yet unwritten.
comparisons, as texts for this page are still yet unwritten.
The Night Snake (Hypsiglena "torquata") is normally not found within our
immediate viscinity. It has been recorded in extreme north-central Siskiyou County. This
is the Desert Night Snake (Hypsiglena chlorophaea deserticola), which ranges through N
and NE CA, SE and Central OR, Central WA, extreme SC British Columbia, S and SW Idaho,
NV, W UT, and and further south... Other California subspecies include the California Night
Snake (H. ochrorhyncha nuchalata) and the San Diego Night Snake (H. o. klauberi).
These snakes are often quite common in their native ranges, but due to their size (12-18")
and their fossorial and nocturnal nature they are seldom ever seen. They are cat-eyed.
They are rear-fanged and mildly venomous (dangerous to lizards, but not humans!). They
commonly prey upon Side-blotched Lizards (Uta stansburiana) and Western Skinks
(Eumeces skiltonianus), but may take small lizard and snake eggs, very small snakes,
frogs, salamanders, and supposedly toads!
immediate viscinity. It has been recorded in extreme north-central Siskiyou County. This
is the Desert Night Snake (Hypsiglena chlorophaea deserticola), which ranges through N
and NE CA, SE and Central OR, Central WA, extreme SC British Columbia, S and SW Idaho,
NV, W UT, and and further south... Other California subspecies include the California Night
Snake (H. ochrorhyncha nuchalata) and the San Diego Night Snake (H. o. klauberi).
These snakes are often quite common in their native ranges, but due to their size (12-18")
and their fossorial and nocturnal nature they are seldom ever seen. They are cat-eyed.
They are rear-fanged and mildly venomous (dangerous to lizards, but not humans!). They
commonly prey upon Side-blotched Lizards (Uta stansburiana) and Western Skinks
(Eumeces skiltonianus), but may take small lizard and snake eggs, very small snakes,
frogs, salamanders, and supposedly toads!
| At present I do not have any pictures of the Desert Night Snake. The following picture is of a San Diego Night Snake, which I photographed on January 18, 2008 while visiting my parents in Rancho Penasquitos (San Diego, CA). This specimen was wild-caught and is currently feeding on abnormal neonate Corn Snakes and Western Skinks. |
| San Diego Night Snake (Hypsiglena torquata klauberi) |
| Another subspecies of H. torquata is the California Night Snake (H. t. nuchalata), which is found in the Sacramento Valley area of Northern California. Pictures of this snake may be found on the Photo Contributions page. |
| "Hypsi" WC San Diego Night Snake feeding on a Corn Snake neonate. (Sept. 12, 2008) |
| The following pics are additional footage of a subsequent feeding. (October 27, 2008) |
| CORN FOR DINNER? There is often controversy as to what prey items are appropriate for an animal. Human ethics and emotions often interfere with what are the cold facts of life in the herp world. The following pictures may make some herp-lovers cringe. They are however an example of the sacrifices that must sometimes be made when harboring difficult-to-feed species. |