A question for all the DU herpetologists [View all]

And I'm sure there are dozens of you....

Aussie snakes are just waking of after winter brumation (extreme slowing down of metabolism) and are starting to appear on walking tracks.

I saw what looked like a red-bellied black snake the other day but it's colour looked pale and faded. It was definitely alive but not moving and I suspect it had literally come to life within a few hours of sighting. My question is: do snakes fade in colour when they 'hibernate' in winter and darken up again when they go about their snakey business?

I know there is a lot colour variation, even within breeds but would love to find an answer to my question.

The snake I saw.


What normal, mature red-bellied blacks look like