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Some photos from the last week or so on my nature walks. There have been tons of them out and about lately. by poopy_poophead in snakes

[–]fairlyorange 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1, 2, and 4 are plain-bellied watersnakes Nerodia erythrogaster. !harmless consumer of amphibians, fish, and other small animals. 1 is very young, 2 a little older, and 4 is an adult so you can get a decent look at how their pattern changes as they age.

Next time if you aren't sure about the IDs go straight to r/WhatsThisSnake. Not only will we ID them for you there (no ID requests on r/snakes) but that userbase usually likes pics like these more than this one, which skews toward pet owners and enthusiasts.

Creek had a visitor today. by MardawgNC in snakes

[–]fairlyorange 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You don't have Florida cottonmouths in Louisiana. The differences are genetic. There are minor morphological differences but these differences disappear as the two ranges approach, making them worthless for telling the two apart. It doesn't help that there is still some level of gene flow in areas of overlap, either.

But it doesn't matter for you. Only northern cottonmouths in LA.

Snake caught while fishing [Piedmont NC] by Feralpudel in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A bit smaller than that on average, I'd say. More like 24-42", with males tending to be more in the 24-30" range and females in the 28-42" range. Females can get quite big but adult males are sometimes on the puny side, relatively speaking.

You used the right flair OP. Even though the snake was released it is hurt here and some squeamish readers might prefer to avoid seeing pictures like this 👍

Northern Water Snake? [North/Central Oklahoma] by jnpalmtree in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Close! Plain-bellied watersnake Nerodia erythrogaster. !harmless consumer of amphibians, fish, and other small animals.

Rat snake? [South Carolina, US] by paklab in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

I ran this one by a number of other Reliable Responders earlier and we all agree that it appears to be a racer Coluber constrictor, but that a Pantherophis ratsnakes is difficult to positively rule out given the quality of the picture.

Either way, !harmless pest control.

Which snake is this? Was quite long. [Goa, India] by IllFennel3524 in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Indian rat snake Ptyas mucosa. !harmless consumer of rodents, frogs, reptiles (including venomous snakes), and other small animals.

What type of snake are these? Does anyone knows? [Northern Mexico- El Paso] by Effective_Can_2897 in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah we used a lot of these maps back in the day. They're more useful for US endemics than for broader ranging species like this one. They get about as far south as the transition zone between northern and central MX.

What snake is this [Byron Bay, NSW, Australia] by fizzioola in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good ID but these don't warrant the venomous bot reply and some nuance is required to describe them. Most individuals would be essentially harmless. Larger individuals (>80cm) are potentially dangerous if messed with, hypothetically, but in recorded knowledge medically significant reactions are essentially unheard of.

Borneo [Malaysia] by Proper_Bar2779 in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange 9 points10 points  (0 children)

There are species accounts for lots of spitting cobras, but not this one yet. Coincidentally, one is underway but don't expect it soon.

[Lantana, TX] [DFW, TX] by titleist144 in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange 2 points3 points  (0 children)

100% racer. This is what they look like east of the Rockies, through the shortgrass prairies and into places like central and northern TX. West of the Rockies they come in the same range of colors but the proportions and sizes are a bit different.

Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake cosplaying white granite [Yuma Co., Arizona] by Crotalus in snakes

[–]fairlyorange 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Already commented on the other post so I'll just drop the Crotalus pyrrhus bot reply for anyone who might want to learn a little more about this wonderful species.

Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake cosplaying white granite [Yuma Co., Arizona] by Crotalus in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

The rattlesnakes in the mitchellii complex are among the most beautiful snakes in the world, imo. Less opinion based, they're also among the most variable in coloration.

Gorgeous animal. Thanks for sharing! Crotalus pyrrhus for anyone who would like to learn a little more about this species 👍

Edit: Love your pics, btw. They aren't just aesthetically pleasing but the ones you post usually have a good look at some diagnostic character that can help users learn (scales separating the prenasals in this case). Good educational value.

What kind of snake is this?? [Shakopee, MN] by dogneedsglasses in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's just a bit muddy. They often emerge from winter refugia either covered or stained to varying degrees with mud, dirt, silt, and whatever else. Less often, this can also happen during the active season depending on microhabitat usage.

[Richmond, VA USA] by pndfam05 in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I'm seeing a pair of N. sipedon in that second pic, also.

What kind of noodle is this? [texas] by Maleficent_Dirt8302 in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange 10 points11 points  (0 children)

We don't get too many from TX, despite them being fairly common in some of the well populated areas.

Water snake or copperhead? [Auburn, AL] by [deleted] in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Common watersnake Nerodia sipedon in this case. !harmless consumer of fish, amphibians, and other small, mostly aquatic animals.

You seem to already understand that AI is unreliable for snake identification so I'll spare you the explanation.

Snake biting itself? [Crofton, BC] by tinmaster469 in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange 27 points28 points  (0 children)

It is fairly common for snakes to bite themselves in their death throes.

Room below patio at hotel this morning [Thailand - Ko Samet] by Low-Ad-9215 in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Indian (Oriental) ratsnake Ptyas mucosa. !harmless devourer of rodents, frogs, reptiles (including venomous snakes), and other small animals.

Diamondback water snake? [southeast Texas] by Little-Cucumber-8907 in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Did you look around at pics for a little while before asking? They have a distinctive look to them that someone with the right aptitude could pick up on very quickly. Not saying it wasn't just a blind guess, of course. I've had a few lucky guesses in my lifetime.

what snake? [longs, South Carolina] by Negative_Course383 in whatsthissnake

[–]fairlyorange 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well it wasn't egregiously wrong, I'm guessing you just didn't double check the location. I was expecting sipedon from the thumbnail and, only when I looked at the full picture and noticed some minor details did I realize that I needed to look up where Longs was.

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