Posted by Wayne Given your location venomous snakes are always a possibility. Leaving them be or having an expert remove and relocate them are the safest options if you do encounter a venomous snake. Wish I could be more helpful on a specific id. --Previous Message--
on January 9, 2006, 6:38 pm, in reply to "Re: Help identifying snake"
206.152.117.48
From just the color and that it had a pattern its hard to say. It could be any one of about 6 or 7 different possibilities. A few of the harmless water snakes come to mind. So does the harmless Brown (Dekay's) Snake if it was small. A copperhead would be a possibility as well. I wouldn't worry too much either way. Copperheads aren't nearly as dangerous or as aggressive as their reputation. I have a den near my house and while I rarely see them they leave me alone when I do encounter them.
As you can see by the snake's reaction, leaving the area is usually the best way to get the snake to move on. If you stay and attack, the snake if it is a copperhead will most likely stay, get into a cowering defensive posture, and defend itself by striking back when you strike. In my opinion the risk of getting bitten trying to eliminate a snake is greater than the risk of leaving it be and leaving the slim to modest potential of re-encountering it again later. Rarely will a snake that is only encountered strike (though rarely it does happen). Most often excessive provocation is what causes a snake to strike (handling, attempting to kill etc).
: Allow me to clarify this color of this
: snake. I said it was very, very light
: brown, I would consider it tan in color
: that's how light the brown was.
:
: --Previous Message--
: Back in August/September (can't recall
: exactly) I was working in the yard
: under some pine trees when I saw the
: tail of a snake moving into some
: heavier brush. By the time I got back
: with the shovel I couldn't find the
: snake. I wasn't to worried about it
: but a recent report of a copperhead on
: the news made me wonder exactly what it
: was I saw. I live in rural
: southeastern part of Virginia, only 6
: miles from the NC line and a few blocks
: from the intercostal waterway. I've
: seen snakes in my yard but have clearly
: identified them as either a black
: snake, ribbon or garter snake. The
: snake I saw in Aug/Sept was a very,
: very light brown color with distinctive
: brown markings a few shades darker than
: it's body color. I remember thinking
: to myself...geee I've never seen such a
: light brown snake. I did not see it's
: head. That's about all I can tell you.
: Any ideas on what it was????
:
:
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