We Joined Wildlife Biologists to Find an Endangered Rattlesnake!

[00:00:00]Hey guys, as you know, Ed and I keep a beautiful pair of western masagas.

[00:00:04]Today, we flew to Michigan where we are going to hopefully find the endangered eastern Missasaga, learn all about them, and join Adam Austin with the Midwest Friends of Wildlife to learn about a very exciting conservation project.

[00:00:25]So, Adam, what is your position with Midwest Friends of Wildlife? Yeah. So, I'm a co-director along with my partner Carla of Midwest Friends of Wildlife.

[00:00:32]And our job is to sort of break down barriers to getting into wildlife conservation and to sort of uh conserve species by conducting applied research and conservation actions like this.

[00:00:43]>> Awesome. And what's the goal for today?

[00:00:45]>> So, today we are trying to monitor a population of eastern Mosasa rattlesnakes. Uh we want to kind of know where they're at on the property. We want to know when they're at, when they're emerging, so that when we come in and manage this land, we can do so without impacting that species.

[00:00:58]>> I love it. Should we go try to find an eastern?

[00:01:00]>> Let's do it.

[00:01:01]>> Okay, so we are in a habitat that's called a fen, which is essentially a consistently wet habitat. It's different than a bog in the fact that fens have a lot of nutrients to the soil because of the groundwater that's feeding them constantly. And because of that moisture level, these tend to attract crayfish.

[00:01:19]And the crayfish here make mounds out of the soil and burrows which the masagas will overwinter in at water level. So it's kind of a cool habitat. We're going to poke around and see if we can find one.

[00:01:50]I love how we're out here in a field looking for venomous snakes and eggs in shorts.

[00:01:56]>> Of course, >> I'm going to not wear shorts.

[00:02:00]>> So, what our group is doing here today, I got mud on my chin, is what's considered a circular transct where we have everybody lining up about 10 ft apart from each other and we're essentially just sweeping the area in a circular pattern. So that way we can cover as much surface area as possible and give us our best shot at finding a massaga. The problem is masagas only grow to about two to three feet long.

[00:02:22]They have amazing camouflage and they're very shy. So they are difficult to find.

[00:02:26]>> Yeah, they also live in this. So >> yeah, good luck spotting one.

[00:02:30]>> That's why we have a team of two, four, six, eight of us out here today.

[00:02:34]>> Maybe one of us can find one of these sagas.

[00:02:37]>> Found anything yet?

[00:02:39]>> NOTHING YET, SIR.

[00:02:41]>> OKAY. It's not a rattlesnake, but this area happens to be somewhat nutrient lacking. So, we have pitcher plants in here. Take a look.

[00:02:51]>> There's a big thing of them.

[00:02:53]>> There's a bunch over there. Okay, >> look at these ones. They're all over the place. That one's full of water.

[00:02:57]>> Wa! Those are a lot bigger than the ones I found. That's awesome. So, these have a very sweet scent on the inside to attract insects. And since the soil here is lacking of nutrients, these have evolved to catch their own prey and collect their own nutrients.

[00:03:13]>> They don't need no soil. Except they do.

[00:03:15]>> Yeah, I guess they do. Take a look. All of the spines in here curve downwards.

[00:03:18]So the flies and other insects can only go in. They can't get back out. Wow.

[00:03:23]>> That's like snake teeth.

[00:03:24]>> Yeah, it actually is, isn't it? Man, that's so cool. A pitcher plant. Okay, sounds like an EMR, Eastern Massaga rattlesnake has been spotted. Got our first one of the day. Hey, and it sounds like it's pretty small. Okay, not a saga. We're getting distracted on our way to taking care of the one we just found.

[00:03:40]>> But take a look. We have a praying mantis egg sack or ootha. Mantises aren't native to this area. So, unfortunately, this is an introduced species. A lot of folks will buy an ootha, hatch it out, and then release all of the nymphs uh as pest control, which they're good pest control, but they are an invasive species, so they really shouldn't be getting released where they're not native. There he is.

[00:04:01]>> It's going to be a tricky one. Oh, you can see him just crossing the path right there.

