Boa in the chicken house!

C. called me out to the chicken house. "And bring the camera!" she said. It was a small snake, maybe 20 inches long, with a funny blunt tail.

I'm crazy about snakes, but had never seen one of these. His scales were tiny, as were his eyes. He had a rubbery look about him. We scooped him up and let him run through our fingers for a while. I took him out to the garden – C. said the chickens would kill him if we left him in the chicken house. I looked him up – he's a rubber boa, not uncommon in this part of the West. He eats young gophers, moles and voles. He's welcome to stay.