Anyone know what kind of snake this is?

[madmom]

He's about 6-8 inches long and laying across my front sidewalk at 10:00pm in NW Ohio.

[fleur-de-lisa]

1. Is this a lead-in to a Romney joke?

[Freddie]

51. Exactly what I thought!

[tridim]

2. My brother would know. I'll go with rat snake. Just a guess.

[Canuckistanian]

3. Looks like a Fox snake

They eat spiders. We like them.

[uppityperson]

12. that could be, they are a type of rat snake. I like them and gopher snakes, eat mice.

[StarryNite]

4. The picture makes him look a lot bigger.

It looks like he's a couple of feet long, never would have guessed 6-8".

[uppityperson]

5. I'd say a baby gopher snake or called eastern milk snake in Ohio.

https://www.google.com/search?q=gopher+snake+ohio&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=9kxRUJ-FIYqwiQKUqoHIDQ&ved=0CEAQsAQ&biw=1138&bih=542

[Aerows]

6. garden snake of some sort

not harmful, you can tell by the head.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. From the head, don't think it's poisonous

But I would still have an expert remove it.

Locally the FD gets rattler snakes, that have, like all poisonous snakes, a triangular head.

[ashling]

23. Not all poisonous snakes have a triangular head.

Only the vipers. In the US we're talking rattlers, water moccasin, copperhead.

However the Coral Snake (which this obviously is not) is related to the cobra and has a head shaped like this snake.

[Aerows]

24. This is obviously not a coral snake

by any means.

[ashling]

32. Let me re-read my post to you:

" the Coral Snake (which this obviously is not)"

[nadinbrzezinski]

25. The corals are identified by banding

Kings are close for obvious reasons.



It helps them avoid predations. When I get to an actual computer will try to post pictures of both for educational purposes.

Why I also said to the OP to get an expert.

[Mnemosyne]

35. Isn't it - Red on black better stay back, red on yellow its all mellow? Or something like that.

My grandson, 11, catches many snakes here in NW Pa. He is so disappointed I don't freak out over them.

[nadinbrzezinski]

36. I had an actual king cobra at an actual call

As luck had it the biology class covered the previous week hibernation in reptiles. Took two fire extinguishers to make that cobra go to sleep long enough to go into pillow case. Took it by back of head in full turnout...and gloves and was still the worst, nervousness wise

Patient lived, luckiest son of a gun, and cobra found a new home at the zoo.



So I'd say that was a good day.

[Mnemosyne]

42. I think that one would have scared me face to face. Good idea with the extinguisher! Glad

someone thought of it and things turned out ok. Patient was very fortunate, no doubt.

[nadinbrzezinski]

47. According to my vet, we were damn lucky

since it does not work all the time... but it is always worth a try.

And nervousness, you should have seen me shaking after we did the patient turn over... shaking like a leave does not start to describe it.

It's one of those (had a few), where you go... damn am I lucky today.

I guess that is why I cannot hit even three numbers in the lottery.

Burned all my luck already.

[Mnemosyne]

66. I am so glad you stayed safe and we can have your wisdom here. I really love

reading your posts and am regularly pissed at your stalkers.

I would have been shaking and peeing my pants in that situation.

I once stepped over a rattler in Alabama, thought it was a dead snake. It was sunning itself. lol

[pintobean]

79. You were in Asia?

The king cobra is distributed across South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the southern areas of East Asia (southern China) where it is not common. It lives in dense highland forests,[1][9] preferring areas dotted with lakes and streams.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_cobra#Distribution_and_habitat

[ashling]

38. I always heard

red and yella', kill a fella'

red and black, friendly, Jack.

One of us better just stay away from colorful snakes

[Mnemosyne]

44. No problem!

Had to look it up - I'd be the dead one.

[nadinbrzezinski]

45. This should settle it

Coral



King

And just to confuse things...



California King... given the desert terrain round these parts... mimetism comes to mind.

