Snake identification

[wh500special 2,184]

 

I was stepping out on to the patio this afternoon and this sizable snake was out there waiting for me.  He must have smelled the stuff I was cooking in the bbq grill…

 

Coal Black with a white belly.  Not a super distinct pattern on his back but you can see the lighter colored spots on regular intervals.  
 

This was a pretty sizable snake.  I’m guessing he was just under 4’ long when all stretched out.  Fairly chunky. 

location is southern Illinois near St. Louis. About the same latitude as Washington DC I’d guess.  
 

What really got me was that when I walked out there he stood up.  He was able to get his head up higher than that ottoman thing he was next to.  That’s about 14” high and 24” square.  And he was pretty aggressive and didn’t just scurry away like most snakes tend to do.  As I fumbled with the shovel to try and shoo him away he took a defensive posture and showed me the inside of his mouth. Which was white.  He bit at the shovel too. 

In my clumsiness and awkwardness he ended up getting away from me.  I didn’t want to kill it but I’d rather him not be this close to the house either.   I didn’t have a great plan about what I was going to do with him if I got him pinned down so maybe this was for the best. 

 

I live in a neighborhood but behind me is about 100 acres of farmland.  We have a low spot in the back yard that tends to stay wet in the spring since it rains so much and everybody uphill of me has their sump pumps running out into the back yard.  It’s been wet all spring and I’ve been seeing crawdads and frogs. 
 

about 100 yards to my north is a little strip of woods bordering a creek.  Directly behind me is an unplanted (so far this year at least) field with a spring growth for weeds.  So there is adequate

cover here for the deer, coyotes, skunks, raccoons, and other critters we see.  I imagine that includes a variety of snakes we don’t see. 

 

I see snakes almost every time I cut the grass.  Usually just the little striped garter snakes.  Once in a while I’ll see what I think is a Grahams crayfish snake (cute little guy) in the wet spot. We have what I think is a bull snake hanging around the garden that scares the crap out of me every couple of weeks when he comes crawling out.  I don’t put any chemicals on my grass so we have a bit of an island in my neighborhood of worms, bugs, moles, and the snakes that like to eat these things…my neighbors all wage constant chemical warfare on their lawns. 
 

I can’t imagine that this is a cottonmouth as they aren’t very prevalent in this area and we are basically in town.  But…
 

any ideas what it is?  I’m assuming some kind of rat snake but this isn’t my thing. 
 

Steve

Edited May 31, 2022 by wh500special

[Rob J. 1,942]

I’d say black snake. 

[wh500special 2,184]

Habitat

[Skwerl58 704]

Looks to be a black snake or black racer. I saw a black snake that was aggresive about a month ago. He was in a field and I walked up on it. Raised its head and struck at me from about 6-8 feet. I thought that was peculiar behavior for one since most I see are trying their best to get away. 

[ebinmaine 67,533]

9 minutes ago, Rob J. said:

I’d say black snake. 

The BBT and I find Google searches indicate 

Black rat snake.  

[Rob J. 1,942]

Black snake is aggressive but a beneficial snake. They keep poisonous snakes away and eat rodents. 

Edited May 31, 2022 by Rob J.

[wh500special 2,184]

thanks. 
 

I don’t like snakes, but I don’t like mice or rats either.   So I do my best to let the snakes patrol my yard and enjoy themselves.  
 

All last summer I kept seeing the same big garter snake when I’d be out piddling.  He was a few feet long and larger diameter than any I’d seen before.  He’d always startle me, but once that was over I enjoyed watching him do his thing. 
 

one afternoon i was cutting grass and saw him take off into the neighbor’s yard.  Ten minutes later I saw the neighbor carrying my now headless snake out into the field on a rake.  It was kind of sad.  
 

As I mentioned we have a bit of a safe haven here.  This was just one I’d not seen before.  I’m hoping he doesn’t come back but I suspect whatever drew him here will continue to do

so. 
 

Steve

[roadapples 6,983]

black rat snake or just black snake..

@wh500special tell your wife to poke around those flower pots with a stick before reaching in there...oh, and they like to climb also. Watch above your head too....

Edited May 31, 2022 by roadapples

[Rob J. 1,942]

23 minutes ago, wh500special said:

thanks. 
 

I don’t like snakes, but I don’t like mice or rats either.   So I do my best to let the snakes patrol my yard and enjoy themselves.  
 

All last summer I kept seeing the same big garter snake when I’d be out piddling.  He was a few feet long and larger diameter than any I’d seen before.  He’d always startle me, but once that was over I enjoyed watching him do his thing. 
 

one afternoon i was cutting grass and saw him take off into the neighbor’s yard.  Ten minutes later I saw the neighbor carrying my now headless snake out into the field on a rake.  It was kind of sad.  
 

As I mentioned we have a bit of a safe haven here.  This was just one I’d not seen before.  I’m hoping he doesn’t come back but I suspect whatever drew him here will continue to do

so. 
 

Steve

Same

[Horse Newbie 7,070]

If you see one of these… kill, kill, kill !

[wh500special 2,184]

My wife already declared that she’s done gardening for the year. 
 

copperheads are scary. They aren’t unheard of around here but I don’t think

they like to be around people so you’d probably have to really hunt for them.  But I’ve heard that they won’t necessarily get out of your way if you’re bumbling along and not paying attention.  
 

