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Snake Thread: 2021

378,187 Views | 1753 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by mrsbeer05
Badace52
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In reply to AggieEE2002 • 11:57a, 5/8/21
AG
Must be all the pollution...
CM
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
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Thisguy1
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3:13p, 5/8/21
Cottonmouth?
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12th Man Ag
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In reply to Thisguy1 • 3:14p, 5/8/21
AG
No. Water snake. I never know what kind. Plain belly?
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Thisguy1
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In reply to 12th Man Ag • 3:16p, 5/8/21
It was sent to me from my BIL. It bit their dachshund but it looked a little skinny to me for a cottonmouth.
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jmazz
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In reply to 12th Man Ag • 3:16p, 5/8/21
AG
I was just typing the same thing. Hard for me to distinguish between plain-bellied and yellow-bellied.
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jmazz
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In reply to Thisguy1 • 3:18p, 5/8/21
AG
They're hard to see in that picture but the vertical lines on the jaw (I call them lip stitches) is a giveaway it's a water snake of sorts and not a Cottonmouth.
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Thisguy1
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In reply to jmazz • 3:19p, 5/8/21
Agreed. Pretty much what I told them but i figured I'd get the snake threads opinion on it.
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12th Man Ag
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In reply to jmazz • 3:22p, 5/8/21
AG
jmazz said:
They're hard to see in that picture but the vertical lines on the jaw (I call them lip stitches) is a giveaway it's a water snake of sorts and not a Cottonmouth.

Yup. You can make them out if you zoom in. But, easy to zoom in on a picture vs. the ID in the wild!
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Badace52
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In reply to 12th Man Ag • 3:31p, 5/8/21
AG
12th Man Ag said:
No. Water snake. I never know what kind. Plain belly?
Either plain or yellow bellied but they are the same species Nerodia erythrogaster, just different subspecies.
CM
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
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Trinity Ag
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8:44p, 5/8/21
S
Almost stepped on this sucker looking for my golf ball.

He then climbed a tree.

Coachwhip? Rat Snake?
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DatTallArchitect
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In reply to Trinity Ag • 9:08p, 5/8/21
AG
High as your hat, it's a rat. That's a rat snake. Coachwhips look like their namesake.

(Disclaimer: copperheads will climb as well)
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ttha_aggie_09
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In reply to DatTallArchitect • 9:12p, 5/8/21
AG
DatTallArchitect said:
High as your hat, it's a rat. That's a rat snake. Coachwhips look like their namesake.

(Disclaimer: copperheads will climb as well)
Western "Texas" rRat Snake
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MouthBQ98
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10:23p, 5/8/21
AG
No more copperheads but did startle a yellow bellied runner today while mowing. He wasn't fond of my snake barrier.

I also rescued a ribbon snake from being "played" to death by a house cat in my driveway.


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11:29p, 5/8/21
Badace52
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In reply to [removed post] • 12:13a, 5/9/21
AG
Yep... broad banded water snake to be more precise.
CM
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
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DatTallArchitect
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9:43a, 5/9/21
AG
It's amazing how many people cannot correctly identify the various venomous snakes. There's not that many of them. I get not being able to correctly identify all of the nonvenomous snakes, but one should be able to know it isn't a venomous snake
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Badace52
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In reply to DatTallArchitect • 10:04a, 5/9/21
AG
People are really bad at all animal identification and I think it mostly comes down to really not caring. Most people who live in urban and suburban environments run into wildlife so infrequently now-a-days that animal identification (even dangerous animal identification) is not really on their priority list at all.

Really a statement to how horrible a job we do at living with nature. We DESTROY environments and make them what we want them to be. Then we actively dissuade all wildlife that wants to remain from coming on our properties often to the point of actively exterminating it.

People are rapidly becoming the biggest extinction event in history.
CM
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
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chickencoupe16
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In reply to DatTallArchitect • 1:17p, 5/9/21
AG
DatTallArchitect said:
It's amazing how many people cannot correctly identify the various venomous snakes. There's not that many of them. I get not being able to correctly identify all of the nonvenomous snakes, but one should be able to know it isn't a venomous snake


Moccasins are the hard one for me.
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SteveBott
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In reply to chickencoupe16 • 1:33p, 5/9/21
AG
Same here. Moccasins and water snakes get me guessing. My solution is just avoid those snakes and works fine
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DatTallArchitect
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In reply to chickencoupe16 • 1:52p, 5/9/21
AG
chickencoupe16 said:
DatTallArchitect said:
It's amazing how many people cannot correctly identify the various venomous snakes. There's not that many of them. I get not being able to correctly identify all of the nonvenomous snakes, but one should be able to know it isn't a venomous snake


Moccasins are the hard one for me.
Body shape is one thing I tend to notice first. Cottonmouths tend to be much fatter and their tails taper off much more quickly. They also have the "mascara" at their eyes and just look pissed off. 12f mane and BadAce could go into a lot more detail
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TarponChaser
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6:38p, 5/9/21
I don't mean to be rude about it but it really isn't difficult to ID between a water moccasin and any of the non-venomous water snake species. Even if you've never seen one in person the differences are stark and unmistakable. And they're not limited to the pretty unreliable head shape test. Same for distinguishing between a copperhead and broad banded water snake or hog nose (commonly confused).