[00:04:06]>> Are you grabbing it?

[00:04:07]>> Gorgeous.

[00:04:07]>> You can go for it. I'll >> I'll go for it.

[00:04:09]>> I'll be supported.

[00:04:10]>> It's facing this way. It's curled on a >> Oh. Oh, it is. It is a tiny guy.

[00:04:15]>> Yeah.

[00:04:16]>> This is actually got him.

[00:04:25]>> Okay, >> there we go.

[00:04:28]>> Into the bucket.

[00:04:30]>> There he is. Oh my gosh, he is little.

[00:04:34]>> Oh, we've got a little bit of a buzz.

[00:04:36]>> I love it. Oh.

[00:04:37]>> All right, so now we're going to tube this little guy so we can have a nice safe secure hold on him to inspect him a bit closer. And tubing is essentially an art.

[00:04:47]>> It It is an art. It takes a while and it takes a lot of patience to not hurt yourself and to not hurt the animal.

[00:04:53]Outside of freehandling, it's probably the most dangerous thing that you you can do when you're for working with these animals. So, we we do like to have people get a little bit of training when they're doing it.

[00:05:02]>> All right, we've got him. Oh, my camera doesn't want to focus. There he is. So, how old would you suspect this guy is?

[00:05:09]>> Oh, I'm sure this is either a yearling or Yeah, it's not young of the year.

[00:05:14]It's definitely a yearling. So, it has its first its first button. So, it's at least had a couple of good meals.

[00:05:18]>> Yeah.

[00:05:19]>> Yeah. It's great to see that we're still seeing young ones out here. It means we've got a a breeding population still.

[00:05:24]>> Mitch, can I transfer to you?

[00:05:26]>> Sure.

[00:05:26]>> Okay. Now, we have to collect some data for the study, including the snake's size, approximate age, its weight, its sex, and about where it was located out here.

[00:05:36]>> So, then I like to use some iodine. I will go a little further back. Right about there.

[00:05:40]>> So, what we're going to do next is actually pit tag, which is a personal identification tracker, right? That's what PIT stands for.

[00:05:47]>> Passive integrated transponder.

[00:05:49]>> Oh, I am way off. Okay.

[00:05:52]>> Less intuitive, but I like yours a little better. It's almost a type of confidence. It's right.

[00:05:56]>> So, it's essentially a microchip for anybody wondering. And this way, if this individual is captured later on, he can be scanned and identified for future information. We were going to probe him, but then he showed his hemipines at us, so he is indeed a male. There we go.

[00:06:11]It's just as simple as that. Little >> super glue to make sure the sight stays sealed. Yeah, it's a pretty large bore needle, so we like to um throw some super glue on there just to uh make sure that stays shut and that no pathogens or other agents get into it.

[00:06:28]There we go. Okay, next we're going to weigh this little guy. So, we have a weight of the bucket itself empty. We just added him to it. Now, we're going to weigh the bucket with him. And the difference is what he weighs.

[00:06:42]>> 03 kg.

[00:06:46]So detectable but >> but barely.

[00:06:50]>> Yeah.

[00:06:50]>> Okay. So not that definitely.

[00:06:52]>> No buddy.

[00:06:54]>> I am giving you your freedom sir.

[00:06:57]>> There you go.

[00:06:58]>> Now back into the habitat. In case you don't know where he went, he's right there. Check out that camouflage. That's just incredible. He disappears.

[00:07:15]Well, not a rattlesnake, but we have some sort of ground nesting bird nest here. The egg has already hatched. A turkey, maybe goose, maybe. I'm not too sure, but something hatched from it.

[00:07:27]>> So, what this tells me is you're really good at finding stuff that sits completely still.

[00:07:31]>> Yes, I am.

[00:07:41]So Emily, with these guys living in more marshy wetland areas, Yeah.

[00:07:45]>> do they eat amphibians and fish more than like the westerns?

[00:07:49]>> Uh, surprisingly, no. From what I understand, the adults are almost strictly mammal eaters. So vos, mice, and shrews, but young ones that would have more difficulty finding small enough rodents will eat more amphibians like to blitz.

