Geographic Range
Western fox snakes (
Elaphe vulpina
) are found in farmlands, prairies, stream valleys, woods, and dune habitats from
the central upper peninsula of Michigan, through Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa,
and into northwestern Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
Habitat
Western fox snakes are found in grasslands, prairies, dune areas, farm fields, pastures,
and woodlots. They are typically found fairly close to water. Like all snakes, they
can be found basking near the edge of marshes or in grassland clearings.
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- savanna or grassland
- forest
- Wetlands
- marsh
- Other Habitat Features
- agricultural
Physical Description
Western fox snakes are usually between 91 and 137 cm long. The published record is
179 cm. They are blotched snake, with light brown to black spots. The head varies
from brown to reddish. The reddish head is often mistaken as a copperhead and often
spells the end of that snake. The belly is yellow and checkered with black. The scales
are weakly keeled. The young look distinctively different. The dark spots are rich
brown usually edged with black or dark brown. The head has a dark transverse line
anterior to eyes and a dark line from eye to angle of jaw. The lines on the head fade
away with age. Western fox snakes have an average of 41 blotches.
- Other Physical Features
- heterothermic
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes alike
Reproduction
Western fox snakes mate from April to July. The female lays her eggs anywhere from
late June to early August. She usually lays from 6 to 29 firm leathery eggs that are
from 3.8 to 5 cm long. The young hatch from late August to October and are 25.5 to
33 cm long.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- sexual
- oviparous
Lifespan/Longevity
Behavior
Western fox snakes have good climbing skills but are usually seen on the ground in
fields or marshes. When annoyed, irritated or scared these fox snakes vibrate their
tail. Although most people associate this behavior with rattlesnakes, fox snakes only
bite if provoked. Unfortunately these snakes are fairly large and, with the vibrating
of the tail, are mistaken as a possible threat and is often killed.
- Key Behaviors
- terricolous
- diurnal
- sedentary
- hibernation
- solitary
Food Habits
Western fox snakes eat small mammals and occasional birds. They eat
meadow voles
,
deer mice
, eggs, fledgling birds, and newborn
rabbits
. Western fox snakes kill their prey by constriction.
- Primary Diet
-
carnivore
- eats terrestrial vertebrates
- Animal Foods
- birds
- mammals
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Western fox snakes help keep pest populations down. They often inhabit agricultural lands and prey on rabbits and rodents.
- Positive Impacts
- controls pest population
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Western fox snakes are harmless snakes, there are no negative effects of this species on humans.
Conservation Status
Western fox snakes are often mistaken for rattlesnakes. As a result they are often indiscriminately killed. In fact, they are harmless and beneficial. Western fox snake populations also suffer from habitat destruction, illegal collecting, and being hit by cars. Currently populations of western fox snakes are considered stable.
Additional Links
Contributors
Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web.
Andrew Brinker (author), Michigan State University, James Harding (editor), Michigan State University.
- Nearctic
-
living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- tropical savanna and grassland
-
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
- savanna
-
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
- temperate grassland
-
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- marsh
-
marshes are wetland areas often dominated by grasses and reeds.
- agricultural
-
living in landscapes dominated by human agriculture.
- heterothermic
-
having a body temperature that fluctuates with that of the immediate environment; having no mechanism or a poorly developed mechanism for regulating internal body temperature.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- oviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- sedentary
-
remains in the same area
- hibernation
-
the state that some animals enter during winter in which normal physiological processes are significantly reduced, thus lowering the animal's energy requirements. The act or condition of passing winter in a torpid or resting state, typically involving the abandonment of homoiothermy in mammals.
- solitary
-
lives alone
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
References
Collins, J. 1997. Standard Common and Current Scientific names For North American Amphibians and Reptiles . Lawrence, Kansas: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.
Conant, R., J. Collins. 1998. Reptiles and Amphibians Eastern/Central North America . New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Johnson, T. 2002. "Snakes of Missouri" (On-line). Accessed 1 August 2002 at http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/nathis/herpetol/snake/snake4.htm .
Michigan Natural Features Inventory, 2004. "Eastern fox snake" (On-line). Michigan Natural Features Inventory. Accessed November 03, 2006 at web4.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/abstracts/zoology/Elaphe_vulpina_gloydi.pdf .
Rigg, D. 1998. Accessed November 13, 1999; now obsolete at http://birch.palni.edu/~drigg/wfox.htm .