Chipmunk & snakeskin

[Carma Sue Henry]

A couple of days ago I found a chunk of shed snake skin in the grass (close to an inch wide, so probably a Gopher snake) and set it on some boards thinking I'd pick it up later.   But I forgot about it.  

Yesterday morning Steve saw a chipmunk checking it out and thought it was going to eat it.  Instead it picked it up and seemed to lick and chew at it then rolled all over it for a couple of minutes and groomed in between rolls.  He was able to get quite a bit of it videoed - I cropped as much as I could to get it under the 8 mb max.  Sorry it makes the quality so poor, but you can see a longer piece of the vid that way.  It seemed to be an intentional activity.  A few minutes later he filmed another (maybe the same one?) doing the same thing.  

With the prevalence of Gopher snakes in our area it would make sense if the chipmunk was doing this to mask it's own scent.  Licking might reactivate the scent molecules in the dried up skin.  We checked and the skin is still out there, though in smaller pieces.

I tend to pick up interesting bits and pieces outdoors and bring them home to look at later; especially things like snake skins, bones and shed antlers.  I learned a lot of creatures chew on bones and antlers and now leave them where I found them.  Now, I'm thinking I might be depriving some little chippy of a defense mechanism if I keep a snake skin.  Yikes!  

Live and learn, even at 73.

Carma Henry

[Carma Sue Henry]

Kiri & Denise

Thanks for your kind words.  I enjoy sharing what we see.  Although I grew up not far away in Springfield, I spent most of my working years in Seattle.  It's a lovely city and you can find lots of nature there if you look for it, but I'm so glad to be back home in the Valley and definitely know how lucky we are to have found a place like this for our retirement.  

I'm also grateful to have found a platform like MidValleyNature (thanks to Don B.) and to be able to share what we see with others.  My mother was the first person to instill a love of nature in me, but I owe a debt to Dr. Bill Chilcote, OSU Botany Professor (https://bpp.oregonstate.edu/william-chilcote-memorial-fund).  He said he had once wanted to be a clergyman but took up a green collar instead.  He taught his students how to observe the specifics of nature and make the connections between small actions and big systems.  His ideas changed the trajectory of my life and taught me how to truly observe, think about and appreciate what I had been merely seeing.

Carma Henry

-------- Original message --------

From: Kiri Wagstaff <wk...@wkiri.com>

Date: 7/17/26 9:15 AM (GMT-08:00)

To: Carma Sue Henry <csh...@bywordofmind.com>

Subject: Re: [MidValleyNature:8059] Chipmunk & snakeskin

Carma,

I want you to know that I thoroughly enjoy all of your posts and the marvelous wildlife views and insights that you share with us.  I learn something from every one of your messages!  Thank you!  (Hi from Corvallis!)

Kiri

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Kiri Wagstaff
wk...@wkiri.com

[GAYLE PETERSON]

I wholeheartedly agree. Sadly, my computer can't access your videos, but I still enjoy the photos you post.

 

Gayle Peterson

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