Scary (anyone good with snake IDing?)

[Laurelin]

We were taking our normal romp at the park today and I was walking down a trail. There was the pond on the left of me and the dogs were chasing each other to my right. As I was walking I heard the sound of something moving right next to my foot and I didn't immediately see it, but I knew it was a snake. Summer does this thing where she will run off with mia then run back and circle around me then go run back out to Mia a lot. I could see her coming but before I could tell her to stop or pick her up, she goes bounding right where I know the snake is. She ended up running right over it and not seeing it at all. O_O It was there, slithering away with it's head up and she just hopped right over it. The snake didn't do anything at all, thankfully but my heart just stopped for a second.

It was HUGE too. I'm really not sure what it was. I first thought for sure it was a moccassin, but I've found pictures of a yellow bellied water snake species in TX that looks similar. It was approximately 3-3 1/2 feet long and very fat around compared to most snakes. The underside was lighter (but not really yellow per say...) The color was dark but not black and it had a faint pattern on it's back. The head did appear to be rather triangular in shape. Any good snake ID people? I went back and looked at it sans dogs but I was too afraid to go too close. After Summer ran over it, it flattened itself up against the ground and didn't move the whole time I watched it. I eventually just let it be.

I've seen snakes there before but they were much smaller. Mia brought me a very decomposed baby snake once and I've seen some pretty big snakeskins.

Kind of scary, really though. I about had a heart attack.

 

[Maura]

Sounds like a black rat snake. Could also be an eastern hognose snake. Both nonvenomous.

 

[LilahRoot]

Sounds like a black rat snake. Could also be an eastern hognose snake. Both nonvenomous.

but EEEVIL.

 

[puppydog]

Snakes are pretty harmless if left alone. Unless they detect a direct threat they would rather be left alone so they do the same. Also, it take a LOT of energy to produce venom. So most of the time bites are dry.

Good thing Summer didn't step directly on it.

Also, snakes are not evil.

 

[Laurelin]

Well the rat snake looks too skinny by quite a bit. And the hognose has a very different shaped head and all the pics I see are too light by a lot. The only live snake I've seen at that place was swimming so I know there are some kinds of water snakes around.

 

[smkie]

Cotton mouth, i hope not. I have only seen one here.
http://www.pestproducts.com/images/ctad.jpg

 

[Spiritwind]

Snakes are pretty harmless if left alone. Unless they detect a direct threat they would rather be left alone so they do the same. Also, it take a LOT of energy to produce venom. So most of the time bites are dry.

Good thing Summer didn't step directly on it.

Also, snakes are not evil.

About 4 yrs ago I had 3 Collie puppies (roughly 4months old) bit by what the vet believes was a copper head. They were out in the big play yard while I was at work (was gone from home about 13 hours a day when I worked up there, so I couldn't leave 4 month olds in the house all day)...

The male (Aiden) got a good bit on his leg, which was the worst of the 3 puppies. He had a lot of skin that died around the bit, and still to this day has a really nasty looking scar on his leg. The two girls were bit on the faces, but they were very minor, they had some swelling around their muzzles, and Amy still has a small scar were she was bit on the side of her muzzle, but its not noticeable, unless you know where it is..

By the time I realized something was wrong with them, (when I got home from work that night) vet just told me to do benadryl for a few days and gave me antibiotics for them....

I've never seen any snakes around here, except for black snakes... which are fairly common really. I've seen a large number of them (I basically live in the woods) My neighbor claims they killed 2 rattlesnakes 7-8 yrs ago -- said they kept the rattles....

Then of course this summer the people who mowed my yard ran over a copper head out in the front yard..... I really hate snakes!!

 

[Romy]

*is jealous of everyone who gets to see snakes other than garters in their yards*

Hognoses can be pretty much any color. They tend to match the soil in whatever area they live in. Both of these hognoses were found in different parts ofTexas. They tend not to get super long, but they are fat.

Look up diamond backed water snakes. They sound a lot like you're describing. Also non venomous. It could have been a cottonmouth. Every time I've been around them they're pretty chill. One time a friend was wading in the Potomac and kept kicking at "an annoying piece of seaweed" that kept drifting back and wrapping around his legs. This went on for about 10 minutes before he realized it was a 5-6 foot cottonmouth.

 

[smkie]

About 4 yrs ago I had 3 Collie puppies (roughly 4months old) bit by what the vet believes was a copper head. They were out in the big play yard while I was at work (was gone from home about 13 hours a day when I worked up there, so I couldn't leave 4 month olds in the house all day)...

The male (Aiden) got a good bit on his leg, which was the worst of the 3 puppies. He had a lot of skin that died around the bit, and still to this day has a really nasty looking scar on his leg. The two girls were bit on the faces, but they were very minor, they had some swelling around their muzzles, and Amy still has a small scar were she was bit on the side of her muzzle, but its not noticeable, unless you know where it is..

By the time I realized something was wrong with them, (when I got home from work that night) vet just told me to do benadryl for a few days and gave me antibiotics for them....

I've never seen any snakes around here, except for black snakes... which are fairly common really. I've seen a large number of them (I basically live in the woods) My neighbor claims they killed 2 rattlesnakes 7-8 yrs ago -- said they kept the rattles....

Then of course this summer the people who mowed my yard ran over a copper head out in the front yard..... I really hate snakes!!

My Mom's neighbor had a full grown pointer male that died from a copperhead bite. Those pups were lucky to survive.

