Eastern Snakes Forum: Re: snake identification

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To ask a question about a snake, don't reply to this post, go to the forum home page and start a new post. Your question will get a lot more exposure. Please give us an idea of where you live, as reptiles can often be identified only by locality!

Please do not place messages about killing a snake, and asking what kind it is you have killed! That is like going onto a message board about dogs and telling about torturing one to death, and asking what kind of breed it was. You will likely get "flamed", and likely by the forum owner, depending on his mood that day.

A note about head shape in snakes: Head shape is a totally useless character for identifying a snake, and has nothing to do with whether the serpent is or is not venomous (poisonous). Many harmless snakes, especially when young, have rather large heads. Please describe color, pattern, markings, and habitat where the snake was found. The shape of the head will not help us in any way. Thank you. Please post comments on THIS ARTICLE ONLY! To ask a question go here: Home

Re: snake identification

Posted by Alex, forum owner on June 23, 2005, 6:34 pm, in reply to "Re: snake identification"

--Previous Message--
: Got out of driveway at 6:30 am.(South
: Texas), found a baby snake ..about 7 to
: 8 inches long, brown with 2 dark brown
: spots on top of neck.., light brown
: streak on top of length of body..with
: little black spots lining the light
: brown streak. Was aggreesive at
: first,,struck the container with it's
: head about 4 times as if trying to
: bite...big brown color on top of head.
: what kind of snke is this?
:
: --
:
Sounds like some form of Garter Snake; they can vary a lot, but the stripe and spots pretty much say to me "Garter".
Most snakes will act agressive when caught. It irks me a lot when some TV personality picks up a snake and says "boy is he mad!" or "he is really angry!". No. If I were picked up by a Grizzly Bear, the last thing in my mind would be anger. I would be fighting for my life. The snakes are too, or at least they think they are.
Garters will calm down fairly quickly with gentle handling and attention. I always get nipped a lot when "gentling" Garters, but their bite is totally harmless (won't even "make you sick" as folks say), and I used to use Garters a lot as teaching tools (I called them "teaching assistants"), so the nips were worth it. I always released them in the late summer, as they have specific lighting requirements (UV lights, and I had none) and will die over the winter unless kept "just so".
Nice find; I have yet to see a snake this year...

Message Thread

snake identification - Bob June 14, 2005, 3:48 pm

Re: snake identification - Wayne June 16, 2005, 12:08 pm

Re: snake identification - allan June 22, 2005, 9:37 am

Re: snake identification - Alex, forum owner June 23, 2005, 6:34 pm

Re: snake identification - Rex Robinson May 30, 2007, 9:00 pm

Re: snake identification - rolf October 22, 2010, 1:20 am

Re: snake identification - Alex, forum owner October 22, 2010, 1:46 pm

Re: snake identification - rolf October 22, 2010, 2:01 pm

Re: snake identification - Alex, forum owner October 23, 2010, 4:22 pm

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[quote] --Previous Message-- : Got out of driveway at 6:30 am.(South : Texas), found a baby snake ..about 7 to : 8 inches long, brown with 2 dark brown : spots on top of neck.., light brown : streak on top of length of body..with : little black spots lining the light : brown streak. Was aggreesive at : first,,struck the container with it's : head about 4 times as if trying to : bite...big brown color on top of head. : what kind of snke is this? : : -- : Sounds like some form of Garter Snake; they can vary a lot, but the stripe and spots pretty much say to me "Garter". Most snakes will act agressive when caught. It irks me a lot when some TV personality picks up a snake and says "boy is he mad!" or "he is really angry!". No. If I were picked up by a Grizzly Bear, the last thing in my mind would be anger. I would be fighting for my life. The snakes are too, or at least they think they are. Garters will calm down fairly quickly with gentle handling and attention. I always get nipped a lot when "gentling" Garters, but their bite is totally harmless (won't even "make you sick" as folks say), and I used to use Garters a lot as teaching tools (I called them "teaching assistants"), so the nips were worth it. I always released them in the late summer, as they have specific lighting requirements (UV lights, and I had none) and will die over the winter unless kept "just so". Nice find; I have yet to see a snake this year... [/quote]

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