[00:08:02]>> Okay.

[00:08:03]>> But then they really changed to mammals.

[00:08:05]What's What the strange thing though is they live in and near crayfish burrows.

[00:08:09]Why don't they eat crayfish?

[00:08:10]>> Well, you're not going to eat the thing that makes your home.

[00:08:12]>> I don't know. Eat it and then take over their home.

[00:08:15]>> Yeah, but then you'd run out of the things making the home. You're not going to You're not going to eat the contractor >> after he's done with your house. You need the contractor.

[00:08:22]>> Our facility. I wanted to eat our contractor afterwards.

[00:08:25]>> Okay. So, while we are looking for these masagas, question for you. What are some of the biggest threats to this species?

[00:08:31]>> Yeah, that's a great question. And so, of course, the standard answer is always going to be habitat loss, right? They've lost habitat. But all of those threats are interconnected. So, habitat loss means these animals are now clustered into smaller spaces, which means they're easier to find for predators and poachers and can completely wipe them out. Smaller habitats mean that the habitat is too small to have a lot of people, you know, out here recreationally moving through it.

[00:08:53]Smaller habitats mean they're clustered together and they're more likely to, you know, experience transmission of diseases. Um, and finally, our last one is like they're all inbred. Um, they're getting more and more inbred. There's small isolated habitats, small populations, and they can't move across all these, you know, farm fields and highways to interbreed with other populations. And so, that just makes everything that much more of a a problem for them, >> man. So, just habitat loss, it's an umbrella term.

[00:09:18]>> Yeah. It's never either or. It's all they work in synergy together to make things worse.

[00:09:24]>> We have Masaga number two here. Got a really good >> Oh, wow.

[00:09:27]>> Yeah. It's much bigger in size. This is about the size of the ones we have at home.

[00:09:32]>> Ready for team grab.

[00:09:33]>> Yeah. Team grab. We're gonna >> Emily's gonna go for it.

[00:09:36]>> Yep. So, essentially, I'm gonna gently grab it with these in the thickest part of the body so that it's the most robust. So, we're going to see what I can do here.

[00:09:44]>> Let's get the bucket over first.

[00:09:45]>> Oh, yep. Bucket. Okay.

[00:09:49]>> Nice.

[00:09:51]>> Look at this.

[00:09:53]>> Spicy. Little spicy.

[00:09:56]>> Yeah. a little unhappy. Can't really blame it. No, not at all.

[00:10:00]>> And as you could hear the masagas, you can hear it right now. They have more of a buzz than a rattle like some of the larger species of rattlesnakes. I just love that bumblebee buzz that they have instead. So, since this is a larger masaga, there's a chance that it might already be pit tagged or microchipped essentially. So, we're going to scan through the bucket to see if it has a pit tag, which >> it does not.

[00:10:20]>> Does not. Oh, it's a new specimen.

[00:10:22]>> That is a new adult, which is also great news. So, we're going to do the same thing we did for that juvenile. We're going to weigh it, measure it, sex. It could be a male or a female. Um, but again, they only get two to three feet long, and they are pretty reluctant to rattle. It didn't make a single noise as we were walking by. In fact, I missed it altogether. Colleen found it. Nice job.

[00:10:42]>> Yeah, nice job. Makes you wonder how many more Ed and I have walked by that we just haven't even noticed.

[00:10:48]>> All right, just like before, we're going to safely tube it so that we can inspect it more closely. There we go.

[00:10:54]>> Wow. Wow. You crazy.

[00:10:56]>> But look at the pattern. I don't know if you want to get like a The ones at this site are almost more banded. Usually the saddles are kind of separated, but like you can see up here the banding.

[00:11:06]>> Wow. Now, >> as we flip it over, um you'll notice that all the vententral scales are very dark or uniformly gray.

[00:11:12]>> Yeah, they are.

[00:11:13]>> That's a big way to differentiate them between western masagas, which usually have a pale or cream colored belly.

[00:11:18]>> All right, so we're back home.

[00:11:19]>> Yeah. I want to see if this is true.

