We recently found a Desert Blind Snake in our pool.
This is a new species for us, that we didn't realize was living in our yard. As a matter of fact, up until now we didn't even know they exist.
Unfortunately these snakes cannot swim, so it was deceased when we pulled it out of the pool.
Desert Blind Snakes are also called Threadsnakes. They look like a big earthworm. This one was soft shades of grey and pink. When we looked closer we could see small scales with a thin white outline. The head and tail are similar looking, sort of rounded and blunt.
The snake we found was nearly a foot long, and slimmer than a pencil. The young are about 4-5 inches long when they hatch, and adults can grow to be up to 16 inches long.
The head is flat, with a countersunk lower jaw that helps the snake to burrow quickly in loose soil. The vestigial eyespots can detect light, but the snake does not have true vision.
Desert Blind Snake lives in burrows underground. Its main diet is ants and termites, including their larvae and eggs.
(Yet another reason to keep pesticides and poisons out of the garden...)
Desert Blind Snake lives in loose soil, in appropriate habitats such as brush-covered, rocky hillsides and in sandy washes. Their range extends from southeastern California into Arizona and south into Sonora and Baja California.
Although these snakes are rarely seen, they are not endangered - unless you have a pool...
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