I have scorpions!

Toolfan66

Venomous or not that snake would have been dead. The kids come first.

Nice job Ben.

Jstas

A neighbor found one of these in the back of his yard under a pile of broken up picket fence posts.



That's an Eastern Diamondback. It's a rattlesnake. The one he found was small and while very rare, we do get them in southern NJ.

The other nasty snakes we have are Timber Rattlesnakes


They are quite dangerous and coloring can be similar to a rather benign yet rare and endangered species in NJ called the Corn Snake:



Corn Snakes can look very much like Timber Rattlesnakes and rather dumb people ignore the rattling from the Timber Rattlesnake and think it is a Corn Snake. Consequently, Corn Snakes are usually killed by farmers and such because they think that the Corn Snake is dangerous 'cause someone they know mixed the two up and got themselves hurt.

Another snake we have that is pretty nasty as well and also resembles a Corn Snake is the Copperhead.



Don't get them too much in the southern part of the state but many people have mixed up a Corn Snake and a Copperhead much to their dismay.

Snakes are dangerous. They are silent and can be quite aggressive. Much more so than most spiders. Cottonmouths are nasty as well, but they are usually not aggressive and prefer to run and hide than confront anything they can't fit their mouths around. They are also called water moccasins and black moccasins. They are very closely related to the Copperhead we have here and both are pit vipers. The nice thing is that they are more likely to hiss and make defensive postures rather than stand and fight. The Copperhead on the other hand is slow moving when threatened and more likely to strike.

But that snake you have pictured there doesn't seem to have the diamond shaped pit viper head indicative of a Cottonmouth. It's more likely a Black Rat Snake or a Black Race Snake. Both are found in your area as well as the Cottonmouth. The Race and Rat snakes are harmless and actually help to keep rodent populations down.

Usually if you call an exterminator, they can move the snake safely and do things to the area that will deter it from returning. But your chickens and chicken eggs are a treat for it and that's likely why it was hanging around.

Jstas

TOOLFORLIFEFAN wrote: »

Venomous or not that snake would have been dead. The kids come first.

Nice job Ben.

That's asinine. There is no reason to kill a snake unless they are an absolute, immediate threat to your well-being. In most cases, they just want to be left alone and most times you will HEAR a venomous snake through either very distinctive hissing or a rattle long before you see it. The best thing to do is stop, back away slowly and give the snake it's space. Then call someone who can handle it properly and have it removed safely.

Teaching your kids to kill any snake on sight is a good way to get them hurt or even killed. Most snakes that are venomous are much faster than a human could ever hope to be and they will get you before you get them. Again, call someone who is trained to retrieve the animal safely. Besides, most species are tracked nowadays anyway and there are a number of biologists who would rather have the specimen to study, record, track and move to a better place for them than to be handed a dead carcass.

treitz3

Ben, that's not a cottonmouth. Not even close.

Jstas

BTW Ben, here is a shot of a pit viper head:



That is an actual Cottonmouth.

Here is what the whole snake looks like in the black coloring:



Most snakes have triangular heads. Garter Snakes will have the least pronounced triangle shape so they can get in and out of tight places.

The triangular shape comes from how the jaws are hinged and how they can become unhinged to swallow whatever they are eating.

It is easy to see how a Rat or Race snake can be confused with a Cottonmouth. But the sheer size of a Rat snake can be quite intimidating. Some species of Rat snakes do have fangs but lack the venom of their viper cousins. So even if you open the mouths, they can still resemble the Cottonmouth.

ben62670

That for sure was no a a racer. I have seen them many a time. A snake over 5 feet long in the coupe were my 5yo daughter and I go to get eggs is not cool. I have seen plenty of black snakes around here, and the camera does it no justice. I have seen some snakes around the coupe before that I have left alone. I figure I would rather give up a few eggs and have something to kills off the rodents, but this was a wee bit different.

xj4094dg

Damn I love California. I have never seen a scorpion in any one of my houses. The worst pest problem I ever had was with black widows when I lived in Palm Desert, once in a while.

I'm going to be visiting my brother soon (he is moving to Atlanta from Huntsville, AL.) I'll be sending him this thread just to mess with his head.:D

ben62670

Well I just did some reading on Black rat snakes. A snake that size can eat a chicken. They are constrictors, and I just have had a chicken disappear less than a month ago. I do not feel bad. Also while doing some research all the Black rat snakes belly's didn't have a single scale that would span the full with of the belly. This snake did.

bruss

isnt the water moccasins / cotton mouth the only snake that can bite underwater

Jstas

Sorry to burst your bubble Ben but that is a Black Rat or a Black Racer. I'm leaning more towards Black Racer.

Black Rat:
http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/snakes/elaobs.htm



Black Racer:
http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/snakes/colcon.htm



If it was camped out and stealing your chickens then you had every right to remove it. No need to feel bad. It would have eventually taken all of your chickens and damage to property is a good reason to remove it. But the cop had no idea what he was talking about and I wouldn't take his word on it. If anything, going on his advice, there are several Federally protected species in Georgia and South Carolina that can resemble the above two species and killing them with impunity could land you in hot water if you do happen to get a cop visiting your place that does know something about snakes.

ben62670

I do have racers here. This was not a racer. I have seen plenty of them. Played with plenty of them. I am thinking you guys are right about Rat snake.

shadowofnight

ben62670 wrote: »

all the Black rat snakes belly's didn't have a single scale that would span the full with of the belly. This snake did.

First, as I already mentioned...that is
a Black Rat snake....I used to identify snakes as a hobby ( Almost a living as a herpetologist ). Your particular speciman is the most common type ( There are a few different color/pattern phases ) with the top jet black and the bottom starting cream in color...blending to a checkerboard cream/black then a solid black.

All the ventral scales on the Black Rat snakes I have seen/handled have spanned all the way across....here is a bottom shot showing the same color phase as yours....cream to checkerboard to black....same large ventral scales as well.


John, racers are much thinner bodied then the rat snakes....even with close to identical patterns/colors...the length to girth ratio on Ben's bruiser is much to large for a racer.

billbillw

Nevermind. I didn't see the last few posts.

venomclan

Damn Ben, you are better off just moving back to FL at this stage, with only the Palmetto's, hookers and illegals to deal with...

edbert

venomclan wrote: »

Damn Ben, you are better off just moving back to FL at this stage, with only the Palmetto's, hookers and illegals to deal with...

Florida has a small snake problem too:eek:

Toolfan66

Jstas wrote: »

That's asinine. There is no reason to kill a snake unless they are an absolute, immediate threat to your well-being. In most cases, they just want to be left alone and most times you will HEAR a venomous snake through either very distinctive hissing or a rattle long before you see it. The best thing to do is stop, back away slowly and give the snake it's space. Then call someone who can handle it properly and have it removed safely.

Teaching your kids to kill any snake on sight is a good way to get them hurt or even killed. Most snakes that are venomous are much faster than a human could ever hope to be and they will get you before you get them. Again, call someone who is trained to retrieve the animal safely. Besides, most species are tracked nowadays anyway and there are a number of biologists who would rather have the specimen to study, record, track and move to a better place for them than to be handed a dead carcass.

You know i don't have a problem saying when i am wrong on something, and telling someone they are right about something.

I agree with you on this.;)


Larry.

Polkersince85

Ben. That's a Rat snake. They eat eggs, too. A Viper of 5 foot length would be about 3 times more around.

ben62670

I know that they eat eggs. I have not been collecting many eggs lately, and a chicken disappeared. That snake is much fatter than it appears. If you took you hand and grabbed it your fingers and your thumb wouldn't touch.