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Zamenis longissimus (11)
TiberiuSahly Silver Note Writer [C: 6 W: 0 N: 13] (108)
Zamenis longissimus - Aesculapian rat snake

This species name comes from its slender body, and it translates into "the longest". This is because when people saw this snake it looked as if it had no end, because of the slender body, so they thought it was extremely large.
This snake is considered the symbol of pharmacology and medicine, as its common name suggests, "Aesculapian", from Aesculap's Rod . It is represented coiled around a Rod in every drug store and on every pharmacology book, magazine, etc, the rod and the snake being the symbols for medicine and pharmacology.
The Aesculapian rat snake is an arborial species, found in most European forests, except the northern, cold ones. It is quite a large species growing to about 2 meters in length.
As a juvenile its main diet consists of lizards, but as an adult it feeds on rodents. It is a constrictor, just like the four lined snake or the boas and pythons.Its juvenile coloration differs from that of an adult. The one in the picture is a juvenile. The adult coloration is more uniform, and spans from black to dark brown and even green individuals have been found.
Mating takes place in May and the female lays the eggs in June or July. The hatchlings can be found at the end of August or during September.
Getting back to the ancients, it is said that during hot summers the roman women used to catch Aesculapian snakes and four lined snake and put them around the neck to cool down.
It is a non-venomous snake that kills by constriction and it bites when caught.
Altered Image #1

TiberiuSahly Silver Note Writer [C: 6 W: 0 N: 13] (108)
Photoshop
Edited by:strahos Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 109 W: 18 N: 63] (582)
Crop the original photo, sharpen the head, flip horizontal, level changes, low highlights, remove too much red, replace green colour. Hope you like it.