Snake Food Habits 115 



of 2. Wood (1949) reported the contents of 6 Ohio stomachs and 43 dis- 

 gorgings as all crayfish, except for a single catfish. He further proposed 

 that crayfish, either dead or alive, are probably taken in the soft-shelled 

 condition following molting. My material supports these observations. 

 Thirty-two stomachs contained remains of 35 crayfish, and fecal samples 

 from 31 additional snakes contained gastroliths from 49 crayfish. The 

 crayfish found in many stomachs appeared to have been soft-shelled, but, 

 in a few instances, I could not be certain of this. The fecal gastroliths 

 presumably were from crayfish at, or extremely close to, the molting 

 state. 



The majority of crayfish were small to medium in size, but several were 

 relatively large. One first-year snake had eaten a very small crayfish, 20 

 mm total length (TL). However, a 32 cm TL snake, probably in its 

 second year, contained a crayfish of 50 mm TL. No more than two 

 crayfish were found in any stomach. Three of 31 fecal samples contained 

 gastroliths from three crayfish. Of 24 crayfish whose orientation was 

 noted, 15 had been swallowed head-first, 9 tail-first. 



Specimens were from Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Buncombe, Cataw- 

 ba, Guilford, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Transylvania, Watauga and Wilkes 

 cos., NC. 



Seminatrix pygaea paludis, Carolina Swamp Snake. 



Only four specimens, all from Brunswick County, North Carolina, con- 

 tained food. Two had earthworm remains; a third had a very small fish 

 (not over 20 mm TL), partly digested and unidentified; and the fourth 

 contained fragments of a small, unidentified arthropod. 



Storena dekayi, Brown Snake. 



Eight stomachs, from Columbus, Mecklenburg and Rowan counties, 

 North Carolina, contained 5 earthworms and 4 small slugs. 



Storena occipitomaculata occipitomaculata, Northern Redbelly Snake. 



Two stomachs, from Cabarrus and Columbus counties, North 

 Carolina, yielded three very small (0.1 ml volume) slugs. 



Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis, Eastern Garter Snake. 



Fourteen stomachs contained 16 food items: 8 salamanders (including 

 Pseudotriton sp., Plethodon glutinosus, Ambystoma opacum, Eurcyea bislineata, 3 

 undetermined); 6 anurans (1 Bufo queracus, 1 Bufo w. fowlen, 1 Hyla 

 chrysocelis, 1 Rana palustris, 2 undetermined); and 2 earthworms (found in 

 2 of 5 snakes from the mountains). One snake was observed eating small, 

 dead frogs on a highway in Brunswick County, North Carolina, on a 

 rainy June night. 



