Another snake pic

[Siebert Outdoors]

[cpvenom]

Awesome pic! I love snakes...

[Other.]

That is a cool picture. If you look really closly there is a fly on him haha.

[KU_Bassmaster.]

What kind of snake is this?

I see these all the time.  I always assume it's a copperhead.  But then again I always assume every snake I see is poisonous and promptly move in the other direction. :

[burleytog]

Not a copperhead.

[utser]

looks like a water snake.

[Skipper62]

*Runs away screaming*

lol, I do the same thing KU_Bassmaster

[KU_Bassmaster.]

*Runs away screaming*

lol, I do the same thing KU_Bassmaster

Have you ever see the ever so viscous "Man Eating" snakes.  See them ALL the time. ;D ;D

[Bassboy15]

Dickins I'd SCREAM

[Lightninrod]

I'm guessing it's a Rat snake?  It's bands/coloring are a little different than I'm used to seeing but that would be my some-what 'educated' guess.  Very beneficial in that they eat rodents and the occasional bird egg .

I collected snakes from the Everglades when I was a youngster.  Kept a dozen or so in cages in my bedroom 8-).  My favorite specie was the Indigo.  Caught a few 6 footers.  Funny thing about them;  they will not bite a human.  If picked up, they will wrap around your arm and then press their hardened tail tip into your arm, trying to scare you into letting them go.  They look like patent leather.

Dan

[Long Mike]

I've never seen it where I grew up (South Louisiana) but based on the shape of its head and more importantly, the shape of its pupils, the snake is definitely non-poisonous.  Leave it alone.

[frogtog]

It's a King snake. He eats other snakes.

[Siebert Outdoors]

its a harmless norther water snake.  I saw about 5 of them.

http://www.umass.edu/nrec/snake_pit/pages/nwater.html

[KU_Bassmaster.]

That's my problem with snakes.  Seems like nobody knows what they are.  Already 3 people on this thread have different opinions of what that snake is.  I personally think the one GMAN has pointed out is it ..................  but like I said before.  I assume ALL of them are man eating monsters and quickly move the other direction. ;D

[Dan:]

the difficulty that I have with identifying snakes is that their patterns vary so slightly between species and that the markings on one species can vary so much from snake to snake.

[Valascus]

That's my problem with snakes. Seems like nobody knows what they are. Already 3 people on this thread have different opinions of what that snake is. I personally think the one GMAN has pointed out is it .................. but like I said before. I assume ALL of them are man eating monsters and quickly move the other direction. ;D

That is one thing I definately try to educate myself on since it is such a common occurance on the water when you are fishing from the bank. I have tried to make it a point to be able to identify most species of snake indigenous to our area here in MO. One easy way to identify whether a snake is poisonous or not is the shape of the pupils of the eyes, as Long Mike pointed out. All of Missouri's venomous snakes are pit vipers, which means they have an opening on each side of the head, called a sensory pit. A pair of hollow fangs are located on the front of the upper jaw. In daylight these snakes have eyes with vertical pupilslike a catwhile all harmless snakes have round pupils. This characteristic is not reliable for identification at night. Even the underside of the tail is helpful in distinguishing the two types of snakes: our venomous species have a single row of scales, while harmless snakes have two rows of scales.

There are only 5 species of poisonous snake in MO. The Osage Copperhead, Western Cottonmouth, Timber Rattlesnake, Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, and the Western Pygmy Rattlesnake.

Osage Copperhead: Agkistrodon contortrix phaeogaster

This is our most common venomous snake. Color varies from grayish-brown to pinkish-tan, with hourglass-shaped crossbands of dark gray, brown or reddish-brown. The head may have some pink or orange color, hence the name copperhead. The tail may be yellow or greenish-yellow, especially in young specimens, and the belly usually is a dusky mixture of gray, tan and black. Length averages from 24 to 36 inches. Copperheads make their homes on rocky hillsides and along the edges of forests. They also spend time among trees and in brush along prairie streams. Copperheads are often found near abandoned farm buildings. Copperheads will vibrate their tail when alarmed. There is no record of a human death caused by a copperhead bite in this state, but medical treatment for such bites is necessary. Copperheads eat mice, lizards, frogs and sometimes small snakes.

Missouri Distribution: The Osage copperhead is found over the northern two-thirds of the state and is replaced by the southern copperheada subspeciesin the southern third of the state (shown in green on map).

Western Cottonmouth: Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma

Local Name: water moccasin

The name cottonmouth is derived from the white-colored lining of this snake's mouth. When alarmed, it opens its mouth widely, showing the cotton-white lining. General body color is black with little or no pattern or dark brown with darker crossbands on the back. The belly is dark brown or black. Length averages from 30 to 42 inches. Young cottonmouths are superficially patterned like a copperhead and usually have a yellowish-green tail. This species lives in two distinctly different habitats; in south-eastern Missouri, they live in swamps and oxbow lakes, and in the southern Ozarks, they live in rocky streams and river sloughs. The cottonmouth is a dangerously venomous species that can deliver a fatal bite. It is semi-aquatic, primarily a fish-eater but also eats frogs, other snakes, lizards and rodents. Various harmless snakes often are misidentified as cottonmouths and needlessly killed.

Missouri Distribution: Southeastern corner and a spotty distribution throughout the Ozark Region.