[00:11:21]Let's see our western's belly here. What color is your belly? I've never paid attention. Oh my gosh, >> that is pretty white.

[00:11:28]>> White with spots.

[00:11:30]>> Is she grabbing again?

[00:11:31]>> Uh, kind of looks like it.

[00:11:32]>> Yeah, I think she's got babies.

[00:11:34]>> She's mad.

[00:11:34]>> Yeah, she is. All right, back to the field.

[00:11:37]>> What are some of the other differences between the easterns and westerns now that we have an eastern out?

[00:11:40]>> Yeah. So, obviously one of it is their range. Western Masagas are kind of Iowa and southwest of their Eastern Masagas are really heavily in the Great Lakes region here with Michigan being their last stronghold. Easterns also get quite a bit bigger. They tend to be a lot darker. These these used to be different subspecies of of Mosasa and they were upgraded to full species within the past couple decades.

[00:12:03]>> She's grabbed.

[00:12:03]>> She's got to be grabbed.

[00:12:04]>> She's grabbed.

[00:12:05]>> So, masagas like other pit vipers are a livebearing species. They're actually oo viperous, right?

[00:12:11]>> Yeah. Oo viviperus or right now we just say viperus because there's still nutrient and oxygen exchange. So we we we're kind of putting aside that term in the scientific literature just because there doesn't seem to be a meaningful difference between that and viperous.

[00:12:23]>> And typically, if I understand correctly, five to 15ish babies on average.

[00:12:28]>> Yeah, that would be a pretty good litter.

[00:12:29]>> Okay. Litter usually 10 or less.

[00:12:31]>> Okay. Ours had four, so >> that makes more sense.

[00:12:35]>> That's probably more typical.

[00:12:36]>> Yeah. So at most they probably reproduce maybe every other year. Their litter sizes are really small and they're a pretty short-lived species of rattlesnake relative to like timbers. So they only usually live for 10 to 20 years. We have some older specimens that we found, but but by and large they don't tend to live that long. So, you can imagine there's not a lot of recruitment. Their populations don't grow that easily, and so they're really susceptible to a lot of threats. Western mosasagas love drier habitats and uplands and grasslands. Eastern Mosas are pretty much exclusively found in wetlands, and so wetlands are much more imperiled, threatened habitat. The US has lost over half of its wetlands in the last hundred years.

[00:13:09]>> That's why these scientific studies are so important.

[00:13:12]>> Adam's taking some notes. And what is that I see, Adam? What is that sweet pen you've got?

[00:13:17]>> Uh, it's a snake discovery pen. Courtesy of Ed here.

[00:13:21]>> We're writing style today.

[00:13:23]>> You can get yours at snake discovery store.com.

[00:13:25]>> Yeah. Blood Colleen, choose your placement. And then just try to stay just under the skin. You can even pinch the skin a little bit to to make sure that you're okay.

[00:13:33]>> Were we doing blood draws on any of these?

[00:13:34]>> No, we're not interested in genetics from this population.

[00:13:37]>> Gotcha. And that's like rainbowy. That's so pretty.

[00:13:41]>> Yeah. We're just All right. While we're working on this one, >> uh, they're right over there. They found another one.

[00:13:47]>> Yep, we got one.

[00:13:50]>> This one's covered in mud. Has even better camouflage.

[00:13:54]>> Just came out of a crayfish, bro.

[00:13:56]>> Oh, that makes sense.

[00:14:05]>> Nice.

[00:14:07]>> Wow. Yep. We are covered in mud. That's awesome. We've gotten this one before.

[00:14:12]>> Oh, great.

[00:14:13]>> Oh, this one's already pit tag.

[00:14:14]>> We actually haven't gotten a lot of recaps.

[00:14:16]>> Whenever we scan these pit tags, like we've got a little pit tag that's pre-loaded in this needle and if we scan it, >> um, it pops up with this unique identification number. So, when we have a tag and plant it in the back third of the animal, we can scan it and we get that same tag number. So, we can figure out what animal that was. And we can go back through our records and figure out what year we found that, the exact spot we found it, and and what the length and the weight was. So, we can look at its health progress over time. you get a new weight on it now that you've recaught it.

