sexxy4candy's Favorites

My second encounter with an axanthic morph (lacking of any red/yellow pigmentation). This snake could easily be mistaken for the very similar L. getula, but when taking a closer look you will notice the black face/black nostril of this snake, something unique to L. zonata, whereas L. getula has a white face/white nostril. Spotted this snake not even 5ft off trail. Made for quite the easy handle, after only a few seconds of trying to slither away the snake got quite relaxed, laying still for minutes, allowing me to handle it for about 15 minutes in total before putting it back onto the granite boulder in which it was found. I’d say this was quite the healthy adult. About 2 1/2 to 3 ft in length, and seeming to have recently shed (the dorsal and ventral scales of the snake glistened dramatically in direct sunlight). So blessed to have come across yet another one of these more uncommon morphs for the species here in the Sierra.