Timber Rattlesnake: Crotalus horridus

This is Missouri's largest venomous snake. Generally tan or yellowish-tan, the timber rattlesnake has markings along the back which are dark brown and change from blotches on the neck to bands near the tail. Often, a dark line extends from the eye along the angle of the jaw, and there is a rust-colored stripe down the back. It has a large rattle at the end of its tail. Length averages 36 to 60 inches. This rattlesnake lives on rocky, wooded hillsides. In Missouri, it tends to congregate in selected south-facing rocky areas where it overwinters. Timber rattlesnakes eat a variety of rodents and also small rabbits. It is dangerously venomous, but there are few cases of rattlesnake bites in this state.

Missouri Distribution: Statewide.

Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake: Sistrurus catenatus catenatus

Local Name: swamp rattler

This snake is gray to dark gray with numerous brown or gray-brown blotches. The belly is dark gray or black, and there is usually a dark brown band extending backward from the eye onto the side of the neck. The end of the tail has a small rattle. Length averages from 18 to 30 inches. This snake lives in marshy areas or wet prairies and may take shelter in burrows of crayfish or other animals. Massasaugas have become rare in Missouri because of habitat destruction and are on the state's Rare and Endangered Species list. Human deaths caused by its bite are rare, but tests show that the massasuga's venom is highly toxic, so it must be respected and classified as dangerous. Massasaugas eat mice, shrews, frogs and lizards.

Missouri Distribution: This species is found in scattered populations in the northern half of Missouri.

Western Pygmy Rattlesnake: Sistrurus miliarius streckeri

Local Name: ground rattler

This is one of the smallest species of rattlesnakes in North America. General color is light grayish-brown, with a row of small, dark brown spots on the back and similar spots on each side. Most specimens also have a rust-colored stripe down the back. The belly is usually gray. The pygmy rattlesnake has a thin tail and a tiny rattle. Length averages from 15 to 20 inches. This species lives under rocks on cedar glades and is so secretive that few people encounter it. The sound of the vibrating rattle is a faint buzz like the sound of a grasshopper. Food includes small lizards, snakes, frogs and mice. Although the bite of this species is not fatal, a bite victim should seek immediate medical attention. The pygmy rattlesnake should be respected and left alone.

Missouri Distribution: Counties bordering Arkansas and the eastern Missouri Ozarks.

The most important thing to remember thatsnake is never striking out of malice...usually out of self defense. The snake is more afriad of us than MOST of us of it. If a snake has an opportunity to retreat the area, it will. Still the best way to handle a snake is keep your eyes fixed on the snake, and slowly back away from it, being certain to not make any sharp movements or loud noises as you back away.

Please folks, I ask that we all respect snakes and not do any harm to them. They are a vital part of the ecosystems that we all love to frequent and fish in, and if not for them we would have to deal with more undersireable, disease carrying animals like mice and rats. Just remember to respect the snakes space and that the snake has more right to be there than you, since where you are fishing, is their home after all.

[mattm]

I can't believe how much different ya'lls copperheads look than ours here in Texas.

Heres what ours look like

[Hawgin]

I will stick with KU's theory on this one.  If I'm close enough to see it's eyes, I'm to d*mn close, and it won't be long until he's getting a good look at my backside.

[CyBasser]

It's a King snake. He eats other snakes.

Actually, it is a Milk Snake, Lampropeltis triangulum, colsely related to the King Snake (Lampropeltis getulum).

Completely harmless, eats small rodents, small birds, and occasionally small lizards and snakes. It is widespread throughout the eastern half of the US, and is also found in southeast Canada and northeast Mexico...

[Gotta Love It]

mattm...  is that copperhead dead?  looks like it has a broken neck?

[mattm]

GottaLoveIt....yes that copperhead is dead, found him that way in the bushes looking for a golfball.  Probably would of done the same thing though since I would of been 100% sure the snake was posinous.

[CJ]

I'm with GMan,it's a water snake.

MattM,that's what Ky. copperheads look like too,once they show thereselves.

[mattm]

CJ......I was referring to the coloring.  I couldn't tell from your post if you were saying once they show themselves their dead or change colors(defense mechanism).  The one in the post identifying the MO copperheads looks much lighter, not copper colored at all like my picture of the copperheads we have in Texas.

[Rattlinrogue]

The only snake that I respect is the king snake,but I don't kill any nonpoisonous snakes and don't go out of my way to kill a poisonous one.I think I've killed one in the last 15 years,and it was an Eastern diamondback on my front steps.

[Guest SkyChimp]

Ah, great picture.  I love snakes and spend as much time looking for them as I do anything else outdoors.   I implore you not to kill any snakes, even venomous snakes.  They all have their place and all are about as inoffensive as animals get.  I feel safer walking through a swamp filled with Cottonmouths than I do walking through a packed shopping mall.   Snakes are, in part, what makes the outdoors wild - and most outdoorsmen would appreciate that fact.

It is a Northern Water Snake.  I've been bitten probably 50+ times by angry Nerodia.   Water Snakes can be quite pissy when you capture them.   They have a tendency to leave lacerating bites that bleed a lot - in my experience more so than other colubrid snakes.   They also tend to musk and crap when caught.  If all else fails, they'll puke up their last meal for you.   Nevertheless, they will calm down and can be readily handled with a little time.  

Besides fishing, "herping" is my main outdoor hobby.  Here's just a few gems I've come across in the last few months:

That Cottonmouth in the weeds was a baby, maybe 8 inches long.  My 8 year son wanted to see some wild Cottonmouths so I took him out to my favorite Cotton-haunt to look for them.  I was checking a particulary productive area but not finding anything.  I was squatting down and about to stand up when I looked down and saw that fellow in the leaves just below me.  I caught him and photogrpahed him and let him go.   I hope it grows up and produces lots more.