Very colorful baby water snake.

I thought hognose at first. Seems as if his body and head are flattened out. I guess the vertical lines on the jaw are the best indicator?

Saw this beaut of a copperhead on a late evening walk

The lines on the jaw are always a good indicator that it's a water snake. That pattern is also 100% young yellow-bellied water snake.

They are also know to flatten their heads out as a defensive measure, which is one main reason why the whole "triangle head=venomous" isn't accurate.

ETA: In response to OffShoreAg's post two up from here. Forgot to quote.

This a racer?

Yes, yellow-bellied

Not a snek, but a box turtle laying eggs in my front yard was kinda cool.

Did you report it on iNaturalist?

Saw a neat light red colored snake today at the ranch but had to get a couple quick pics. It was very elusive in the grass. No idea kind of snake but not poisonous. I'm

King Snake ??

Coachwhip.

Water moccasin or water snake?

Yes I know I murdered it pretty good. I don't do snakes, and it was curled up in the garage at a bad spot so I was hammering away at it.

Im thinking water snake but an expert will come along for identification.

Damn someone really hates/scared of snakes. That is a massacre. I'm also going with water snake. No stubby tail

Yes hate them. Will sleep much better tonight knowing that it is hanging on the fence bringing us rain the next 3 days instead of alive and hiding in my garage. Even if it's just a water snake lol

It's a harmless water snake. The vertical lines on the jaw are a dead giveaway.

Just learn the couple of venomous snakes in your area; there's not more than four.

Rattlesnakes and coral snakes are easy.

Hershey's kiss for copperhead, and mascara for water moccasins.

This was at my back door when I got home from the airport last night. I think our cat toyed with it, but didn't appeared injured. Put cat inside and the snake in the grass.

AGbbm16 said:

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Yes hate them. Will sleep much better tonight knowing that it is hanging on the fence bringing us rain the next 3 days instead of alive and hiding in my garage. Even if it's just a water snake lol

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Its a phobia... you should do some immersion therapy. You aren't afraid of the snake. You are afraid of what the snake represents in your mind.

The snake is about a dangerous as a mobile dewberry/blackberry vine and will do the same amount of damage if it bites you.

but even non-venomous snakes like garters, rat snakes, and all the common types of water snakes can carry diseases like salmonella on their skin and faces and water snakes still bite with sharp teeth and can cause injury even though they don't have venom-injecting fangs, which can lead to infections, right?

need to handle wild snakes with care. use gloves if they must be handled. wash hands scrupulously if handled. apply antibacterial ointment if bitten.

is it wise to recommend someone who is afraid of serpents to keep a shovel for the pit vipers and a pair of those snake tongs for relocating non-venomous species?

Dewberry vines can cause infections too (see sporotrichosis) treat the wound like you would any other and infections are rare.

Don't handle snakes at all of you don't have to, but there is no need to fear them. They are stunningly slow. Even the fastest species move at a light jog for a human. If you are more than 2/3 of the snakes body length away they pose no immediate threat to you. They can strike in the blink of an eye but can't reach forward more than 2/3 their body length.

Excessive fear of nonvenomous snakes is irrational and therefore classified as phobic. Venomous snakes can cause harm and healthy fear of them is warranted.

However, if you are in their environment, I would argue it is your responsibility to avoid them and leave them be. If they are around your house, it is best to call professional removal services if you can and make sure you minimize the areas their prey can shelter or feed around your house, but I won't fault anyone for eliminating a venomous snake from around their house especially if they have small pets or children.

Unless they're in your home or some other confined space where you have to catch them to relocate them, shooing them along with a shovel, broom, or whatever is enough most of the time.

I'm not going on a witch hunt to track down anyone who kills a snake ever, lots of scenarios / reasons to "play it safe" when it comes to snakes. However, most of the time the fear is completely irrational and there's a simple solution to relocate or move it along without killing it.

Anyone scared of relocating a non-venomous snake with their hands is more than welcome to call my 7-year-old daughter to do it for them. She'll be happy to.

hey, i wasn't really speaking for myself.. just the poster above who smashed that water snake in his garage.. guy may never ever ever want to handle a snake- venomous or not.. thought it might be wise to recommend the tongs for non-venomous re-lo but still use the shovel for the pit vipers.

zooguy96 said:

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Just learn the couple of venomous snakes in your area; there's not more than four.

