OT: Snake identification
- Thread starter PSUJam
- Start date
There used to be a poster on the former BWI board who used to hike PA forests and could name almost any snake encountered.
Did you kill it? The only good snakes are dead snakes.
it looks a lot like a fox snake (length, pattern, etc.). However, the fox snake's "spots" are dark brown. If I remember correctly, fox snakes are much lighter in color when young, so perhaps the pic is of a fox snake that was born last summer, and has yet to darken.
We called those milk snakes when I was a kid Similar markings as a copperhead but w/o the triangular head. Snakes are good mousers, don’t kill it!
That is such a STUPID statement. Snakes keep the rodent population down and are an important part of the ecological balance of nature that people like you don't even understand --- or worse, even care about.
I guess it's possible, but NEPA is outside of their natural range. I've seen them in VA, and I've heard of them being in the lower portions of NJ, but I've never heard of them in PA.
Fox snakes always have dark brown spots, even while young ...
As far as I can tell, a young corn snake is the only snake that has those kind of markings, and is ever that kind of color. There also appears to be the pretty distinctive top of the head markings you'd find on a corn snake (that are distinct from a fox snake), though the original photo isn't the clearest there.
This could always be an escapee or a released specimen ... don't think the survival possibilities are that much different in southern NJ and NEPA.
Could be something else ... I'm no expert ... but that's the only possibility I could find, and I'd rule out a fox snake.
I’ve seen corn snakes in the State College area a number of times. They are often sold as pets and then released when little Jonnie realizes they don’t make the snuggly pet that he thought. They can survive in PA pretty well as long as food sources (mice, chipmunks etc) are available.
I was thinking copperhead until someone pointed out about the shape of the head.
You don’t want to mess with copperheads. Decades ago my dad had to rush his friend to the hospital when he was bitten by one… the guy was hospitalized for 10 days.
You don’t want to mess with copperheads. Decades ago my dad had to rush his friend to the hospital when he was bitten by one… the guy was hospitalized for 10 days.
Thing is, this is in a rural setting and is the second one we've seen in 10 or so years. The first one fell prey to the lawnmower. We wrote that one up as a corn snake as well. My problem is that I'm colorblind so I have to go by markings rather than colors.
The snakes that need to be killed are the pythons in the FL Everglades.
Eastern Milk Snake for certain. (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum)
Member of the BOT genus. Looks like a captain of industry. I'd guess banking.
I'll go with Peetzus Snakeus Botus.
Nope. The only good snake is the snake I can’t see. If I see it, it is a bad snake that needs to slither away and hide.
Were you near water at all. Northern water snake. They can act aggressive. They are non poisonous look like a copperhead.
Found this little guy behind my shed after cutting my grass last night. I've always called these garter snakes. Probably have found a handful in the 30+ years we've lived here. As in the past, I caught him/her in bucket and walked it over to release at Fox Hill golf course for those that live in NEPA.
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