There is a state park north of here where the Illinois river flows into the Mississippi called Pere Marquette state park. Lots of timber rattlesnakes there. They like to sun themselves on the roads and hiking paths in cool weather.  I’ve seen several of them through the years.  
 

this area of the country really doesn’t have a lot of interesting natural things to offer.  We don’t have mountains.  Not

many lakes.  No beaches…

 

But, luckily, we also don’t have very many things out there that will kill or seriously injure a person. Not many venomous snakes, no bears, no alligators,etc.  we do have the occasional mountain lion but they are only spotted every few years.  we can generally wander around care free.

 

but sometimes the critters show up in weird places. 
 

steve

 

[Wheel Horse 3D 3,795]

Here only copperheads and rattlers are fair game. All other snakes are off limits, including young rat snakes that have similar coloration.

[ebinmaine 67,533]

Disclaimer: Venomous snakes in Maine have never been deadly. Only Timber rattlers have ever been here. 

But.  .. They were mostly killed off decades ago and they're now so rare they're considered eradicated. 

IE, I have (almost) no venomous snakes..

 

That said, it's a disturbing shame that our forefathers and mothers raised us with a fear and disdain of such an ecologically valuable creature just because of old wives tales and wrong information. 

We have very few snakes left in my area at all. 

If we find one we're very careful not to harm it and will absolutely go out of the way to leave it be. 

 

[953 nut 55,260]

The way his head is elevated makes me think it could be a coachwhip. One of them hangs out near my shop and quite often can be seen looking around to see if anything is moving. They too will keep the mouse population down for you.

[peter lena 8,631]

@wh500special agree with others on the black snake , another thing about snakes , is when they feel threatened , (  exposed )  they will try to instill fear to keep  you away. also seen black snakes , coil and slide over themselves , to make them look bigger than they are , while they are slowly gaining on their escape . ( watched turkeys sipping water off of an un cut field of hi grass the other day , grass was as tall as they were , as they moved thru it , they were drinking off the top of grass moisture . nature at work ).  

[wh500special 2,184]

I forgot that our Quality Assurance manager here at work is a biologist and a snake nut.  She looked at the picture and said unequivocally that it was a black snake. “You can tell by the blah blah blah blah.”

 

She’s a reptile enthusiast and did her graduate research chasing snakes around Costa Rica. 
 

She made an offhand remark that was pretty interesting.  She said for years she has always been able to pick up and handle black snakes like this one with no issues.  She’d find one or be called to a friend’s house who discovered one and she’d pick it up, toss it in her car, and drive it to a field to turn it loose.  She said in the last few years these have gotten so aggressive that they are almost unapproachable.  And her friends who do this sort of thing have noticed the same thing. 
 

she said it’s probably not something anybody is going to research but there is something going on.  Reptiles and amphibians are apparently early markers for environmental and habitat changes.  Maybe they are telling us something. 
 

steve 

 

[Pullstart 62,902]

I’ve found that being a dad has helped me overcome my dislike/fear of snakes.  Showing signs of excitement to the girls especially and catching and allowing them to feel, hold if desired but not made to, etc.. helps the, not build a state of fear, but of a sound mind.  I have found more and more snakes in the past couple years as I’ve modified the habitat around me from just farm field to about 6 acres of wildlife haven.  Less mice, but I do find rat droppings occasionally.  Come’n git’em snakes!

[Pullstart 62,902]

Spiders now, those buggers I’m not too excited about.  This one is floating around in the pool is well over 2” across.  

 

 

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

Whilst mowing the other day I saw this huge (for my area) snake at the base of an evergreen tree.  Brought the mower close, it didn't move.  Got off, poked at it, didn't move.

 

It was a shed skin.  Picked it up, hung it on the wire fence for later retrieval to put in the treasurer's car to scare her ( I'm SOOOO nice to her! LOL! )

 

As I rounded the corner of the house on a mowing pass, I saw a bird swoop down, grab hold of, and fly away with the skin!  DAMNIT!  

 

[Horse Newbie 7,070]

The only snake I try to dispatch is the Copperhead… not deadly, no… but you don’t want to get bit by one…

[ebinmaine 67,533]

In case anybody was wondering, you folks are making me roughly 0% envious that I do not live in a climate where there are snakes and spiders that can make me sick or worse. 

😂

[wh500special 2,184]

I wasn’t wondering Eric. I can’t imagine what it’s like to live any further south than I already do. It’s gotta be miserable down there…year round critters and bugs. 
 

steve 

[Horse Newbie 7,070]

3 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

In case anybody was wondering, you folks are making me roughly 0% envious that I do not live in a climate where there are snakes and spiders that can make me sick or worse. 

😂

Pansy…

[Horse Newbie 7,070]

2 hours ago, wh500special said:

I wasn’t wondering Eric. I can’t imagine what it’s like to live any further south than I already do. It’s gotta be miserable down there…year round critters and bugs. 
 

steve 

We’ll be in the mid to high 90’s this week !

[Horse Newbie 7,070]

The snake you really need to watch out for down south is the Rattleheaded Copper Mocassin… never seen one, but I’ve heard they will chase you for up to 1/4 mile, bite you, then hang around to see if you die… if you don’t, they will bite you again !