[00:14:43]>> Absolutely. Yeah. So then we have like long-term data on this one individual.

[00:14:47]>> There's also a formula out there that helps you determine the population based on how many recaptures you have versus how many new specimens you found. I don't remember how that formula works.

[00:14:57]That was college days. Don't remember it anymore. Um but there is something out there that exists.

[00:15:01]>> Okay. This guy, >> this is the one we had the tag already in.

[00:15:05]>> Yep. Already tagged. So we got a new weight. Recorded its location. way more important.

[00:15:10]>> Now, back into the wild we go. You were right around here, you know, buddy, >> man. And look at how much they blend in.

[00:15:17]Like, you're not >> like, I'll just go like this. Try and find it without knowing exactly where it was originally.

[00:15:23]>> Another reason why this species is so hard to find. And we found three already. This is great. Very cool. I love them.

[00:15:41]Found another thing that's standing still with the help of a few others here.

[00:15:45]>> Yeah, we're good at finding the still stuff.

[00:15:47]>> Yeah, this is another carnivorous plant in this area. This is a sundue. It's the plant with all of these little protrusions which are >> green with the red stems.

[00:15:55]>> Yeah, they have a sticky end to them and that's how they catch their prey rather than sucking it into a pitcher like the pitcher plant.

[00:16:02]>> I think there's some more over by your foot. Oh my gosh, look at them all.

[00:16:25]>> Well, we're going to call it a day, right? We're calling it good. And mainly because we don't want to intrude too much on the habitat, >> right?

[00:16:33]>> Um this is a very sensitive site, right?

[00:16:36]>> Yes, it is. Yeah. So any um sort of impact in it, any sort of trekking through it, we can still see those footprints in those trails for months or even years from now. So anytime we trample that vegetation, that's an opportunity for invasive plants to move in and that can lead to more and more habitat loss for these species. So we really only do these surveys once or twice a year just to minimize the impact. We had a nice small group today and that's actually kind of better. You know, we got three snakes and we had just a few people so we weren't we weren't impacting it too badly. Yeah, wetland habitats are very very sensitive and they just they can't um they can't handle like heavy use like that.

[00:17:09]>> And the other reason is the snakes just aren't going to be out much right now anyway, right?

[00:17:13]>> Yeah, temperatures have gotten a little too warm. Uh this is a, you know, North America, northern North America species, so they tend to like the the cooler weather. They can be out in like 50s, 60s, 70s. Once we start to get into the 80°ree weather, >> forget about it.

[00:17:25]>> Right. Right. Well, that's why we started so early.

[00:17:27]>> Exactly.

[00:17:28]>> Would you say today was a success with the three that we found?

[00:17:30]>> Yeah, absolutely. I think that, you know, just for a couple hours effort and finding three snakes is right on par with what we expect some of these longerterm surveys where they have like 40 people coming out and working for a week long, they might get 50 of them in a week. But just at a small site like this, finding three is just great for year-to-year monitoring.

[00:17:47]>> Yeah. And I thought it was really neat that the first one we found was so young, like maybe a last year. Yeah. And it's so encouraging just seeing that.

[00:17:54]Yeah. They're breeding. We're seeing some neonates. So every time we see one of those little ones, that's that's a little bit of hope for us.

[00:17:59]>> How did you come across this population in the first place?

[00:18:02]>> Yeah. So this was an observation submitted by a visitor. It hadn't really been investigated before. So last year we came out here and we uh started poking around and we we found like six or seven of them within two days, which was really good. So um we're starting some long-term monitoring here because we really do want to manage these properties that have endangered species like this. And so the land conservy's been having us come out and they've been working really closely with us to just kind of document where they're at um and and you know what times they're out and so we can sort of minimize impacts to their habitat.

[00:18:31]>> Speaking of land conservancy, should we say hi to Mitch quick?

[00:18:34]>> Yeah, absolutely. Come over here, Mitch.

[00:18:36]>> Figured that was as good of a transition as we're going to find. Uh so Mitch, can you explain what you do for the land conservancy?

