(Artwork and description by player Regina Carey)
 

Armor Head Snake

The armor snake, found only in the Black Swamps, has bony interconnecting plates on top of it's body, giving it it's name. A deadly predator in the swamps, this snake prefers the damp swamp where it makes it's home. Non-poisonous, the solitary reptiles roam it's swamps much like it's cousin, the Death's Head wanders the foothills.

Having poor sight and hearing, it hunts through its sense of smell, vibrations in the ground, and through sensing heat. Shy creatures, they try to avoid larger animals, escaping through underbrush or water. The snakes have brown bony ridges on the top of it's body, tipped on the ends in a purple color. The sides and face of the snake are a pale green and the underside of the body has larger scales colored yellow. Male Armor snakes have bumps on their plates which are colored red.

Small, these snakes only reach a length of 4 feet and have a life expectancy of 12 years. Like other snakes, anything the Armor snake can fit it's mouth around, is fair game. It hunts by finding it's prey, and grabbing it in its powerful jaws. Then the snake coils itself around it's prey and squeezes it to death before it settles down to eat. They prefer small birds, eggs, and other small game.

In fall, the snakes all move deep into the center of the marshes. There, they slither into and under fallen trees, twinning together for warmth and remain there in hibernation throughout the cold months. Once Spring arrives, and the air begins to warm again, the snakes awake and the males begin mating with the females as they try to leave. Only after the last female has left the area do the males leave also.