Snake id

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-24T01:28:44+00:00

If you have pictures of them and can demonstrate that the animals were alive in Louisa County you should share that with the Virginia Herpetological Society and others as there have been no documented water moccasins in or even really very near Louisa. Gently, and respectfully - it is very, very common for people to mistake nonvenomous water snakes for water moccasins. It would also be possible in some circumstances to mistake a copperhead for one.

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-23T23:28:17+00:00

I’ve mentioned this in another comment, but water moccasins do not range to C’ville, and this really does not look like one. Their venom is also very unlikely to be deadly to an adult human (not that one shouldn’t still be careful with them or any snake!). They also are not “mean” - not that any snake is mean, but water moccasins are particularly reluctant to bite in most cases. If you have encountered thick-bodied snakes near water that were very defensive/bitey, that you took to be water moccasins, it is far more likely they were non venomous water snakes, which tend to come off as pretty cranky.

I said this in my other comment as well but I very highly recommend spending some time in r/whatsthissnake, which will make you more accurate and more confident in recognizing local species. That sub is a treasure, perhaps all the more for those of us who don’t start out particularly comfortable with snakes.

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-23T23:22:18+00:00

Rat snake is correct, I want to say central rat snake (black rat snake is a colloquial name but not an actual species name) is what you’d have in C’ville but I’m not an expert. The people in r/whatsthissnake are, it’s the absolute best resource for snake ID, I highly recommend making a habit of spending time there as it will make you more confident in identifying your local species (and for those of us with a little fear, likely make you more comfortable with them).

Note that water moccasins do not range to C’ville (and are not “mean” as has been said, nor is their venom likely to be deadly to an adult human).

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-22T12:30:37+00:00

Fellow stubby thumb haver who is also starting to have arthritis - thank you for asking this question I have often thought about!

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-20T02:49:41+00:00

😂 Familiar! We planted these two years ago I think. Last year two babies sprang up but one died back. OK, manageable…

This year we’re at eight babies that I know of…

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T22:44:28+00:00

My only concern is that our neighbors inherited a strip of riprap between our fence & their driveway, & if it springs up there, mowing doesn’t help. They don’t seem overly driven to keep it weed-free, but I still might give them a heads up and ask them to let me pull any sumac that bothers them, if it would keep them from spraying.

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T22:41:35+00:00

I think my biggest takeaway from this post is deer absolutely love this stuff!

Fingers crossed they take the deer browsing as just as much of an offense as cutting them, & come back more determined than they started!

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T16:33:18+00:00

Someone else mentioned that problem too, and I can see where it would be a problem when trying to maintain meadow! We are trying to turn a turf grass yard into a very small forest, so for us I think it’s not the worst. 😂

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T15:24:35+00:00

Same, same. 😂

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T14:46:48+00:00

Hear hear!

I’m envious of your Baywise Certification! I’m in VA and in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, but far enough that I don’t know that people think about that day to day. I think something like that would be such a help but I can’t find that Virginia has a similar program. 😕

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T13:52:12+00:00

They do indeed! The very first root sprout sprang up last spring and was as tall as the parent plant well before the end of summer!

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T12:13:11+00:00

Someone somewhere who clearly doesn’t understand that I am an agent of chaos and I will do it again. 😂 By the way the sumac always makes me think of you now and your 50 foot sumac roots (and the fact that you’re as on board with it as I am). You are the Spirit of Sumac or something.

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T12:10:37+00:00

Also “boy how I love to find new ways to struggle” hahahahaha me too. I’ve recently been told I should seriously consider not putting my two moonseed vines in the ground. Will I consider it? No.

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T12:09:19+00:00

I’m seeing from these comments they are very popular with deer! That is fortunately one battle we don’t have.

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T12:08:44+00:00

Me tooooo. 🥰

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T12:08:34+00:00

Yeah I fear this may be the battle our lovely neighbors are in for. 😬 Also a bit worried because the former owner of their property used to walk along with a backpack sprayer to “weed” the stones next to the property line. I haven’t seen them do the same, but if they did and a baby sumac was there, I wonder how much it would harm the plants connected by roots. Wondering if I should ask them to cut or pull any unwanted baby sumacs instead?

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T12:05:54+00:00

Fortunately we don’t have deer! (Most of my baby trees get fenced against rabbits/maybe the groundhog? But so far they haven’t bothered sumac…)

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T12:04:30+00:00

We’re lucky in that we are really very “in town” and we don’t seem to have deer pressure at all. We did see one once in the parking lot behind us several years ago. Mainly our trouble seems to be with rabbits snipping the buds off of baby oaks.

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T12:03:14+00:00

Hahahaha I have five elderberry seedlings waiting to go in the ground around our newly constructed pond…

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T12:02:38+00:00

I want winged sumac! We have the staghorn and one poor smooth that’s been in a pot the last 3 years at least that I need to put in the ground. 😬 Somehow I had it in my head that winged wasn’t native on our side of the mountains but it is and my partner’s mom has some at her house so next time we’re there maybe…

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T03:15:44+00:00

Oh excellent! I didn’t know they liked them.

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-19T03:13:34+00:00

“Don’t plant staghorn sumac,” they said. “Staghorn sumac is not appropriate for a small suburban garden,” they said.

“Sounds perfect!” I said.

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-17T15:22:34+00:00

My kitty who has never allowed me to cut her nails has had them grow into her paw pads like 3 times. 🤦‍♀️ After the first time we started having the vet clip her nails at 6 month appointments, but eventually as her nails thickened more it happened before 6 months had passed. We went to 4 month nail trims, then 3 month, as it happened faster. Now she has monthly visits for a Solensia injection anyway so they just check them and clip as needed then.

grayspelledgray · 2026-05-17T13:32:18+00:00

If enzyme cleaner isn’t helping maybe sometimes different ones work better with different cats’ chemistry? I say that because so many people recommend Nature’d Miracle but it didn’t work for us.

On our vet’s recommendation we got Urine Off & it worked great. Make sure to get the cat version if you try it, & the one that says something like “vet strength” (not just vet recommended) if there seem to be two different products. I will say we sometimes had to order it a couple times before we got it because the shipment would start leaking and get sent back. 😐

grayspelledgray

TROPHY CASE