[00:18:41]>> Yeah, so I'm the conservation stewardship director for the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy. So we protect land in multiple ways. is we work with private land owners, but we also have land that the conservancy itself owns.

[00:18:51]We're a nonprofit. We have a board of directors and we have a lot of volunteers collectively. Uh we own land as well, and this is one of the properties that we own and take care of.

[00:19:00]And so my role at the conservancy is basically trying to figure out how best to take care of these places.

[00:19:05]>> Awesome. And so you get hands-on with everybody else.

[00:19:07]>> Absolutely. You have to know what's there first. So that's part of what this is. I'm sure a lot of our viewers will be interested in helping whether they're local to the area and want to be hands-on or if they're from another state or maybe even a different country.

[00:19:18]So, how can they help with the conservation efforts for the Eastern Massagas and this environment as a whole?

[00:19:23]>> Yeah, we always say as far as our organization, we give three recommendations. Visit a preserve. Get connected with our values and what we do, the habitats that are in your local area, whether that's southwest Michigan or otherwise. Become a member or donor.

[00:19:36]We're nonprofit, so we don't receive tax revenue. So, we really depend on the generosity and support of the community to continue to to do this work. And then the third is to volunteer. And so, we have regular habitat restoration work days that are directly benefiting species like the eastern masaga as well as a slew of others. And there are special programs like the one that Adam has helped us um run at Midwest Fowl where special opportunities and trainings can result in more hands-on involvement in the conservation with something like Eastern Massaga rattlesnake. So it'll vary by your region. Um and we're one of hundreds of land conservies across the country. So I would encourage people to find their local organization. You can check out ours, but check out your local organization as well.

[00:20:17]>> Awesome. I love it. Yeah. If we have any viewers who are interested in doing something like this as their career, that would be a great opportunity to add some experience to their resume, too.

[00:20:25]So, I mean, with just Midwest Friends of Wildlife, there's opportunities, right?

[00:20:30]>> Absolutely. So, one of our big things besides just applied research and conservation that actually benefit species like this is to try to break down some of those barriers that might keep people from being able to help wildlife in the way that they want to.

[00:20:41]So, maybe someone didn't pursue wildlife conservation as a career or maybe they weren't aware that it is a career. Maybe they think that you can only be a zookeeper or a veterinarian to work with animals.

[00:20:50]>> Oh yeah, there's other options for sure.

[00:20:52]>> If you don't have experience working with federally listed species, it's it's very difficult to um get permits to be able to do that. So, what we want to do is is just give professional trainings to people that's at either free or low cost or give them experiences like this as volunteers where they can really kind of get hands-on with these animals and add that to their CV and use that as a way to sort of get through that gate into wildlife conservation.

[00:21:15]>> Get their foot in the door with that type of career. Yeah. Love it. And you know what I think is just amazing is there's so many different entities together here all working for a common cause. I mean, we're trying to spread the word about reptiles on YouTube. We have the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy. We have Midwest Friends of Wildlife. And we have amazing group of volunteers helping us out today too and just all out here for the sake of conservation.

[00:21:39]>> Partnership really is the only way we get things done in conservation. So don't doubt, you know, if you have a special skill or something like that you could bring to an organization. You don't have to be a wildlife biologist to help in in any sort of long-term conservation or or ecological restoration relies on community support.

[00:21:55]If you don't have the support of the community and you don't have partnerships, it's just not going to succeed long term. Doesn't matter how much money you throw at it.

[00:22:01]>> So, yeah, if you're watching, there are multiple ways you can help both these organizations and wildlife in your area or around the world. So, thank you so much for letting Ed and I join you today on this survey. I had a blast.

[00:22:12]>> Thanks for letting us see Eastern Massag in the wild. Thanks for coming out the team.

[00:22:17]>> We've only ever seen westerns, so it was neat to finally see some easterns, even though they look essentially the same.

[00:22:21]They're very, very close to each other.

[00:22:24]We know there's a difference. If people want to learn more about the organizations that you're both affiliated with, we will put links to both of them in the description below.

