Identify this snake:

[laktrash]

Just found a snake skin in the hull of our fiberglass deckboat. This outta be fun. Gawd I hate snakes I'm such a little sissy

[Caster]

Wonder why man has such a fear of snakes? It's hardwired into the deepest depths of our psyche. The vast majority of them are harmless and a good portion of the dangerous ones would prefer flight to fight.

[QuietDan]

We all fell because of a snake and we've never forgiven them for getting us tossed out of the Garden. Yeah, I know it's our own fault but it's easier to blame the snakes. (!!!)

[Lumber_Jack]

Rat Snake

As already stated, not poisonous but can be very aggressive.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

We all fell because of a snake and we've never forgiven them for getting us tossed out of the Garden. Yeah, I know it's our own fault but it's easier to blame the snakes. (!!!)

That was awesome, Dan!

[Oh Shoot]

Wonder why man has such a fear of snakes? ...

I'm always afraid one will start talking again. And probably liberal crap to boot.

- OS

Edited March 31, 2012 by OhShoot

[Caster]

I'm always afraid one will start talking again. And probably liberal crap to boot.

- OS

What, are you a parselmouth?

[Oh Shoot]

What, are you a parselmouth?

Wow, had to look that up, not being Harold Potter literate.

Speaking of Bible vis-a-vis Harry Potter, thought this was one of the more worthy little essays:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Harry-Potter-vs-The-Bible...Whats-the-Difference?&id=90676

- OS

[Volzfan]

One law I'll have to break. Hate 'em.

I am totally with you!!!

[craglawnmanor]

I'm no herpatologist, but it's not poisonous. Pretty sure all snakes have fangs or else it'd be next to impossible to eat.

As far as species, looks like a grey rat snake. Had you caught something in the trap? He was probably hungry!

EDIT: I can't even spell herpetologist!

Ewwww, I'm not fond of snakes!!!!

And bluedog, TMI.... I certainly don't want to hear about your issues with herpes!!

[Guest 6.8 AR]

That poor snake is still dead.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

SE TN doesn't have a lot of snakes. That is one thing I like about SE TN.

There are many many AL manly men not askeered of snakes, but regardless I blame fear of snakes on childhood in central AL. There were lots of rattlers in those parts and they were not hard to find, either on purpose or by accident. Not that copperheads were rare. Am not intentionally telling a falsehood that some rural folks in those parts liked to keep a couple of free-range hogs because hogs are "kinda immune" to snakebite because of their fat, and they like to root out and eat snakes.

Old dad got his start working as a lineman for the railroad. As a young man he would go out alone way out in the woods climbing poles and fixing telegraph wires. Day and night. Night work illumination was a cheezy 6V incandescent work light. Some of the places were saturated with rattlers and he had this big bush-blade with a crooked handle like a scythe but tipped with what looked like a giant pocket knife blade. He dispatched many a snake with that implement. Had always assumed old dad was fearless to do that kind of work, strolling around in snake-infested underbrush in tall lace-up lineman boots. Asked him about it a couple of years ago, why he wasn't scared. He replied that it always scared the crap out of him every time he had to do it.

[Oh Shoot]

There are many many AL manly men not askeered of snakes, but regardless I blame fear of snakes on childhood in central AL. There were lots of rattlers in those parts and they were not hard to find, either on purpose or by accident. Not that copperheads were rare. Am not intentionally telling a falsehood that some rural folks in those parts liked to keep a couple of free-range hogs because hogs are "kinda immune" to snakebite because of their fat, and they like to root out and eat snakes....

One of my fav little works by James Dickey (good ole Gawga boy):

Kudzu

Japan invades. Far Eastern vines

Run from the clay banks they are

Supposed to keep from eroding.

Up telephone poles,

Which rear, half out of leafage

As though they would shriek,

Like things smothered by their own

Green, mindless, unkillable ghosts.

In Georgia, the legend says

That you must close your windows

At night to keep it out of the house.

The glass is tinged with green, even so,

As the tendrils crawl over the fields.

The night the kudzu has

Your pasture, you sleep like the dead.

Silence has grown Oriental

And you cannot step upon ground:

Your leg plunges somewhere

It should not, it never should be,

Disappears, and waits to be struck

Anywhere between sole and kneecap:

For when the kudzu comes,

The snakes do, and weave themselves

Among its lengthening vines,

Their spade heads resting on leaves,

Growing also, in earthly power

And the huge circumstance of concealment.

One by one the cows stumble in,

Drooling a hot green froth,

And die, seeing the wood of their stalls

Strain to break into leaf.

In your closed house, with the vine

Tapping your window like lightning,

You remember what tactics to use.

