Overview
The Louisiana pinesnake (Pitouphis ruthveni) is an egg-laying, non-venomous constrictor of western and central Louisiana and eastern Texas. It spends most of its time underground in the burrows of Baird’s pocket gophers which are an essential part of its habitat. We listed the Louisiana pinesnake as threatened in 2018 because it may become endangered soon.
The Louisiana pinesnake depends on the Baird’s pocket gopher as a source of food, and it uses the gopher’s burrows. These gophers relied on plants that grow on the forest floor in the sandy soils typical of open canopy longleaf pine forests in the past. People mostly reduced this type of habitat by the 1930s, and it rarely regenerated naturally. The remaining longleaf pine ecosystem across the Louisiana pinesnake and Baird’s pocket gopher range is broken up and greatly reduced from its historic extent.
Because the remaining Louisiana pinesnake populations are small, they are more vulnerable to deadly events like extreme weather and disease which could also remove breeding snakes from populations. When populations of the snake become too small and isolated, the genes become too similar, and this could reduce their ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions.
The effects of climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.
Learn more about climate change , such as extreme weather events, can also impact and reduce the Louisiana pinesnake’s essential longleaf pine habitat.
Scientific Name
Identification Numbers
Characteristics
Habitat
The Louisiana pinesnake lives in sandy, well drained soils and open pine forest. It relies on the presence of the Baird’s pocket gopher for the burrow space it provides.
A dense growth of trees and underbrush covering a large tract.
Food
The adult Louisiana pinesnake’s diet consists of Baird’s pocket gophers. Inside the gopher’s burrow it will squeeze the gopher against the wall to constrict it. Less commonly, they also eat other small mammal species.
Physical Characteristics
Adults range from to 48 inches (121.92 centimeters) to 56 inches (142.24 centimeters) in length. They have a pointed nose with a large scale on it which may aid in its burrowing ability.
Louisiana pinesnakes are black, brown, and russet. They have a buff to yellowish background color marked with 28 to 38 dark blotches that become better defined towards the tail.
The Louisiana pinesnake makes a huffing and hissing sound.
Life Cycle
The Louisiana pinesnake can live up to 30 years in captivity.
The Lousiana pinesnake can reproduce when it reaches around four feet (120 cm), After two to three years. The Lousiana pinesnake has a small clutch size at three to five eggs but produces the largest eggs and largest hatchlings of any North American snake. Their hatchlings can be up to 22 inches long.
Behavior
As a burrowing snake, the Louisiana pinesnake spends much of its time underground. This includes at night, sometimes most of the day, and during winter months to hibernate. Although it can burrow into the soil on its own, the snake is usually found in Baird’s pocket gopher burrows. The snake is non-venomous and generally harmless to humans.
Geography
The Louisiana pinesnake historically lived in west and central Louisiana and eastern Texas. It may have lived throughout the historic extent of the longleaf pine savannah in those areas. However, the snakes have been recorded only for the following areas:
Louisiana Parishes: Beauregard, Bienville, Jackson, Natchitoches, Rapides, Sabine and Vernon.
Texas Counties: Angelina, Hardin, Jasper Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, Trinity, Tyler and Wood.
Timeline
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