User:Vexx Panther/sandbox/Eastern snow snake (Pantherophis allisteri)

'Eastern Snow Snake (Pantherophis allisteri) The Eastern snow snake is a rare species of rat snake found in parts of Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut. Unlike most other snakes, it has a very high tolerance of sub-freezing temperatures and actually thrives in winter. Its habitat is the eastern woodlands of northeast and central Pennsylvania, southwestern New York, and southern Connecticut. The Eastern snow snake was discovered in 2015 by Francis Allister, a science-knowledgeable hiker who named the snake after himself. Not much information is yet known about this elusive reptile, but scientists believe that it probably has an unusually low level of hemoglobin in its blood, allowing it to withstand extreme cold. However, based on limited research, snow snakes seem to lose this tolerance over time, eventually gaining enough hemoglobin to force them to hibernate during the cold season, once reaching a certain age. This is most likely due to the extreme shock a snow snake must go through when the temperature changes drastically. Snow snakes, like other snakes, are carnivorous and eat many small mammals, reptiles, and birds. Not many people have ever seen the eastern snow snake, in fact, only a few scientists and hikers have identified it in the wild. No known specimens have been found in zoos.