I walked out onto my porch the other day to find this little guy spread out on the cement. He is an Adder (spelling?) and put on a very *dramatic* show for me when I tried to push him off the porch with a stick.
Act One: He tries to act very tough, but isn't to serious about it.
Act Two: He gets a little more serious. A lot of hissing going on. He even puffed up to look like a cobra. At this point, the broom handle is getting some fake striking action and my dog is hiding under the porch. It was very convincing, he really had me going. I almost ran away. But... he had to get off the porch.
Act Three: The snake can tell his little aggressive show is not scaring away my broom handle so he does what any talented actor would do in a tough time... Die. He fell over "dead." Of course, I know he is still alive because he forgets that his flicking tongue is a pretty good sign he is still alive and well. I just let him believe it was working...
Act four: Every so often he would take a peek to see if I was still standing there... and of course, I was. I guess he figued he wasn't convincing enough so he went all out. Mouth open, tongue lolled out, no writhing WHAT-SO-EVER... I think he MAY have even held his breathe. I could tell he was trying so hard to make me leave, so I just walked away. After his miraculous resurrection, he was hassled by the dogs (and we ALL got a repeat performance) and finally crawled into the garden (not before pooping all over my clean porch.)
Just thought I would share! I got a good laugh out of this crazy little guy!