In the wrong yellow fog-light of dawn

You herd them in, the hogs,

Head down in their hairy fat,

The meaty troops, to the pasture.

The leaves of the kudzu quake

With the serpents' fear, inside

The meadow ringed with men

Holding sticks, on the country roads.

The hogs disappear in the leaves.

The sound is intense, subhuman,

Nearly human with purposive rage.

There is no terror

Sound from the snakes.

No one can see the desperate, futile

Striking under the leaf heads.

Now and then, the flash of a long

Living vine, a cold belly,

Leaps up, torn apart, then falls

Under the tussling surface.

You have won, and wait for frost,

When, at the merest touch

Of cold, the kudzu turns

Black, withers inward and dies,

Leaving a mass of brown strings

Like the wires of a gigantic switchboard.

You open your windows,

With the lightning restored to the sky

And no leaves rising to bury

You alive inside your frail house,

And you think, in the opened cold,

Of the surface of things and its terrors,

And of the mistaken, mortal

Arrogance of the snakes

As the vines, growing insanely, sent

Great powers into their bodies

And the freedom to strike without warning:

From them, though they killed

Your cattle, such energy also flowed

To you from the knee-high meadow

(It was as though you had

A green sword twined among

The veins of your growing right arm--

Such strength as you would not believe

If you stood alone in a proper

Shaved field among your safe cows--):

Came in through your closed

Leafy windows and almighty sleep

And prospered, till rooted out.

James Dickey

Edited April 1, 2012 by OhShoot

[DWARREN123]

Even non poisonous snake can have a bad bite. Bacteria in their monuth can cause a nasty infection.

Do you know how it got in? If not they may be another snake in your future!

[Howler]

I don't care what kind of snake it is as long as it's not poisonous. This picture will help ya determine that. Stay away from the ones on the right. Straight lines behind the bung hole is a bad snake. Interlocking lines are non venomous.

Edited April 1, 2012 by Howler

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

Snakes.. even those ones are far more beneficial than you think.

Its sad that people right a ways assume they are poisonous and stomp them or hack their heads off..

I can understand if you have small children around and you cannot identify them.. rather be safe than sorry..

But I see it far to often.. grown man just kill a snake because its in their garden or in a garage..

Get the snake out of your area and let it live ..

[Dennis1209]

Funny to run across this post at this particular time. Yesterday I was down in the basement changing out the water heater elements when all of a sudden I hear the wife screaming and yelling, "Dennis, Dennis, get out hear". It sounded like an emergency so I was out there in a split second. The wife is standing in the back yard close to the cloths line with a laundry basket in hand all nervous pointing and saying, "snake, snake"!

I looked and determined almost immediately it was not one of the four venomous Tennessee snakes. Although you have to get really close to see the eyes. Picked it up with a stick and relocated it to the field. The little critter flattened it's neck just like a cobra would which surprised me. Went inside and got my wild life book and looked it up, it was a juvenile Rat Snake. So far this year excluding Cotton Mouths and Copperheads, I've seen a Ring neck snake, Brown snake, water snake and Rough Scale Green snake.

My wife is not a snake fan! With the amount of field mice around here these snakes are doing me a free service. The only time I've ever killed a snake was in 1969, a Cotton Mouth that unprovoked attacked me, dispatched with the only thing I had in hand, a Zebco 202. My fishing day was over! The only thing I can figure was I must have been close to its nest? I seen it coming at me from 25 yards away and hissing at me?

[Guest db99wj]

This snake was in his house, his cat killed it. Snakes die, there are more. Should always try to leave them alone, or relocate if you have too, we have 16 kids 13 and under on my short street. Venomous ones, while rare in our neighborhood, they are close by in the river that is runs close to us, will be eliminated if found in the yard. Near the river in the bottoms on the Greenline and Mountain bike trails, leave them be.

My question is, where did he come in at? Probably need to find that spot and do something about it!

[JAB]

Killing a snake in TN is generally illegal. Just an FYI for those that don't know...nothing to do with OP's trap.

I know that it is generally illegal to kill most animals for which there is no set hunting season, regulations, etc. That being said, I have never been able to find any law or any reference to any law specifically mentioning it being illegal to kill snakes. In fact, about a year or so ago I specifically asked on TGO if anyone could provide a link to such a law and I don't recall anyone being able to do so.

