THE THINGS I DO FOR MONEY

I brought my camera with me to work one day this week and took some pictures. This is what my office looks like:

California kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae). These snakes have a tendency to spew blood and feces on you when handled, but this one was pleasantly continent.

Southern alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata). Note the poop. Nice try, my friend.

Pacific gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer catenifer). These guys are big and aggressive, so I didn’t get the best pic. Like other members of the genus, they will puff themselves up and exhale in a loud hiss, while vibrating the tip of their tail in an attempt to mimic a rattlesnake. And they lunge and bite. Really quite adorable.

Western yellow-bellied racer (Constrictor coluber mormon). I take it back, these guys are adorable. This an awful picture, but they have a wonderful lemon yellow belly, very smooth and sleek.

Alameda whipsnake / striped racer (Masticophis lateralis). Federally endangered, and very beautiful. very clean stripes, and a rosy read belly toward the tail. This particular snake was very ninja. At one point it escaped and as we all dove after it, it suddenly disappeared. Only after several minutes of crawling through the scrub did we realize it darted up into the bushes right above us, and was watching our search with amusement.

Botta’s pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae). We catch way more of these than any of the reptiles, and they are completely hilarious. Instead of trying to run, like a sensible animal, gophers turn and face you, bearing their teeth and snarling to the best of their ability. Even after you remove them from the trap (with salad tongs, their bite actually hurts), they still don’t run They just sit there, snarling. Amazing.