Rattlesnakes and coral snakes are easy.

Hershey's kiss for copperhead, and mascara for water moccasins.

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I have a hard time determining the difference between a water snake and a cotton mouth. It is easy for me when I am looking at it on a computer, but much more difficult in the wild.

This thread, and the others over the years, has really helped me get better at identification with the other species.

Captain Ahab said:

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I have a hard time determining the difference between a water snake and a cotton mouth. It is easy for me when I am looking at it on a computer, but much more difficult in the wild.

This thread, and the others over the years, has really helped me get better at identification with the other species.

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Even from a distance it's pretty easy to see the vertical black lines under the eyes and round pupils of a water snake.

Checking in. I see we still have folks freaked out by snakes for no reason. Huge thank you to those passing along good info.

NoahAg said:

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Captain Ahab said:

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I have a hard time determining the difference between a water snake and a cotton mouth. It is easy for me when I am looking at it on a computer, but much more difficult in the wild.

This thread, and the others over the years, has really helped me get better at identification with the other species.

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Even from a distance it's pretty easy to see the vertical black lines under the eyes and round pupils of a water snake.

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As someone who has terrible eyesight its not that easy. Throw in someone whos color blind and has poor eye sight and I totally get being a little trigger happy so to speak. Especially when they end up in your garage/porch, etc

Disclaimer - I kill snakes but I also dont kill them......all depends on the location and situation.

ursusguy said:

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Checking in. I see we still have folks freaked out by snakes for no reason. Huge thank you to those passing along good info.

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Good to see you post again! Hope you're doing well!

ursusguy said:

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Checking in. I see we still have folks freaked out by snakes for no reason. Huge thank you to those passing along good info.

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Long time, no see, Ursus.

Like ttha said, hope you are doing well.

Still the same here - I work at a college now instead of public school teaching, and am hopefully about to start a food trailer soon.

I've basically got my own Forestry-Conservation division within Parks. I have a biologist, Forester, Arborist, and all of Forestry Operations......overseeing Forestry and Conservation operations on 412 properties. Community Wildfire Protection, EAB planning, invasive species management, prairie management, coyote consultations, feral hog trapping (over 5,000 at this point), goat operations, encroachments, homeless encampment issues, several illegal dumps, one of the largest tree inventories ever done in a city, and program administration.......and politics.......I stay busy, that is why I am less frequent.

ursusguy said:

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I've basically got my own Forestry-Conservation division within Parks. I have a biologist, Forester, Arborist, and all of Forestry Operations......overseeing Forestry and Conservation operations on 412 properties. Community Wildfire Protection, EAB planning, invasive species management, prairie management, coyote consultations, feral hog trapping (over 5,000 at this point), goat operations, encroachments, homeless encampment issues, several illegal dumps, one of the largest tree inventories ever done in a city, and program administration.......and politics.......I stay busy, that is why I am less frequent.

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Don't forget your extensive work in bald eagle mansgement…which I know is your real favorite part of the job.

Oh taken to a whole new level today.

Colorblindness affects red/green, not how you perceived vertical stripes.

ursusguy said:

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Checking in. I see we still have folks freaked out by snakes for no reason. Huge thank you to those passing along good info.

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Welcome back! Thought a bear might have got you

ursusguy said:

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I've basically got my own Forestry-Conservation division within Parks. I have a biologist, Forester, Arborist, and all of Forestry Operations......overseeing Forestry and Conservation operations on 412 properties. Community Wildfire Protection, EAB planning, invasive species management, prairie management, coyote consultations, feral hog trapping (over 5,000 at this point), goat operations, encroachments, homeless encampment issues, several illegal dumps, one of the largest tree inventories ever done in a city, and program administration.......and politics.......I stay busy, that is why I am less frequent.

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Doing all the good out there. Need a couple thousand more like you in action across the state and we might be able to get our native flora/fauna on the upswing.