Florida snake - got to get a snake identification book!

[sidebyside]

Went out in the wild yesterday looking for birds when this came across my path . It was about 5 feet long and about 1.5" diameter. It stayed motionless and let me get real close. I know what our Florida venomous snakes look like, so I didn't hesitate to get close. However, when I got home it took a while to identify this snake. It's a Yellow Rat Snake AKA a Chicken Snake.

Important lesson: when looking for birds in Florida, it's important to look where you're stepping!


shot with NEX6 and Tokina 35-200 3.5-4.5 in macro

 

[Keit ll]

I would avoid ANY snake five feet long ! :-D

 

[Erik Magnuson]

Those snakes are really good climbers - they can climb stucco as easily as a pine tree. We used to have one that would hunt lizards by climbing our exterior walls - even to the point of managing to get past the overhang onto the roof. It was quite a shock the first time it appeared behind the distorting glass blocks of the bathroom window.

 

[Jarola]

Brown rat snake? I had one in my driveway once, it was at least 5 feet long.

 

[sidebyside]

Jarola wrote:

Brown rat snake? I had one in my driveway once, it was at least 5 feet long.

I was able to identify it as a Yellow Rat Snake but it was more brown than yellow. In my OP I said it was 1.5" diameter, but I think it was actually much thicker than that. Where I shot it was a very dark swamp area - kind of spooky but actually very beautiful. I really need to look down more often.

 

[Mel Snyder]

sidebyside wrote:

Jarola wrote:

Brown rat snake? I had one in my driveway once, it was at least 5 feet long.

I was able to identify it as a Yellow Rat Snake but it was more brown than yellow. In my OP I said it was 1.5" diameter, but I think it was actually much thicker than that. Where I shot it was a very dark swamp area - kind of spooky but actually very beautiful. I really need to look down more often.

I had one that lived in our brick barbecue in CT, and would sun itself by the pool...it would love to go after field mice. Made a surprise appearance one evening as a prospect for the house showed up and saw him s-swimming across the pool. Couple split quickly. Never heard from them again.

 

[larousse87]

Just curious: what part of Florida?

 

[sidebyside]

larousse87 wrote:

Just curious: what part of Florida?

Gulf coast about an hour north of Tampa. Hernando County, east of US19 in the typical marsh land we have around here.

 

[ChangshaNotes]

Healthy looking fella. Rat snakes are harmless and make good pets.

 

[nzmacro]

Nice shot and good sharp details in this beauty. Certainly get an ID book if you have snakes ;-)

We don't have any dangerous creatures here and just walk out into the swamps or the like without having to worry. It was the dead opposite when we went to Darwin in Aussie a couple of years ago for birding and macro. Snakes and croc's in every grassland and swamp areas. You can't just jump into to a river for a swim because of snakes and croc's.

Anyway, I digress A fine shot all the same and well done, but yes, be careful.

All the best and take care.

Danny.

 

[zackiedawg]

It's not a problem in Florida - we've got friendly animals that won't do you any harm so no worries! Well, except the alligators. Oh, and the pythons. And the coral snakes. And diamondbacks. And cottonmouths. And copperheads. And pygmy rattlers. And water moccasins. Oh, and the occasional black widow spider, or brown recluse spider. Oh yeah, if you go in the water, you get the occasional bull shark. Or stingray. Or stonefish. Or lionfish. Or scorpionfish. And you get the ones that aren't likely to ever be deadly, but just very painful - like the Africanized bees, fire ants, wasps, hornets, scorpions, jellyfish, Man-of-Wars, urchins, anemones, saddleback caterpillar, flannel moth caterpillar, and spiny oak-slug caterpillar.

But other than those, we're mostly a safe place!

 

[nzmacro]

zackiedawg wrote:

It's not a problem in Florida - we've got friendly animals that won't do you any harm so no worries! Well, except the alligators. Oh, and the pythons. And the coral snakes. And diamondbacks. And cottonmouths. And copperheads. And pygmy rattlers. And water moccasins. Oh, and the occasional black widow spider, or brown recluse spider. Oh yeah, if you go in the water, you get the occasional bull shark. Or stingray. Or stonefish. Or lionfish. Or scorpionfish. And you get the ones that aren't likely to ever be deadly, but just very painful - like the Africanized bees, fire ants, wasps, hornets, scorpions, jellyfish, Man-of-Wars, urchins, anemones, saddleback caterpillar, flannel moth caterpillar, and spiny oak-slug caterpillar.

But other than those, we're mostly a safe place!

-- Justin galleries: www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

LOL, ha mate, yeah right !! Heck now I'm totally scared Justin As long as you know, its all fine at the end of the day, its when you don't know......... LOL.

I was with a group of nature shooters for a meet up in Darwin and the first thing they tell you at Fogg Dam is, make sure you have a tree at your back and no snakes on it....... silly Kiwi guy asked "Why" ........... so if you get attacked by a croc you can duck behind the tree you fool

Saw 3 croc's at Fogg Dam and a few snakes, lesson learnt mate and of course you stick to the paths and still be careful because croc's are on either side of it !! and they have ants that bite like crazy as well. Little buggas got me good while taking Dragon fly shots.

All the best Justin, nothing like that here mate, LOL

Danny.

 

[Jarola]

zackiedawg wrote:

It's not a problem in Florida - we've got friendly animals that won't do you any harm so no worries! Well, except the alligators. Oh, and the pythons. And the coral snakes. And diamondbacks. And cottonmouths. And copperheads. And pygmy rattlers. And water moccasins. Oh, and the occasional black widow spider, or brown recluse spider. Oh yeah, if you go in the water, you get the occasional bull shark. Or stingray. Or stonefish. Or lionfish. Or scorpionfish. And you get the ones that aren't likely to ever be deadly, but just very painful - like the Africanized bees, fire ants, wasps, hornets, scorpions, jellyfish, Man-of-Wars, urchins, anemones, saddleback caterpillar, flannel moth caterpillar, and spiny oak-slug caterpillar.

