Home › Volumes › Reptiles › Snakes
Ribbon Snake — Part 2
Although snakes seem to be provided with sharp sight for small moving objects within a reasonable distance, that is, within four or five times of their own length, they appear to be unable to detect their prey if it remains motionless unless they cross a fresh trail and follow the scent. This interest in moving objects seemingly prompts captive Ribbon Snakes and other frog-eating species to display what may appear to be remarkable intelligence for a serpent. When many of these reptiles are kept in the same case and food is introduced, the snakes first seizing the small frogs or fishes as the case may be, at once begin to thrash their tails in a most vigorous fashion, seemingly to attract the attention of their associates that are voraciously searching for the food, having scented the same, to the commotion of the caudal appendage and away from what the reptile thus performing, is swallowing. There is, of course, a possibility that the snakes thus manoeuvring are merely displaying nervous symptoms in the anticipation that their feeding will meet interference, but so invariable are these antics that the first theory appears more logical.
The number of young produced by this viviparous species is much smaller than with the majority of species of this genus. The average brood numbers about a dozen.
Unlike most of the striped snakes, which are voraciously fond of earthworms, repeated observations of the Ribbon Snake demonstrate that the species does not feed upon them.