Pixtus - Photography Forum, Photographers, Photo Tips

richardsfault · **Water moccasin? -** 06-10-2009, 10:59 PM

I encountered this fellow in my front yard tonight:

It appears to be a water moccasin, about 10" long.

I plan on releasing it a reasonable distance from the neighborhood.

CaptainG · 06-10-2009, 11:14 PM

Reasonable distance for me would be like Chicago.

Cajungaltx · 06-10-2009, 11:29 PM

If it's only 10" long - that means it's a young one - and more importantly it's not a water moccasin.

That young, they have a bright green or yellowish colored tail on them.... photo here:
http://stevecreek.com/wp-content/upl...r_moccasin.jpg

it's hard to tell from the photo - what does the underbelly look like? can you get a better shot at the head?

S-Man · 11:43 PM

Nope. No water moccassin. Those are almost black, real dark in color and swim.
This is a harmless rat snake. They're actually good to have around as they eat rats and mice. They also love chicken eggs. I often find them under some of our hens feasting on the eggs.
They will strike, but they don't have any fangs, just small saw-tooth teeth. One bit me once as I tried to pick it up to release it away from my hens, it left a small tooth in my finger and it bled alot, but it was all good. Scared the ish outta me as I didn't know what it was at the time. Unfortunately I killed it to see if it was poisonous or not. I just let them go out back now. Re-locate them. They're very pretty snakes.
Here's one that was hiding in some cabinets in the garage:

S-Man added 6 Minutes and 1 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cajungaltx

If it's only 10" long - that means it's a young one - and more importantly it's not a water moccasin.

That young, they have a bright green or yellowish colored tail on them.... photo here:
http://stevecreek.com/wp-content/upl...r_moccasin.jpg

it's hard to tell from the photo - what does the underbelly look like? can you get a better shot at the head?

Wow, that's a moccasin? I thought they were like almost black in color...perhaps I'm wrong...

S-Man added 8 Minutes and 15 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

Most of the rat snakes I've seen around here are at least 5-6' or so.
But their heads are more narrow.
I've heard somewhere that when they have a triangular head, they're probably poisonous...hmm...

This is what I was thinking of, but apparently after a google image search, they can have stripes too...

richardsfault · 06-11-2009, 12:10 AM

Released beside the bayou:

Cajungaltx · 06-11-2009, 12:16 AM

Sam -
I was thinking rat snake as well - except for the head - it's throwing me off... you see that broad cheek 'stripe' with the yellow border under/over it?

That's one of those things my brother's told me to watch out for... I'm the only girl with 7 older brothers, and I've got a snake education... mainly cause I was terrified of them.

Plus - if you look at the eye/nose area - it's hard to tell, but it looks like it's pitted in a bit - another key 'holy crap' thing...

If I just saw the head - I'd say moccasin/cottonmouth... and NOT to release it - but to kill it - it is one of the few poisonous ones around.

But the tail is the wrong color...
SEE HERE

and

HERE -- check out the neonate at the bottom left photo.

10" isn't that big with this snake... hopefully someone can identify it - cause I'm confused!!!

Chimper · 06-11-2009, 12:27 AM

Yes, this is a Western Cottonmouth.

jeffkohn · 06-11-2009, 12:46 AM

I agree with Greg, it's a water moccasin. The coloration can be misleading, they start out with those bands when young, but get darker and darker as the get older, till they're almost black (although the bands may still be faintly visible). The triangular head is the thing to look for, that means pit-viper.

S-Man · 06-11-2009, 02:05 AM

Holy Crap! Now that I see the head I would definitely keep my distance and pull out the .410!
Yeah, I've heard the triangular head is a warning sign. Those stripes sure are misleading though! I'm going to be alot more cautious when approaching snakes in my area now!

Word to your mother: Don't take snake advice from me!

Larry_L · 06-11-2009, 02:29 AM

+1 for triangular head indicating it's poisonous. That's what I've always heard.

SecretAgent · 06-11-2009, 03:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffkohn

I agree with Greg, it's a water moccasin. The coloration can be misleading, they start out with those bands when young, but get darker and darker as the get older, till they're almost black (although the bands may still be faintly visible). The triangular head is the thing to look for, that means pit-viper.

agreed, definitely looks like a young water moccasin. if you got a good look at it's iris, you could tell for sure. if it was cat-like (vertical slit), then it was definitely a water moccasin.