Id Please

[P. Novak]

Alright well today i went back to the Morgan Hills, and my friends and I caught a pair of snakes, one of which we dont know what it is(thats where you guys come in) the other is a gopher snake about 4-5 ft long. Fiesty little fella. Alright so, here are some pictures of the other snake....this snake is about 1.5-2 ft

and we caught these red newts/salamanders which would also be appreciated if they were identifed...heres a pic. And its about 4"

oh and about the red newt/salamander... we didnt touch it with our hands just incase our hand oils would of killed it.

More pics will be taken if requested...

Thanks.

 

[P. Novak]

no one....

 

[Galapoheros]

I don't know the western herps, but I'll get it started with a hunch I have. The head and scale pattern really remind me of the coachwhips and racers we have here in Tx. A little thick bodied maybe for that but that's what it reminds me of. Yea, maybe some kind of racer. You could google racers, snakes, + california. I like that newt, well, I think it is actually a salamander.

 

[Beardo]

The snake is definitely some kind of Coachwhip....snot sure what species though.

 

[rattler_mt]

the snake looks like our yellow bellied racers, not many snakes in the states other than the racer family with a look like that. some sort of a racer, dont know Cali herps well enough to tell yah what species though

 

[P. Novak]

Hm thanks guys, i googled Coachwhip and Racers and they both seem to look like it, but it shows in a majority of the pictures that the Coachwhip lives in or around sand, this snake wasnt found anywhere near sand.

No thoughts about the salamander?

 

[Galapoheros]

My thought about the salamander? IT ROCKS! Maybe google "california salamanders". Think I'll go it later.

 

[apadora]

your answers

The snake is a common racer, Coluber constrictor and the newt is the ubiquitous california newt Taricha torosa.

Cheers,
Apadora

 

[P. Novak]

Thank you, so are the newts handleable? our oils on our hands wont mess them up or kill them?

 

[P. Novak]

Is the newt handable, if not its no problem.

 

[apadora]

sort of

you can hold them, but it certainly stresses them out. Also, they release toxins from their own skin, so make sure you wash your hands well after holding them. Also, keeping any small amphibian in your hand for too long can induce heat stress and other related problems. It's probably fine to pick it up and let it sit on the palm of your hand for a minute or if you want to relocate it to a rock for a photo. Other than that, I'd probably just leave it alone.

cheers,
apadora