# Need help identifying this snake please



## squerly (Aug 17, 2012)

What kind of snake is this? I don't want to kill him if he's a good snake. Any ideas?


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

It's got round eyes so it's not venomous. My first glance is it's a rat snake.


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

*in thinking rat snake as well.or some other snake along those lines..and they are a good snake to have around..i had a small grass snake in my garden last year.in i left well enough alone.simply because of what they eat..*


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

If not venomous then every snake is a good one. Your snake is certainly not a pit viper.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

That looks like the bull snakes we have so abundantly around here in Southern Oregon, they can get rather large, I've seen many over five feet and my wife saw one, that from her description, sounded like it was close to 7 or 8 feet in length. The bigger ones can fool you into thinking, at first, that they are rattlesnakes because they vibrate their tails in dry weeds and leaves, they also take deep breaths making loud hissing sounds and if cornered they will strike at you, startling until you realize the round eyes, shape of their head and no rattles on their tail. I don't know if there is any truth to it but local lore is that they will kill and eat rattlesnakes. We also have very large gopher snakes around and appreciate that they both do well in taking care of unwanted rodents, rattlesnakes are good at that too, but since they come so close to our home, I will take care of them, I don't want surprises while working around to home or on vehicles, thankfully, while working under our vehicles I've not come eye to eye with them, had a few close calls where they came up and coiled behind were I was working.


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## Blackdogwinery (May 1, 2015)

It's definately a rat snake. Completely harmless, and beneficial to you small pest problems. Cute little guy. The specific name is escaping me in my 51 yr old mind, but it's something with oak in it. If you pick it up it will quickly realize you don't intend to eat it and will calm down without trying to bite. Even if it did bite, it's teeth are so small it could barely break the skin. It amazes me grown adults are scared of these little things!


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## Marcus (May 13, 2012)

It looks like a Black Racer to me.
Here is a link to NC snakes that may help: http://www.bio.davidson.edu/projects/herpcons/herps_of_nc/snakes/snakeid/search.asp
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/gaston/Pests/reptiles/pages/bracer.htm


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Blackdogwinery said:


> It amazes me grown adults are scared of these little things!


So I'm an amazing person. So what!


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## squerly (Aug 17, 2012)

I think we're going with Garter Snake. Anyhow, he made the cut and the dogs have decided to leave him alone as well. He seems quite content to rule his little snake kingdom from the confines of a sunny rock. Photos below from Wikipedia. Photo 1 - Young Garter Snake. Photo 2 - Adult Garter Snake Photo 3 - My Snake.


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

Quick identifiers:
Non-venomous: round eyes and no fangs.
Venomous: slit eyes (what we call "cat eyes") and fangs.

The eyes are the easiest thing to identify from a safe distance. You can get an infection from a rat snake bite because of all the creepy things they eat (mice, etc.), so if you do get bit clean the area thoroughly and apply antibiotic ointment and a bandage. Keep an eye on the area to make sure it doesn't get infected. It's the same thing you'd do if you got a cut.


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## HardCider (Dec 13, 2013)

I was thinking Garter snake as well.


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## Balls004 (Feb 28, 2015)

One thing to be careful of when trying to determine if a snake is venomous or not, the triangular head. Non-venomous snakes will flatten out their head and jaws to mimic a venomous cousin when they feel threatened, even though they aren't really dangerous. We had a 7 ft rat snake living in my shop/barn, and we got along for the most part. Occasionally he did give me fit's when I'd open a drawer or box and my body went "SNAKE", before my mind went "It's only Jake".

I don't kill any poisonous snakes unless they are around the house. We have quite a few non-poisonous that are regulars around but the puppy and the cat keep them sort of at bay.

Copperheads are our largest concern, mostly because they are so hard to see. A good rule that I learned in Boy Scouts is, don't step on sticks or limbs. A snake that is stepped on will almost always result in a strike, poisonous or not. Another fact is that a large amount of strikes from poisonous snakes are "dry" bites, no venom injected. Venomous snakes can control whether they inject venom, and since they need venom to actually hunt and kill their prey, many times they bite but do not inject. If you get bit by any snake that you suspect might be venomous, seek immediate medical care, it's a case of better safe than sorry.


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

I did leave off the shape of the head. Venomous snakes have triangle heads and non-venomous have oval heads. However, as stated above, a rat snake can triangulate the head and pretend to be a viper to scare off a predator (and a human). 

We leave venomous and non-venomous snakes alone if they are out on the property. Any snake, regardless of type, gets killed if it's around the buildings. We used to let rat snakes alone until we got chickens and now, since the rat snakes have become quite a problem with chicks and eggs, we dispose of them with a shotgun.

I like the name "Jake". Somehow it's fitting for a friendly snake who likes to hang out in the workshop. At least he keeps the mice and rats under control.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

> Venomous snakes have triangle heads


Well that is not always true as the Coral snakes down here do not have triangle heads. While I do not particularly like snakes I do not kill any and often urge them off the road so they do not get run over (no matter what kind they are).


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## lovetogrow (Jan 25, 2011)

squerly said:


> I think we're going with Garter Snake. Anyhow, he made the cut and the dogs have decided to leave him alone as well. He seems quite content to rule his little snake kingdom from the confines of a sunny rock. Photos below from Wikipedia. Photo 1 - Young Garter Snake. Photo 2 - Adult Garter Snake Photo 3 - My Snake.


First thing I thought too squerly - we used to catch them for pets as kids because they were good natured, however they will give you a fair snap depending on the size if you rile them.


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