I like snakes from the little ringneck worm snake to a good ol barn black snake, my father brought home a blue racer for me to watch when it was released. The copperheads and rattlesnakes and such are just like the brown recluses and black widows. I don't' have to like what is capable of great harm to me or my loved ones. One of the reasons we only run the woods in the winter.

 

[corgipower]

Also, snakes are not evil.

Oh, yes. They are evil.

Then of course this summer the people who mowed my yard ran over a copper head out in the front yard..... I really hate snakes!!

Yeah, see, you live too close to me for me to like that info.

 

[Laurelin]

Cottonmouths and copperheads are the two big ones you need to watch here. I remember when I was a little kid my mom stepped on a copperhead barefoot. My dad didn't tell her it was a copperhead until years later.

We get garters the most and hognose quite a bit too.

The diamond backs look too light for this and I'm just pretty sure it wasn't a hognose (I've seen quite a few of them and it just didn't look like it had the right kind of head shape)

 

[LilahRoot]

Snakes are pretty harmless if left alone. Unless they detect a direct threat they would rather be left alone so they do the same. Also, it take a LOT of energy to produce venom. So most of the time bites are dry.

Good thing Summer didn't step directly on it.

Also, snakes are not evil.

Black rat snakes are. They are vicious little buggers. I know, first hand.

 

[Romy]

Black rat snakes are. They are vicious little buggers. I know, first hand.

It's feisty, not vicious. And honestly, I prefer feisty snakes. How I ended up keeping corn snakes is a mystery. Though, we're down to Circe now and she'll nail you if you annoy her enough.

 

[LilahRoot]

It's feisty, not vicious. And honestly, I prefer feisty snakes. How I ended up keeping corn snakes is a mystery. Though, we're down to Circe now and she'll nail you if you annoy her enough.

Umm yeah. I definitely call it vicious. And...that's just crazy.:yikes:

 

[Romy]

Umm yeah. I definitely call it vicious. And...that's just crazy.:yikes:

Not crazy! Have you ever been bitten? Seriously, it's like pinching your finger with a wooden clothespin that is lined with sandpaper. They (rat snake sized snakes) hardly ever draw blood unless you jerk your hand away, which is bad to do anyway because it can rip their teeth out.

It sucks to get bitten by pythons. Their teeth are LONG and sharp. I could see someone needing stitches if they jerked a hand back from a python bite. Which is why I don't keep them. Though, most pet pythons are sweet. The ones that came into rescue were pretty frightened.

Snakes are like dogs though. If a behavior doesn't work, they stop trying. So the first time they struck at me I just let them. They'd bite several times and then never try again. Circe doesn't bite. She loves being handled and held. If I go to clean her cage she gets pissed though (she hates her tank decorations getting moved around) and she'll rattle her tail, strike and huff/hiss. It's kinda cute, I mean, I like that she has an opinion about things. She hasn't bitten me since she was a hatchling. Just does her feisty little show every time she thinks I'm gonna move stuff around so I know she doesn't approve.

 

[puppydog]

Snakes are not evil, vicious or bad in any way. It is idiot people that have encroached onto their environment and got bitten that cause all the problems. And yes, I have been bitten, by my snake and a wild snake. My father is missing half his thumb from a bite and I still don't think they are evil, neither does he.

 

[LilahRoot]

Ok, it's great that ya'll love snakes. I just don't. I have always thought that they are evil. I happen to think that groundhogs are evil too. It's just from bad experiences.

Sorry if I offend, but it's just how I feel.

My grandmother (who pretty much raised me) is deathly afraid of snakes, and she passed that on to me.

Romy, the way that you talk about yours makes them sound not so bad, but... it would take a LOT to change how I feel, and yes I have been bitten before.

 

[Romy]

Ok, it's great that ya'll love snakes. I just don't. I have always thought that they are evil. I happen to think that groundhogs are evil too. It's just from bad experiences.

Sorry if I offend, but it's just how I feel.

My grandmother (who pretty much raised me) is deathly afraid of snakes, and she passed that on to me.

Romy, the way that you talk about yours makes them sound not so bad, but... it would take a LOT to change how I feel, and yes I have been bitten before.

No worries, unfortunately there's a lot of cultural bias against snakes. It's something a lot of them pay for with their lives. I wish you could have met my sweet Rosella. She was our snake ambassador. She could (and did) turn mobs of snake-phobic valley girls into total snake lovers. Even my grandma asked to hold her. :yikes: And my grandma is how you talk about your grandma being. She used to kill every snake she met with a hoe.

This was my girl. I raised her from a hatchling, she passed away two winters ago when the power went out. She was so gentle, but genuinely enjoyed being held so it's okay that she wasn't feisty.

 

[corgipower]

No worries, unfortunately there's a lot of cultural bias against snakes. It's something a lot of them pay for with their lives.

Cultural bias has nothing to do with phobias. I do believe snakes are evil. And I can't get close enough to one to even attempt to kill it. I also think rats, bats, tunnels, lightning, 18 wheelers and spiders are evil.

 

[Romy]

Cultural bias has nothing to do with phobias. I do believe snakes are evil. And I can't get close enough to one to even attempt to kill it. I also think rats, bats, tunnels, lightning, 18 wheelers and spiders are evil.

I was referring to her grandmother teaching her to fear them. And yes, there is a huge cultural bias against snakes in the judeo/christian world.

No animals are evil. They are animals. Saying so is just as bad as all the people who go around saying pit bulls are evil.