What kind of snake is this?

TangoWhiskey

TangoWhiskey

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
Messages
14,210
Location
Midlothian, TX
Display Name
3Green
Home Airfield
KJWY - Mid-Way Regional
It's the first snake we've seen in our yard in Fort Worth TX. Probably 24-30 inches long, as big around as a kielbasa sausage. Notice, right under the threshold of the back door. Not a nice surprise as you step over him into the back yard. He struck at a stick pretty good. Poisonous or not? Looks a bit like a water snake of some sort, from the pics I can find online. But he's definitely the largest we've seen.

Our snake (2 pictures): http://picasaweb.google.com/troy.whistman/Snake/photo#5186598266959173890

For comparison: http://www.feepingcreatures.com/millspond/snake1.html
 
Last edited:
TangoWhiskey said:
It's the first snake we've seen in our yard in Fort Worth TX. Probably 24-30 inches long, as big around as a kielbasa sausage. Notice, right under the threshold of the back door. Not a nice surprise as you step over him into the back yard. He struck at a stick pretty good. Poisonous or not? Looks a bit like a water snake of some sort, from the pics I can find online. But he's definitely the largest we've seen.

Our snake (2 pictures): http://picasaweb.google.com/troy.whistman/Snake/photo#5186598266959173890

For comparison: http://www.feepingcreatures.com/millspond/snake1.html
Click to expand...

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/junior_naturalists/safesnake.phtml#copperheads

This says 5 venomous snakes native to Texas.

greg
 
Crikey! Isn't shay a beuuuutey!
 
As to what "kind of snake is it?" my response would be "the kind that makes me use the other door..."
 
It's very hard to ID them by colors and patterns, as the same species can very greatly, but it does look somewhat like the yellow bellied or brown water snake. I can't see a rattle in the pictures.
 
Ecch - snakes. Can't stand them. Only good snake is a dead one. Get yourself a nice long rake and make it happen. Tell him Andrew sent you.
 
Non-poisonous watersnake. They will strike and bite if prodded, but bite leaves a small innocuous wound on humans with no poison. If you have ever seen a live water moccasin (cottonmouth) you would immediately know the difference - poisonous water snakes look like the devil - literally! Larger head, different eyes, more angular head than your new pet there.
 
Last edited:
steingar said:
A brown one. Hey, snakes are cool. They eat rats and vermin, and never want to hurt anyone.
Click to expand...

One summer at Dangling Rope Marina in Utah we suffered from an unbearable rodent infestation. It was weird, because the weather etc. wasn't abnormal or anything, we couldn't figure out why the kangaroo rats and mice were in all the houses that summer.

Then one day in late August I caught one of our government maintenance guys carrying off a dead snake in a shovel. Turns out he had been killing gopher and king snakes all summer. No wonder the damn rats had been taking over the joint :rolleyes: Never mind it is illegal to kill snakes in a National Park unit :rolleyes: :rolleyes: The gentleman, ahem, was edumacated. Some of the other residents were ready to ride him out on a rail.

The next summer we were back to near-rodent-free status.

Grown men screaming like little girls at the sight of a snake always amused me. A little education goes a long way.
 
yeah, leave the dang snakes alone - they do much more good than harm and they don't want to mess with you, either. Given that we don't have kids around here, we don't even kill the copperheads in our woods. Not that I've seen a copperhead on the property in a while. The great big (!!!) black snake took care of 'em, I think. :)
 
etsisk said:
yeah, leave the dang snakes alone - they do much more good than harm and they don't want to mess with you, either.
Click to expand...

Does he have dogs or cats? If so will they know to leave it alone too?
 
They will know to leave it alone... eventually! :eek:

The good thing is, it's not poisonous. And even if it was, dogs and cats deal with the toxin MUCH more efficiently than do we. The vet gives 'em some IV fluids and anti-inflammatory and they're fine the next day. :)
 
etsisk said:
technically, wouldn't it be that chicken tastes like snake? I mean, unless there was a chicken hanging around Eden prior to that snake showing up, the snake was there first! :D
Click to expand...
Nope, the chicken came first. Gen 1:19 says that on the fourth day God created ... the fowl ... and Gen 1:23 says on the fifth day God created ... the creeping thing and beast of the earth. So, chickens came first.

Also my standard answer to the "chicken and egg" thing. The chicken was created, and then I assume, produced eggs. So, chicken came before the egg! :cheerswine:
 
etsisk said:
technically, wouldn't it be that chicken tastes like snake? I mean, unless there was a chicken hanging around Eden prior to that snake showing up, the snake was there first! :D
Click to expand...

gkainz said:
Nope, the chicken came first. Gen 1:19 says that on the fourth day God created ... the fowl ... and Gen 1:23 says on the fifth day God created ... the creeping thing and beast of the earth. So, chickens came first.

Also my standard answer to the "chicken and egg" thing. The chicken was created, and then I assume, produced eggs. So, chicken came before the egg! :cheerswine:
Click to expand...

No, no ,no copper tops. They both taste alike because the 'Architect' in the matrix did not know how they really tasted so he just made everything taste the same to us

:D:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top