[Kali]

80. mimetism?

mimicry is the usual term

[Egalitarian Thug]

58. You're right on this one. n/t

[littlewolf]

71. I think it is

Red touch Yellow -Kill a fellow ...
Red touch Black - Friend of Jack ...

(now if your not named Jack .. not sure what to tell you .. )

[Mnemosyne]

82. I may change my name to Jack. You are correct, I mixed it up. lol nt

[hootinholler]

78. Red on yellow will kill a fellow. n/t

[ashling]

37. I just didn't want the poster thinking that

all no triangular headed snakes were harmless.


This one was a bull snake

[FSogol]

72. Snakes aren't poisonous, they are venomous.

You can eat snakes without getting poisoned.

If you'll forgive a little science snark.

[nadinbrzezinski]

75. accepted, rattler is good in soup

[mattvermont]

8. Eastern Fox Snake perhaps??

[geckosfeet]

9. He's a beauty. Don't know what he is though.

About a week ago I was stacking some firewood and getting to the very bottom of the pile and a 20" snake wriggled out. He was heading for the garage so I grabbed a snow shovel and scooped him up and tossed him into the woods. He'll be happier there. No poisonous snakes (that I know of) where I live but just all around easier to scoop him with a shovel.

[Tom Ripley]

10. Looks like a very young garter snake

they don't develop their distinctive pattern until later

[karmaqueen]

11. Looks like a King snake n/t

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. Looks like a fox snake. Not a garter snake, those have

lengthwise stripes and are greenish.

[hlthe2b]

14. Doesn't look like a copperhead--maybe a rat snake?

[Aerows]

18. A copperhead?

Really?

LOL.

You have to name a poisonous snake that looks nothing like a damn copperhead.

Do you see anything to indicate that it is a poisonous snake? Dull head shape for starters.

Good grief.

[uppityperson]

29. Why do you reply this way?

[tkmorris]

41. You are insulting

It isn't necessary. Why not give it rest? Or if you simply MUST be rude to people take it someplace else. It's a big ole goofy internet out there.

[Gold Metal Flake]

43. ^^ This is the sort of post that makes DU suck.

A decent person would post a picture of a copperhead for contrast.

[hlthe2b]

63. thank you, but

I said it DOESN'T look like a copperhead and I said that because that is usually the concern, that it might be poisonous. I said it looked like possibly a NONPOISONOUS rat snake.

That said, what the hell is Aerow's problem?

[Gold Metal Flake]

64. I don't know. Some sad folks just gotta rub their stink onto others.

It is the fashion in one entire national political party.

[Aerows]

68. I made a mistake

And was too snarky. All I can do is apologize for it.

[Gold Metal Flake]

81. Aerows, well done.

Peace.

[Aerows]

67. My sincere apologies

I was being an ass, and I take responsibility for it and apologize.

[hlthe2b]

62. I said IT DOESN'T look like a copperhead, but a nonpoisonous RAT SNAKE. Your apology is past due.

I know sometimes people read too quickly, but that was just damned ridiculous. Like Mitt Romney, you project everything EXCEPT what I was saying.

Again, you really owe me an apology. You apparently have a pattern of such ugly rudeness, given the other posters calling you out as well. Do you really not give a damn whether or not other DUers think the very worse of you?

[Aerows]

69. I'm sorry.

I apologize to you. I was unduly harsh.

[lonestarnot]

15. Can't make him. Looks like mittwitt.

[SidDithers]

16. Looks like an eastern fox snake...

just from pictures. They're native to Ohio, but are usually bigger than the one you saw. Maybe it's a young one?

Colouring and pattern are very similar.

http://www.herpedia.com/snakes/colubrids/easternfoxsnake.html

This is purely a guess tho

Sid

[Codeine]

17. I'd guess a hatchling black rat snake.

elaphe obsoleta

As they grow older they get darker and eventually lose the patterning.



This is just a guess based on the photo, mind you.