But other than those, we're mostly a safe place!

--
Justin
galleries: www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

I've had a pine scorpion in my house in Tampa one time. Freaked me out!

 

[adymitruk]

Nice rat snake. Easy to identify as it does not have cat eyes like a viper or rattlesnake. Strong lean muscular body means it's a constrictor and likely a good tree climber. Very good for the environment. Eats tons of mice and rats.

 

[capt bob]

zackiedawg wrote:

It's not a problem in Florida - we've got friendly animals that won't do you any harm so no worries! Well, except the alligators. Oh, and the pythons. And the coral snakes. And diamondbacks. And cottonmouths. And copperheads. And pygmy rattlers. And water moccasins. Oh, and the occasional black widow spider, or brown recluse spider. Oh yeah, if you go in the water, you get the occasional bull shark. Or stingray. Or stonefish. Or lionfish. Or scorpionfish. And you get the ones that aren't likely to ever be deadly, but just very painful - like the Africanized bees, fire ants, wasps, hornets, scorpions, jellyfish, Man-of-Wars, urchins, anemones, saddleback caterpillar, flannel moth caterpillar, and spiny oak-slug caterpillar.

But other than those, we're mostly a safe place!

--
Justin
galleries: www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

Depending where you are in Florida Leave quickly if you Hear Banjo Music Too.

Nice Snake Andy good Clear Shot with that old Tokina .

 

[Sonyshine]

capt bob wrote:

zackiedawg wrote:

It's not a problem in Florida - we've got friendly animals that won't do you any harm so no worries! Well, except the alligators. Oh, and the pythons. And the coral snakes. And diamondbacks. And cottonmouths. And copperheads. And pygmy rattlers. And water moccasins. Oh, and the occasional black widow spider, or brown recluse spider. Oh yeah, if you go in the water, you get the occasional bull shark. Or stingray. Or stonefish. Or lionfish. Or scorpionfish. And you get the ones that aren't likely to ever be deadly, but just very painful - like the Africanized bees, fire ants, wasps, hornets, scorpions, jellyfish, Man-of-Wars, urchins, anemones, saddleback caterpillar, flannel moth caterpillar, and spiny oak-slug caterpillar.

But other than those, we're mostly a safe place!

 

[RonFrank]

zackiedawg wrote:

It's not a problem in Florida - we've got friendly animals that won't do you any harm so no worries! Well, except the alligators. Oh, and the pythons. And the coral snakes. And diamondbacks. And cottonmouths. And copperheads. And pygmy rattlers. And water moccasins. Oh, and the occasional black widow spider, or brown recluse spider. Oh yeah, if you go in the water, you get the occasional bull shark. Or stingray. Or stonefish. Or lionfish. Or scorpionfish. And you get the ones that aren't likely to ever be deadly, but just very painful - like the Africanized bees, fire ants, wasps, hornets, scorpions, jellyfish, Man-of-Wars, urchins, anemones, saddleback caterpillar, flannel moth caterpillar, and spiny oak-slug caterpillar.

But other than those, we're mostly a safe place!

 

[zackiedawg]

Thanks Ron for the vote of confidence from a tourist to our state. Indeed, I've lived here a vast majority of my life, and have rarely heard of very many deaths or even serious injuries - they're quite rare, and often involve some measure of stupidity on the human's part.

I routinely hike and walk the levee trails alone, well west of town, out in the Glades. I encounter many of the poisonous or potentially deadly animals I listed - I've pretty much seen them all by now...and most do indeed prefer to get away from me rather than attack. The few that might be more aggressive are often cornered, defending a nest, or in rare cases might be a bit wonky in the head...and I can usually tell when I'm encountering a situation that could become more risky to me. Snakes like to make themselves known before they bite, alligators defending nests will often hiss and snap and mock charge long before you get too close to get away, and most sea life won't bother you if you don't bother it. The annoying stuff are the bugs and the jellyfish, which are the ones most Floridians are most likely to have run-ins with - I've been bit/stung by dozens of bugs over the years, some I'm used to and some hurt like the dickens. I've been stung by jellyfish, urchins, Portuguese man-o-wars, and a stonefish - they all hurt bad, but none had me in any real danger. The ones I'd most worry about in Florida would be the bull sharks and the killer bees. Bull sharks are just plain ornery, and they'll attack people without provocation unlike most other sharks - often with bull sharks, it's not mistaken identity either. And killer bees (Africanized) are a particular nasty for me, because I'm often in very wide open areas miles from any cover, and if swarmed or chased by Africanized bees, they'll keep coming at you for upwards of a mile, stinging en masse...they're very hard to get away from and even if not allergic to bees, they come in such huge numbers that they can knock a person out from so many stings and keep stinging even when you stop moving. Fortunately, there haven't been too many killer bee encounters - last year a farmer in the middle of the state upset a nest with a backhoe and was killed...that was the last one I know if.

But when I lived in California and visited Texas, killer bees were an issue there as well!

 

[GaryR60]

I prefer staying in locations where I don't need such a book.

 

[wcdennis]

adymitruk wrote:

Nice rat snake. Easy to identify as it does not have cat eyes like a viper or rattlesnake. Strong lean muscular body means it's a constrictor and likely a good tree climber. Very good for the environment. Eats tons of mice and rats.

YES. Easy snake ID method: if they have a diamond shaped head and diamond shaped pupils, they are probably poisonous.