Herp of the Day: Elaphe bairdi

Here is a particularly pretty Baird's Ratsnake (Elaphe bairdi) that my friend Amanda is taking temporary care of. This is a snake of northeastern Mexico, extending into Texas in the Big Bend region.

Click to view large and you can see the twin apical pits on the scales of this species.

This female is pretty easily sexed. The tail is short, narrow and abrupt. Male tails are longer and fuller because they contain the inverted hemipenes.