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MouthBQ98
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9:50p, 5/9/21
AG
Had to remove a 4' rat snake from my chicken coop today. It helped itself to two eggs, but left me 4 and I have plenty, so I grab it it and slung it into the field a ways away. No permanent harm, and maybe it will decide being around here is risky.
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jrb2019
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9:57p, 5/9/21
AG
Pulled a good 5' rat snake from my chicken coop this evening and was taking it to the back of my property to release. Jumped in the UTV and just left the barn when I saw a 3' diamondback. Judge took care of that one.
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BuddysBud
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In reply to TarponChaser • 11:16p, 5/9/21
AG
TarponChaser said:
I don't mean to be rude about it but it really isn't difficult to ID between a water moccasin and any of the non-venomous water snake species. Even if you've never seen one in person the differences are stark and unmistakable. And they're not limited to the pretty unreliable head shape test. Same for distinguishing between a copperhead and broad banded water snake or hog nose (commonly confused).



A juvenile cottonmouth looks somewhat like a copperhead. Of course, either way you want to stay away.
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Badace52
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In reply to BuddysBud • 12:13a, 5/10/21
AG
Not really, the head patterns are pretty different (copperheads have a fairly solid color to the head whereas the mascara mark is very prominent on young cottonmouths). I can more easily see the confusion between a darkly colored YBWS or PBWS and a darkly colored adult cottonmouth.

Juvenile cottonmouth:


Juvenile copperhead:


PBWS:


Cottonmouth:

CM
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
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chickencoupe16
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In reply to Badace52 • 7:13a, 5/10/21
AG
I definitely would never have guessed that was a moccasin! That's a really cool looking snake.
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DaveAg02
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In reply to chickencoupe16 • 9:09a, 5/10/21
AG
chickencoupe16 said:
I definitely would never have guessed that was a moccasin! That's a really cool looking snake.


This is why the single scale over the eye is such a great differentiator. If you look at the water snake, it has really wide open looking eyes, like it looks surprised or scared. That's because there is no scale on the top of the eye. On the moccasin, it looks angry, you can't see the curve of the eye. That's the scale on top making it look like a squinted brow.

The vertical lines vs thick horizontal line is good, but when they get this dark, the eyes don't lie.
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Cromagnum
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1:26p, 5/10/21
AG
Meanwhile at MouthBQ's place...

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aggie orbitalwelder
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1:34p, 5/10/21
DatTallArchitect
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In reply to Cromagnum • 2:13p, 5/10/21
AG
Are they fighting or mating?
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4stringAg
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2:18p, 5/10/21
AG
Juvenile cottonmouth:


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mandevilleag
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In reply to DatTallArchitect • 2:24p, 5/10/21
DatTallArchitect said:
Are they fighting or mating?
I think the males do this ritual fight over females to see who gets to mate. Question is, Is the female a copperhead or a cottonmouth? And would a cross species mating be successful?

Cottonheads! or maybe

Coppermouths!
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vander54
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In reply to mandevilleag • 2:41p, 5/10/21
S
I may be wrong but I do think copperhead and cottonmouths can reproduce but it is rare.
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JSKolache
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In reply to SteveBott • 2:50p, 5/10/21
AG
SteveBott said:
Same here. Moccasins and water snakes get me guessing. My solution is just avoid those snakes and works fine
Agree. Once you figure out the thick horizontal eye bar (mocc) vs. thin vertical mouth bars (WS varieties), it's easy. With any decent head view you can tell friend or foe in 0.2 seconds.

Then the trick is trying to remember which water snake pattern is which - I still get those mixed up.
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Cromagnum
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In reply to mandevilleag • 2:50p, 5/10/21
AG
mandevilleag said:
DatTallArchitect said:
Are they fighting or mating?
I think the males do this ritual fight over females to see who gets to mate. Question is, Is the female a copperhead or a cottonmouth? And would a cross species mating be successful?

Cottonheads! or maybe

Coppermouths!


DCHWS

Dat cottonhead watersnake
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