Snake! What Kind?

Retired Sarge

Retired Sarge

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Feb 22, 2009
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Panama City Florida
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I've seen y'all identify critters, plants, garbage and treasure, so here's a critter one for y'all. Found in the yard here in Panama City, Florida, it's a little aggressive, can't say I blame it, poor thing tossed its lunch! Eyes on on the sides it appears, even though the head is some what wedge in shape. Leaning towards being non-posionous.

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Mike
USAF Retired
 

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Yard Snake

I've seen y'all identify critters, plants, garbage and treasure, so here's a critter one for y'all. Found in the yard here in Panama City, Florida, it's a little aggressive, can't say I blame it, poor thing tossed its lunch! Eyes are on the sides it appears, even though the head is some what wedge in shape. Leaning towards being non-posionous.

Mike
USAF Retired
 

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Re: Yard Snake

Yes it is a (Rat Snake). It nonpoisonous though not for the Head being Wedge shaped. Look at the EYES, if it has cat eyes EI slits from top to bottom it is always poisonous!!!. If the pupils are round then it is not. But be careful when picking them up because they still have teeth and carry harmful bacteria that can cause infection and become serious.
 

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Re: Yard Snake

jpitt1970 is right on. It's a banded water snake, or northern water snake (same species, different locations).
rat snakes, such as the black rat snake, have similar markings when they are juveniles, but tend to be more grey and black, rather than brownish and tan.
i'm a huge snake fan, but water snakes are about my least favorite snakes on the east coast, because they can't be "tamed" the same way, say, as a black rat snake can be. they also chew when they bite, instead of a quick strike, and they poop all over you when you catch them. many snakes will do this as a defensive mechanism, but water snakes are the worst offenders, right up there with garter snakes.
water snakes are commonly mis-identified as copperheads or moccasins, and are killed as such. it's a good party trick (but not necessarily a reliable avenue to get in good with the ladies) to let them bite you in front of skeptics, and then not die or go into convulsions. sucks if you let a copperhead or moccasin bite you, though,
so letting them bite you is probably not a great course of action unless you are 100% sure of your ID abilities.

dwayne
 

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Re: Yard Snake

dwayne sueno said:
jpitt1970 is right on. It's a banded water snake, or northern water snake (same species, different locations).
rat snakes, such as the black rat snake, have similar markings when they are juveniles, but tend to be more grey and black, rather than brownish and tan.
i'm a huge snake fan, but water snakes are about my least favorite snakes on the east coast, because they can't be "tamed" the same way, say, as a black rat snake can be. they also chew when they bite, instead of a quick strike, and they poop all over you when you catch them. many snakes will do this as a defensive mechanism, but water snakes are the worst offenders, right up there with garter snakes.
water snakes are commonly mis-identified as copperheads or moccasins, and are killed as such. it's a good party trick (but not necessarily a reliable avenue to get in good with the ladies) to let them bite you in front of skeptics, and then not die or go into convulsions. sucks if you let a copperhead or moccasin bite you, though,
so letting them bite you is probably not a great course of action unless you are 100% sure of your ID abilities.

dwayne
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Letting a water snake bite is not really a good idea. they have an anticoagulant in thier saliva and the bite will bleed like a mofo for a while.....I actually just caught a hatchling water snake about 15 minutes ago while looking for artifacts in the river by my house. tried to get in a hunt before the sun went down, after the storm, but the river was too high.
 

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Re: Yard Snake

Nice call on that ratty looking water snake now lets get an ID on that poor frog looking victim. This could best be studied while you're eating a shrimp salad for lunch.
 

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Re: Yard Snake

Due to you sayin it was aggressive and your photos bein good enough to get a close look, it's some type of water snake. (I don't know your eastern snakes) The head is a little out of character for the water snakes I am familiar with, but it appears the scales are keeled, and rat snake scales are smooth. dwayne sueno has some experience it appears. I have been bit by a water snake in Oklahoma. It was kinda like having a real p-od bulldog hooked on to your hand. Anytime you do get bit by any snake like this, the first thing you need to do is wash out the bite with hydrogen peroxide, cause those rascals don't brush their teeth too often. My son is a herpetologist, so since I got to be corrected by him over the years, here is my revenge. A diamond back rattlesnake is not poisonous. You can eat them. Snakes are venomous or non venomous. Certain mushrooms, jimson weed, and anti-freeze are poisonous, because you cannot (or shouldn't) eat them. Also, a round pupil is not always an indicator a snake is non-venomous. And snake tastes like snake when you eat it, not chicken.
 

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Re: Yard Snake

Florida Banded Water Snake. I think y'all for the help, it was a little hard, due to all the ones I looked at had the bands going from being wide on the back to narrow on the belly, where this one they are opposite. Told ya that y'all were a wealth of information. Oh as a side note, we released it down the road at the bayou, more to eat there, and less likely for it to get run over by the mower here.

Marking this as solved.

Mike
USAF Retired
 

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Re: Yard Snake

ffuries said:
Oh as a side note, we released it down the road at the bayou, more to eat there, and less likely for it to get run over by the mower here.

Marking this as solved.

Mike
USAF Retired
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Thank you for being so kind.
girl_tender.gif
 

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Re: Yard Snake

Don't have a problem with snakes or critters in general. I just move them to a safer place when they end up in the yard. With the wife having a Koi pond we get our share of critter visitors.

Mike
USAF Retired
 

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I say it's a Rat Snake. But still it's a snake and I stay away from snakes.

A Rat Snake has round pupils in it's eyes, unlike the elliptical, "cat's eye" pupils of the Copperhead.
 

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NoNeck said:
I say it's a Rat Snake. But still it's a snake and I stay away from snakes.

A Rat Snake has round pupils in it's eyes, unlike the elliptical, "cat's eye" pupils of the Copperhead.
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NN, If I am ever close enough to see the pupils of a snake's eyes, it won't matter if he's poisonous or not, because you will have lost Mama! :laughing7: :laughing7:
 

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LOL, well that is why I dont hang around or mess with any of them at all. But looking at the pic's that snake has round pupils and a copperhead has the elliptical, "cat's eye" pupils looks like a slit. But yea I dont plan to be close enough to look myself.
 

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