[Aerows]

21. And probably

less poisonous than my toenails.

[Scootaloo]

56. Well, so is a water moccasin...

Seriously dude, scrub your feet.

[Aerows]

70. Okay

That was funny

[doc03]

19. I would say it looks like a milk snake anyway it is not poisonous, defiantly not a copper head. I

don't bother any non poisonous snake they are our friends.

[anneboleyn]

20. looks like a fox snake, probably out looking for spiders to eat

[a la izquierda]

74. I need to get me a resident one...

spiders all over the damn place here in central Ohio...

[tavernier]

22. rat snake

No need to worry about mice and rats on your property. Good neighbor.

[enough]

26. Around here we'd call that a corn snake (SE PA).

[kestrel91316]

27. Not a poisonous one.

[The Midway Rebel]

28. Baby black rat snake.

They look like that when they are young and right after they shed their skins. Not poisonous. They turn black after they get older and get a tan. We have them around here that grow to around six feet long. They will bite and also rattle and shake their tales when pissed, just like a rattler. In my experience they are a bit territorial and will keep other snakes, like copperheads and rattlers, away from your house and barns. I had one that tried to nest in my kitchen cabinet after it crawled down the wall from the attic along a stove pipe. My wife was not happy.

[bhikkhu]

30. Looks like a Bull Snake

...or that's what we call the rattler-lookalikes in Oregon. They can get pretty big when full grown.

[ashling]

40. rattler-lookalikes

They are supposed to keep rattlers away, though they will mimic a rattler if cornered. They will coil and start shaking their tale in the leaves. It'll get your attention!

I always tried to move 'em (see picture above) but I found one really big one in the chicken house that started that mimicking behavior

[CareyTheChamp]

31. Northern Brown Snake?

Also known as Dekay's Snake.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storeria_dekayi

[pinboy3niner]

33. Who do you think you are...

...Samuel L. Jackson?


"Me? Snakes 'n' shit. Same ol'. You know what this thing is?"

[JanMichael]

34. Someone else said this, but he looks like either a corn or a baby black snake

not poisonous. Don't kill him. He'll keep pests and other snakes away from your house.

[madmom]

39. Thanks everyone. With all the replies, still haven't figured out exactly

what it is. We're thinking a rat snake. Wasn't planning on killing him. He's slithered off into the flower garden now. I've lived here over 25 years and this is the first snake I've seen in our proximity, had me wondering what it was.

[Behind the Aegis]

46. Looks like a young Eastern Fox snake.

Here is a list of the snakes of Ohio: http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/resources/reptiles/reptiles/tabid/5684/Default.aspx

If it is a Eastern Fox snake it is listed as "Species of Concern", basically right before "endangered." The name link actually tells you what counties in Ohio this species is found.

[countryjake]

50. Yup, that is what it is...

you just beat me to it!

And you are correct, they are fast losing range...I was gonna ask if she is from up close to the Lake.

Poor little thing, probably hatched not long ago.

[Gato Moteado]

55. it's actually a northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon).....

or common water snake, as it is called in the website you linked to.



See the tapered banding running down the body right behind the head and how it changes to that interlocked pattern for the rest of the body. Compare it to the OP's photo.

Here's the full page from the DNR website:
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/species_a_to_z/SpeciesGuideIndex/commonwatersnake/tabid/6712/Default.aspx

[marions ghost]

60. I second that

water snake

[PlanetBev]

48. Fox News snake

Slithering into, poisoning and strangling a great Western democracy.

[trailmonkee]

49. I'm pretty sure it's not a trouser snake....

...wait, let me check something............................ nope, it's definitely not a trouser snake

[PlanetBev]

52. Tube Snake?

Boogie, boogie, boogie, all night long.

[chknltl]

53. I am no expert but fairly sure that it is not a mastadon....

What? I said that I wasn't an expert. My BA was in Anthropology, we only briefly covered prehistoric pachyderms in an Archeology class. Sheesh!