[00:22:31]So, you can just scroll down there and click on them. Thank you so much, Patreon backers as well. You made this trip possible. You allowed us to come out here and learn about Eastern Missasagas and help spread word about this conservation effort, too. So, now I think it's time to remove all the ticks that are all over our legs, I'm sure.

[00:22:46]Yes.

[00:22:46]>> Yep. Absolutely.

[00:22:47]>> I can feel some under my jeans right now. They're like crawling up.

[00:22:50]>> Yeah, that's why I took the shirt.

[00:22:51]>> Yeah, I should have.

[00:22:52]>> You don't have any. It's cuz you haven't found him yet.

[00:22:54]>> Yeah.

[00:22:55]>> You found your first herp. It was on the way back.

[00:22:57]>> Yay. I found a toad.

[00:22:58]>> Oh, the American toad.

[00:23:00]>> So cute.

[00:23:02]>> Did you just find a black ratnake?

[00:23:05]>> Yes.

[00:23:06]>> We'll catch it.

[00:23:07]>> Go pick him up.

[00:23:09]>> A, you are so cute.

[00:23:12]>> Oh, he's a bit bitey.

[00:23:13]>> Oh, he wants to bite you.

[00:23:14]>> Yeah, he wants to nibble.

[00:23:16]>> What? Okay, well that's good.

[00:23:17]>> And he must on me.

[00:23:18]>> Oh, nice.

[00:23:19]>> Just a little, but >> hi unexpected friend. You are beautiful.

[00:23:24]>> He is gorgeous.

[00:23:25]>> Yeah. A good looking ratnake. Oh my goodness. Nice and dark.

[00:23:28]>> He looks confused.

[00:23:30]>> He does. Well, were you just trying to cross the road? We can help you out with that.

[00:23:34]>> I can move him.

[00:23:35]>> Okay, before we help him cross the road, I just We need to admire this beautiful guy.

[00:23:39]>> I love his white chin.

[00:23:41]>> Yeah, >> that black and white.

[00:23:42]>> Beautiful sign of a red sn.

[00:23:44]>> And you can still see some browns back here.

[00:23:46]>> Yeah, man. These go through the coolest autotogenetic color change, don't they?

[00:23:50]Don't they start out as white brown?

[00:23:52]Pretty much >> kind of like a grayish color. And then as they age, they get darker and darker.

[00:23:57]And generally after like an initial bite attempt and maybe a musk, they come right down. Yeah.

[00:24:02]>> They're like friendly snakes straight from the wild.

[00:24:05]>> A >> This is a situation where I'm glad we just stopped in the middle of the road to cuz there was two cars following us so that way they had to go around and I ran back to kind of stop him from going out in front of them.

[00:24:17]>> Yeah, you saved him or her. Is it? I think it's a him.

[00:24:20]>> Is it a boy?

[00:24:21]>> Like look at that.

[00:24:22]>> Oh yeah, definitely a boy. That is a long thick tail.

[00:24:25]>> What's up, dude?

[00:24:26]>> A He's so cute. What a chill dude.

[00:24:28]>> He's like, why are you touching me? All right, there's nothing coming from that way. Nothing coming from that way.

[00:24:34]>> He was headed in this direction.

[00:24:36]>> Yes, he was.

[00:24:37]>> I love you so much.

[00:24:39]>> You are so pretty.

[00:24:40]>> Ed so friendly. Hi.

[00:24:43]>> I wish I had a mouse.

[00:24:44]>> I know. I would totally feed him.

[00:24:45]>> He would totally eat it.

[00:24:46]>> You are such a polite little gentleman.

[00:24:48]Okay, let's put you over here where you were headed. Also, he is in perfect shape.

[00:24:52]>> Yeah, there's like no wounds, no nothing.

[00:24:54]>> He has his full tail. He looks great.

[00:24:57]So, here you go, buddy. You are obviously succeeding at life.

[00:25:00]>> Yep. Go find the ladies.

[00:25:02]>> Yeah, it's breeding season right now.

[00:25:04]>> Wow, he is so pretty. Woo!