Posted: 7/8/2011 3:35:25 PM EDT
|
Can you guys ID this snake for me?
The state is replacing a culvert that fronts our road and drains our wetland. I walk down every night to see their progress. This guy was hanging out in some of the drainage water tonight. He's about 24" - 30" long. Basically, I want to know if he's a copperhead vs. some sort of a corn snake. We're certainly in an indigenous area for copperheads and our wetland would be ideal territory. I pretty much give snakes a pass––they don't bother me, I don't bother them. Venomous snakes are another story. 
|
|
Copperheads have hourglass bands with the dark part thicker on the sides and the light part thicker on the top (if that makes sense). That looks like a northern water snake to me. FYI, most or all water snakes are ill tempered and will react violently if you pick them up. 
Patterns on copperheads can vary some, so be careful with anything you can't positively identify. |
|
Quoted:
Banded Water Snake is my guess since your in PA. In north GA it would still be a water snake. In south GA it could be mistaken for a Cotton Mouth / Water Mocassian. 7mm Quoted:
Copperheads have hourglass bands with the dark part thicker on the sides and the light part thicker on the top (if that makes sense). That looks like a northern water snake to me. FYI, most or all water snakes are ill tempered and will react violently if you pick them up.
Patterns on copperheads can vary some, so be careful with anything you can't positively identify. I'm liking the "water snake" ID. Sounds accurate. 10-4 on the "don't pick it up you're not sure." Fortunately, I have no need to pick him up unless he comes up out of the swamp and messes with my animals. 
|
|
You're in a different area of the country so I'm not going to guess on the breed, but it doesn't really look like a pit viper's head or eyes to me.
If in doubt, pick him up and look at the scales between his anus and the tip of his tail. If it is one long scale, it is venomous. Non-venomous snakes have what appears to be two columns of scales (or double scales) in this area.
|
|
Yes that looks like a Northern Water snake to me. Definitely not a Copperhead and it does sort of resemble a Corn, but it looks to be a little to thick from my experience. Even my lazy pet corns aren't that thick.
Also it is highly unlikely you could come across a Copperhead in water unless for some reason it was spooked and it had no where else to go. |
|
Water snake.
Curiously enough, when I lived across the river, tight against a swamp, there were TONS of copperheads around. Most times I've seen them, it's been near water here. Wife saw a small one near here the other day, first we've ever seen on this side. Also, she caught a Eastern/Chain kingsnake the other day, in a stack of hay bales in the barn. Now have her eggs incubating a few feet from me. 
|
|
Quoted:
Banded Water Snake is my guess since your in PA. In north GA it would still be a water snake. In south GA it could be mistaken for a Cotton Mouth / Water Mocassian. 7mm  What he said and please dont kill it its not poison.Most venomous snakes have large heads and cats eyes.
|
|
Nice site here gives credence to the Northern Water Snake ID:
http://www.paherps.com/herps/snakes/water_snake |
|
i think all i really have here are Western Diamondback Rattler and Mojave Green Rattler.
so either a common venomous snake, or a rarer snake that's aggressive and has venom that's both neuro AND hemo toxic. 
ohh... can't forget the Hoop Snakes either.
while i've heard some rattlers at the range, i've never seen any locally. |
|
I'm from WV, and if you are anywhere close in PA, we don't have too many venomous snakes. Timber rattlers, and copperheads are all I know of up this way.
That definatly looks like a brown water snake to me. Suckers can be really mean, but not poisonous. I know they all swim, but I have never heard of a rattler swimming, and rarely heard of copperheads actually in the water. Copperheads do tend to like to lay around water though. |
|
+1 on not mucking with that guy.... I herp on occasion and have caught HUNDREDS of northern water snakes.... I have THOUSANDS of scars from them alone
last week I was finally able to dig the last 2 teeth out of my hand from my last northern water snake encounter (4 weeks ago)
I like snakes |
|
Quoted:
Looks like the water snakes we have around here in West Central IL...but I warn you they can be quite mean and will give you a nasty bite if you're not paying attention. They also can give you hepatitis along with their bites. Here's what comes up in a quick literature search(links to abstracts but not full articles): Infectious necrotic bacterial hepatitis caused by an anaerobe in five species of water snakes. Gregarines (malaria-like parasites that do not infect humans) found causing hepatitis in southern water snake. I searched a combination of terms including water snake, Nerodia, hepatitis, and zoonosis. It looks like hepatitis and several parasites (internal and external) are problematic for Nerodia spp., but it doesn't look like Nerodia are known to transmit disease to humans. |
| i always do a quick look for the ''arrowhead'' shaped head,, my chickens were attacking a 12-15'' snake saturday, i walked over and it was a copperhead. beings how he ws in m front yard, i whacked him with a stick. what this means is though, a bunch has just hatched in the close area, so i gotta be careful walking around in the yard for awhile. a copperhead that small will put you in the ICU for 3-4 days,, my 6yo granddaughter knows first hand... |
|
Quoted:
this could be an unpopular note but to me it looks like a "target snake" Kill these and the next thing you know, you will be overrun by rats. Haven't seen this snake before, but it's not a copperhead. The nice clean bands rule that out, Plus copperheads aren;t particularly attracted to water, and are pretty even tempered. If I were in a ditch or tight quarter's with that snake, I'd probally kill it. That head is too close to a pit viper shape (it's not), but a quick glance at that snake, and I'm either retreating, it's retreating, or it's gonna die. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
this could be an unpopular note but to me it looks like a "target snake" Kill these and the next thing you know, you will be overrun by rats. At the very least, folks should learn what truly harmless snakes look like and leave them the hell alone. I can't stand to see folks kill kingsnakes and then brag about it (here on ARFcom or in real life). |
|
I let non venomous snakes go unless they are being very aggressive around where there are kids , most get walked out of the yard and down to the creek behind the house . If it has fangs my gun go bang ..... I keep this on my laptop http://www.acavirginiascamps.org/documents/ACASnake-EdPPT.pdf which has a fairly nice id pics for each snakes here . The lines are not a 100% on the map because I grew up on the edge for several types Ive saw some it says we do not have and havnt saw some it says we do . |