[Gato Moteado]

54. Nerodia sipedon (Northern Water Snake)

It's difficult to make a definite ID because I'm not all that familiar with the herpetofauna of Ohio, but my first impression of it was that it was either a Northern Water Snake or a Banded Water Snake. After closer review I will have to say that it is most likely a Northern Water Snake judging from the shape of the head (as best as I can tell in this photo) and the body pattern, which starts out as tapered bands for about a third of the body length behind the head and then changes to a sort of interlocked diamond pattern.

Do you have any water nearby?

It's definitely not an Eastern Milk Snake, or any Lampropeltis for that matter, as guessed by some. It's also not a garter snake, or any Thamnophis, as was suggested by some. It's definitely not a DeKay's Snake.

Fox Snake was a good guess, but I will have to rule it out, as well as all the other Elaphe, Fox Snakes don't tend to have that uniform tapered banding running back from right behind the head. They tend to have a broken saddle pattern down the whole length of their body and their head is usually blonde. Also, several people suggested that Fox Snakes eat spiders, but the fact is they do not. Fox Snakes, like all Elaphe, are predominantly rodent eaters, but they will also take small birds....but they never eat insects or arachnids.

It's not a Bull Snake or any Pituophis.

I'm not a herpetologist, but I used to keep and breed reptiles, mainly snakes. I successfully bred at least a eight or ten subspecies of Lampropeltis triangulum, also known as the Milk Snake. I also bred Florida King Snakes (Lampropeltis getula floridana) and South Florida or Brooks King Snakes (Lampropeltis getula brooksii). I also bred tons of Corn Snakes (Elaphe guttata guttata).

Currently I have two captive snakes in my house here in Costa Rica: an Eyelash Viper (Bothreichis schleggeli) and a Palm Viper (Bothreichis lateralis). And I have a seemingly limitless amount of reptiles and amphibians on my rain forest properties.

[quaker bill]

77. I was going to call it a banded water snake as well

I am in FL but our banded water snakes look just like that. I am not a herpetologist, but I am a wetland ecologist, and have run into plenty of snakes over the years.

[Kali]

57. if it was in my area I would say it is a young bull or gopher snake

not sure if you have those there, and I can't see the pattern real well but looks like it to me.

[Jane Austin]

59. Well, fat chance I get

a good night's sleep tonight!

[unapatriciated]

73. I'm with you.

Definitely don't want to open any kitchen cabinets after reading this thread.
I thought maybe it was a pic of rmoney so gambled and lost. I really don't like snakes.

[donheld]

61. It's called a Paul Ryan

[MineralMan]

65. Hard to be certain of the species, but it is not a venomous snake.

That much is certain. You can safely pick it up and move it off the sidewalk to a safer location, where children won't do something like run over it with a bicycle or stomp on it. Moving into a vegetated area will also help protect it from birds. Everything from mockingbirds and jays to small raptors find such a small snake an attractive meal.

It's also a good snake to introduce to children.

It's a real cutie.

[WooWooWoo]

76. its a grey rat snake

[img][/img]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_Rat_Snake

[eppur_se_muova]

83. Probably Republican.

A safe assumption with most reptiles.

[RealityCheck2]

84. Eastern ratsnake

It is a juvenile eastern ratsnake. It will be black when it gets older (possibly dark grey) but it's pattern will still show up very faint. I'm answering this very late but for others looking in the future.we have them all around our house.

For people talking about head shape telling if it's poisonous, a better way is the shape of the eye pupil. If it looks like this () ie, cat eyes, it's likely venomous. If it has a round pupils like this O it's likely not venomous.

Red/copper/orange belly with black/brown/grey body is likely a red belly, copper belly, orange belly rat or water snake and non-venomous.

Most east cost venomous snakes are pit vipers so they have heat sensing pit organs, look it up to fund a new identification tactic if youre in the east.