Strange snake position?

[Mrgunguy]

Hi y’all. I saw a small snake (baby?) in my garage that was in a strange, angular zig-zag pattern. What I mean to say is that his body, instead of having the usual curved S position was in a position that looked like he was broken into about ten or so pieces. When I scooped him up to set him back outside again he went rounded again and started slithering off.

What’s up with this odd position? When I first saw him I thought that a cat or dog had gotten to him, chewed him up and left him to die. I’m glad he was okay, LOL!

[lady_bug87]

Who knows?! My snakes do all sorts of weird stuff lol

[Mrgunguy]

Yeah, they can be unpredictable from what I’ve seen. I just never expected a zig-zag pattern, LOL!

[Veronica]

Rat snakes are known to do a sort of zigzag pattern sometimes, so maybe that's what you saw! I think I read that it could be to make the snake look more like a branch for camouflage.

[MnGuy]

I’ve seen a video of a snake doing this on YouTube and the nature guide said it’s normal. At the time I assumed he was referring to the specific species, but maybe he wasn’t.

[Derek Roddy]

A lot of colubrids will "Kink" themselves up in the bush, if they know they've been spotted. Some field herpers suggest they do this to look more like a stick or other debris.