To me, any critter living in my house that isn't supposed to be living in my house is a nuisance animal and, unless it is a specifically protected species, it is fair game as a 'pest' animal. That was how I responded to the snake that was living in my toilet up until one day last week. Yes, living in my toilet. Not in the bowl and not in the tank but in the solid 'body' part of the pedestal/bowl where the tank sits. It would poke its head and body out a few inches at the back of the bowl, where the water comes into the bowl from the tank, but never came out far enough to grab it and would quickly pull back into its hiding spot when the toilet lid was opened. Venomous or not, this made it a bit hard to relax when sitting on the throne. In fact, it made it a bit hard to be comfortable with sitting on the throne, at all - something about exposing my 'tender bits' to a what was essentially the opening to a snake's den. As someone else said, even nonvenomous snakes can have bacteria living in their mouths which can make their bites 'bad' - imagine what kind of bacteria might be in the mouth of a snake that lives in a toilet! I made attempts to run it out using 'less lethal' methods, all to no avail.

As I said, it didn't come out far enough to grab by hand. It was too quick to grab with some long 'tongs' I tried. Banging on the back of the toilet with the plunger handle had no noticeable effect. Even turning off the water, draining the tank then pouring Clorox through the tank and into the bowl (meaning it had to pass through the are where the snake was hiding) didn't run it off. After several days of trying - and failing - of making an honest effort to get rid of it while leaving it alive I got more than a little frustrated. I'm not saying I killed it but I will say that a .22 shotshell round fired from a revolver won't crack a toilet bowl, just mar the finish a little - and not even that if most of the shot hits something else, like something hanging down between the shooter and the toilet bowl, itself (I tested the theory on an old toilet, beforehand.) If you happen to have a 16 (almost 17) year old chihuahua living with you, be warned that shooting a shotshell in the house may well scare the bejeezus out of it. In such a case, the little dog may express its consternation by standing stock still beside its bed and not moving a muscle for several minutes. If this occurs, be aware that a couple of bacon flavored dog treats will calm said chihuahua down and set everything right, again.

Before anyone asks, yes this is a true story and it happened over the course of the weekend before last and the first day or two of last week. No, it is not a belated 'April Fool's' joke.

If I see a snake in my yard and am sure than it is nonvenomous, I will leave it alone or, at most, encourage it to relocate. Many snakes eat mice and rats and I hate rats more than I worry about nonvenomous snakes. In fact, I think nonvenomous snakes are kind of neat - when they aren't living in my toilet. Now, if they are messing around my chicken coop/stealing my eggs then they are destroying property. TN law specifically makes it legal to kill any animal that isn't specifically protected/endangered and that is destroying property.

Edited April 2, 2012 by JAB

[dralarms]

It is against the law to kill a snake, in the wild. Not in your house or yard.

[Oh Shoot]

It is against the law to kill a snake, in the wild. Not in your house or yard.

Snake in yer loo is pretty damn wild!

[dralarms]

Snake in yer loo is pretty damn wild!

Yea, tell me about it. I'd be afraid to go. Lol.

I hate snakes, said it before and I'll say it again, but if they keep their rears in the woods I'll leave em be.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

One of my fav little works by James Dickey (good ole Gawga boy):

Thanks OhShoot, that is a neat work. S. Ga had its share of snakes, as did Louisiana, but I was already skeered of em from alabama so it didn't matter much. Maybe it is just coincidence, but the rattlers seemed to like pine thickets. But there was this vacation cabin we would stay at in central FL that was spooky. It was heavy-wooded cypress with hanging moss, white sand instead of dirt. The cabin was full of palmetto bugs as big as model cars. But the spooky thing was that the cypress roots would snake around all over the surface of the white sand. So when you would walk around, every one of the zillions of cypress roots looked about the same as a snake. So it took a long time to go walking when you had to examine every root to make sure it wasn't a snake.

Back then the railroad still had passenger service, if you didn't mind taking a long time to get anywhere, because freight made money and had priority over passengers, which didn't make money. They handed out passcards to family of railroad employees so you could hitch a ride free anywhere the railroad would go. The scenery from the railroads was different than what you would see from a highway. There were many stretches where there would be wall-to-wall kudzu in the foreground, and then the kudzu would rise up to "lumps" in the mid-distance where it had covered trees and killed them, and then in the distance the terminus edge of the kudzu patch would be reaching up for new trees to kill. Scenes like something from a science fiction movie.

Afore dad moved on to microwave towers and computer trains, got to ride with him some on his line maintenance stuff. Some was by truck and lots of it was by motor car. This is the closest I can find of what that motor car looked like--

Not exactly deluxe transportation. He would drive to the closest place of the estimated line fault, then stand around till a train would go by so it was theoretically a clear line. Then hoist the motor car on the tracks and go looking for the problem. That silly thing could go pretty fast. Sometimes if there was question if a train was supposed to be coming thru, ole dad would climb a pole and patch into the wire to talk to the dispatcher and ask him where the trains happened to be. Not quite as convenient as a cellphone.

Later on when he was working microwave towers in S. GA, they had a cruel sense of humor siting the towers. Talk about some swampy snakey territory. Gave me the willies.