The Creatures of Ridgefield - Reptile Edition

With 35 square miles of land, Ridgefield is host to a number of interesting species. Released this past April, the spiral-bound book, Ridgefield Natural Resource Inventory (herby referred as the Inventory) in part chronicles those creatures which thrive in our woods. The book, available for $20 at , explores nearly all of Ridgefield’s flora and fauna. Below is a small selection of the reptiles which you might find in your backyard should you happen to look closely enough. 

• Wood Frog (Rana slyvatica)

“Along with the spotted salamander, this is one of the most widespread vernal pool species in Ridgefield, breeding in a variety of seasonally inundated wetlands,” reads the Inventory.

Notable Behaviors: “If you see a small brown frog with a dark eye mask in the woods, it is likely to be a wood frog. There are no other species with a similar appearance to the wood frog in North America. The first evasive leap is fast and long. Close observation will often glimpse a second short dive under the leaf litter, making the frog appear to disappear,” states Wikipedia.

Diet: Tadpoles “feed on fallen leaves in vernal pools, transferring the energy locked up in those leaves into their bodies and then out into the terrestrial ecosystem in the form of metamorphosed froglets,” which makes them an important species in the “deciduous forest biome” according to the Inventory.

Defenses: Apparently only its natural camouflage.

Other facts: This is a hardy, persistent species that is in no danger of extinction. The wood frog “is the only ‘cold blooded’ vertebrate known to occur north of the Arctic Circle,” allowing it to live in conditions as low as -6 Celsius during its hibernation cycle, according to Penn State.

• Fowler’s Toad (Bufo fowleri)

This is an “uncommon species” that is known to exist near Weir Farm along the Wilton/Ridgefield border, according to the Inventory.

Notable behaviors: This frog will lie on its back, playing dead, “if roughly handled” according to Wikiepdia.

Defenses: Large warts on the Fowler Toad’s back secrete a toxin that can irritate a predator’s mouth and induce death in smaller mammals, according to Wikipeida.

Diet: Adults forgo earthworms but eat insects and other tiny invertebrates, says Wikipedia. 

• Four-Toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum)

Known as Connecticut’s smallest salamander (reaching only up to 10 cm in length).

Notable Behaviors: Dropping a wiggling tail to escape predators (see defenses). Also, it has four toes.

Diet: Small insects.

Defenses: According to Wikipedia, Hemidactylium scutatum can “shed its tail” and escape from predators which will attack it because the thing is still wiggling. The salamander can also play dead, as well as “curl up and put its tail on its back offering it in exchange for its life.” 

• Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus)

A tiny, very common turtle found around the North East. 

Notable behaviors: “Small, extremely secretive, primarily nocturnal and live on the bottom of streams and impoundments, frequently obscured by turbid waters. They can occasionally be seen basking” when not nesting on land, reads the Inventory.

Diet: Musk turtles are carnivorous, eating small invertebrates like snails, earthworms and crayfish.

Defenses: A skunk-like ability to secrete an odorous scent.

Notable Facts: The tiny turtle is a popular pet. 

• Black Rat Snake (Elaphe o. obsolete)

While “uncommon” in Ridgefield, the 2010 National Research Inventory report spotted this large snake “near Lake Windwing on several occasions and it is assumed that this species is more widespread along Ridgefield’s forested ridgelines,” the Inventory states. “This species is vulnerable to road mortality and collection.”

Notable Behaviors: Writhing its tail in dry leaves and mimicking a rattle snake’s rattle, says Wikipedia

Diet: Small mammals (and apparently black rats). The Black Rat Snake constricts and swallows its prey.

Defenses: Wikipedia says this snake can produce a “foul smelling musk”, which sounds similar to that of the musk turtle—apparently there are some stinky reptiles in Ridgefield,

Other facts: This species holds the record for longest snake in America at 8.5 feet long. Typically, they grow up to six feet in length, according to Wikipedia.  

• Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)

There is only one single record of the Copperhead in Ridgefield, back in 1993 of an observation of the species in Pine Mountain, according to the Inventory. Additionally, this venomous species “has been declining dramatically in Fairfield County over the last 50 years.”

That’s probably good news.

Notable behaviors: A young copper head will twitch its tail to attract smaller prey.

Diet: Small mammals such as rodents, occasionally frogs and insects.

Defenses: Venomous bite, which can cause a lot of pain, but is not always fatal to humans. In fact: “Copperheads often employ a "warning bite" when stepped on or agitated and inject a relatively small amount of venom, if any at all. "Dry bites" involving no venom are particularly common with the copperhead, though all pit vipers are capable of a dry bite,” according to Wikipedia.

However: "The symptoms of a moderate envenomation would include swelling of the hand, vomiting, mild bleeding, ecchymosis, diaphoresis, sinus tachycardia, and hypotensia" (also Wikipedia).

Other facts: “The venom of the southern copperhead has been found to hold a protein called "contortrostatin" that halts the growth of cancer cells in mice and also stops the migration of the tumors to other sites. Note, however, this is an animal model and as humans are not rodents, further testing would be required to verify safety and efficacy in humans,” says Wikipedia. 

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