News to me!

I do Educational Reptile Programs for a living. In doing so, I hear a lot of stories and mis-conceptions. Recently a young, budding herper, informed me that Bullsnakes have 2 scales on the tail which they rub together to make a hissing sound. And he further explained that they loose this as they get older. I have to admit that I have nevr heard this story before. I have kept and bred bullsnakes on and off since the early seventies. I tried to tell him that this wasn't so and the sound he heard was the snake hissing. Anyone on this list familiar with this?

I am familiar with that (bullsnakes hissing, that is). Never heard the one about the cartilage on the tail though (it's in front of the glottis, but you already knew that)

I have to say I have never any noises coming from the "other" end of any pit. It all comes from that wide open glottis. I was at a show in Havre de Grace, MD this weekend and a gentlemen had a leucistic southern pine yearling that was clearly not happy about being there. I could hear her hissing through a deli cup and a display case but when he took her out he put his finger right up to her mouth and she layed down and quit hissing. All bluff unlike the gopher I had!
It really is amazing the folklore that is out there about reptiles. I will have to say that is the first time I have ever heard that one though.....

That's a new one to me as well?????

I always thought it was a hissing too. There is so much rubbish behind snakes, it gets irritating sometimes the stories I hear. I am on a mission this summer to catch and relocate snakes from My Roomamtes mothers house so she will stop hoeing thier heads off. Of course I need to know a lot more about the Vems out here, I dont want to get bit by one of those. Anyone know where I can find info on Vems out in western PA?