Can anyone help me ID this snake-caught in my house

[Mikel Stephens]

This is the second one in two weeks!!! I would like to know what kind it is since I have a 3 year old and a 7 year old in the home. This guy is about a foot long.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Larry Harp]

Looking in my wildlife ID book it looks sort of like a Kingsnake but when I Googled it the pics I got on the internet made me not so sure. I'm stumped but here is a site that identifies all the poisionous snakes of Texas so at least you can be sure it's not one of those.



Harpo
http://www.surgery.uthscsa.edu/stpc/snakes.asp

 

[David Munaretto]

Looks like a Texas Night Snake to me (first link below) - I've included links to likely suspects of TX snkaes



http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txherps/snakes/hypsiglena.torquata.html



Possible?

http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txherps/snakes/elaphe.guttata.html

http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txherps/snakes/trimorphodon.biscutatus.html



Link includes details on the snake -- just an FYI, I am in NO WAY an expert on the subject, I just did a google for tx snakes and then looked at pictures...



David

 

[Larry Campbell]

My initial thought looking at the picture was a bullsnake, sometimes called a gopher and/or pine snake by many people. It could also be a variant of the rat snake. Here are a couple of links. One is a TX snake id and the other is the FT Worth zoo. email a picture to the zoo and direct it to the herpetarium. They should be able to give you a more positive id. There are a lot of regional variances in the way snkaes look. Here in Oklahoma, as well as in Texas, there are variants of the copperhead. Broadbanded and southern are the most common, but with interbreading amongst them their appearance changes and you get variations. This happens with non-poisionous snakes as well. I attached a llink to the FT Worth zoo and the a Texas snake id page.



http://fortworthzoo.org/visit/exhibits.html



http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txherps/snakes/
http://fortworthzoo.org/visit/exhibits.html

 

[JD Johnson]

Looks like a rat snake to me but my eyes aren't seeing the photo real well this morning.

 

[Brian Ingersoll]

Not poisonous

There are only four snakes you need to know - rattlesnake, cottonmouth, coral, and copperhead - all others are OK.

 

[Tim Jeffers]

My money is on a Black Rat Snake (Elaphe guttatta obsoleta) or closely related rat snake. A clearer pic would be helpful, but the shape of the head and the coloration and pattern make me pretty sure that it's a juvenile rat snake.



BTW - I worked at the reptile house at the National Zoo in Wash. DC in the late 80's - early 90's .



TJ

 

[Jody Woodruff]

I agree with it being a rat snake. I usually catch one per year hanging around my house or the neighbor's house. One even managed to get in my attic a couple of years back and needless to say my wife was totally freaked out. Should have ever told her.

 

[fatrap]

I hate snakes

fatrap

 

[Tim Jeffers]

Upon further review.......it may be a diamondback water snake (non-poisonous). The pattern is a better match to that than a rat snake, but I'd like to see a clearer pic of the scales on the head.



TJ

 

[JD Johnson]

With my stronger glasses on I believe it is a copper headed king coral rattle moccasin.

Be afraid.........very afraid :lol:

 

[David Heine]

We " use " to have a rat / mouse problem at my parents house. Then I caught 3 corn snakes and let them go. I let one go in the garage and one in the front yard, and one out back. No more rodents around my parents house. Beats any pellets or any other system you can find. One drawback. Mom was raking the leaves one day and came across the shed that one of the snakes left behind. Darn thing was about 4 feet long !!!! Ya, guess who she called up and yelled at !!!