Eastern Fox Snake (Elaphe gloydi)
	This is the largest snake found in Essex County and is the only species that lays eggs (excluding the blue racer on Pelee Island).  Adults usually range from 3-5 feet in length, the largest individual I have recorded was 5' 11.5"  long and there are undoubtably Fox Snakes over 6 feet long.  Adults have a yellowish ground colour, brownish to black blotches running down its back and an orange head, the young tend to be less colourful but seem to have a more defined pattern.  All ages have a checker board pattern on the belly.   Fox snakes prefer warm-blooded prey items such as small mammals, birds and eggs but one captive individual fed exclusively on minnows.  They are proficient climbers and often spend time in trees, barn rafters, etc.  Fox snakes have large homeranges and males will often travel great distances in search of mates in the Spring, this often leads them across roads where many are killed each year.  If cornered or harrassed it will vibrate the tip of its tail like a rattlesnake, this and the blotched pattern make it easily confused with the much rarer massasauga.
			Photo taken in Windsor
		Photo taken in Windsor
		Photo of juvenile taken in Windsor
		Typical Eastern Foxsnake habitat, the Ojibway Provincial Prairie Nature Reserve.
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