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looks like a rat snake or similar non-venemous. It's not a rattler, and it's not a copperhead but could be a young water moccassin, if you live near a body of water. Look to see if it has fangs or teeth(carefully). If it has fangs that fold back it is a moccasin(cottonmouth), If it has teeth, not fangs it is probably a rat snake or other nonvenomous snake. Doesn't look dark enough to be a cottonmouth, but then again it is a juvenile. The reason he was there is because you have rodents(mice or rats), that is the main reason snakes enter human dwellings. Get rid of the mice, and you get rid of the snake. I always use live traps to catch the mice - they work better, then i release them 20-30 miles away in the wilderness - keeps the snakes out there happy. Non-venomous snakes are good - they keep the rodent infestation under control. An example is the annual rattlesnake roundup they have held in sweetwater texas for years. They harvest hundreds of thousands of rattlesnakes and other snakes for that event every year. In the 1980's, the snake population in that area dropped so low that they had a massive rodent infestation. There was an outbreak of the Black Plague aka:Bubonic Plague (Yersinia Pestis) in Odessa ( not far from sweetwater) because the plague is transmitted via insects(fleas) that bite infected rats then in turn infect humans. This was a rare occurence, but shows what can happen when the balance is upset. If you can trap non venemous snakes using live traps then release them in the wilderness areas in your county, and they will continue to do good. But getting rid of the mice is the easier way. cotton mouth fangs:  |
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Ahhhh, what a cute wittle thing... Not sure what such a tiny little thing would eat, maybe a cricket.... Here's a gopher snake my dad caught and brought home on a 5k run, 7ft long which is DAMN long for a gopher snake around our parts. he was plenty mean too which probably accounts for him getting so big. Usually gopher snakes get a bit pissy if you corner them or come at them a bit fast, this thing just wanted to bite anything that came near it. Was a bit of a handful trying to handle for the week or so we kept him to play around with him.  He was strong too, if you weren't careful he'd wheel around and bite you if he managed to slip his head through your hand, like he was trying to do in this picture. I generally handle snakes with care and gently, this sucker wouldn't let you release a death grip on it else he'd get slip out of your grip and tag you. 
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| Around here we call those little fellas "ground snakes" They can have black ,slate grey or brown backs, orange, red or yellow(never seen a yellow before though) bellies. Also, apparently you can have any combination of back and belly color, but around here it's mostly grey and orange or brown and orange. |
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I have one thing to say for those of you who are "wanna be Steve Irwins"... TEMPT NOT THE LORD THY GOD!!! Geeze who gives a flip what kind of snake it is?!? After finding a small rattle snake dangling from my jeans one time while mowing the grass (he apparently tried to bite but his fangs got caught in my pants leg... he was a baby rattler), I would rather any snakes go one way, and I go the other thank you very much. |