View Full Version : Help indentifying a snake
Hello,
I'm not much of a snake person, but a friend of mine works in an animal shelter and they had recently this one delivered and we were wondering what species it might be. It has since been handed off to people more suited to taking care of it. Here are a couple of pictures:
https://pliki.gnite.pl/public.php?service=files&t=0b0aac9cc1c59351d87783410066483a
I hope someone might recognize it.
millertime89
12-12-14, 06:11 PM
Not sure but it looks cool. Possibly a smooth snake but the patterning is off. One of four native Polish species which is why I mention it but I can't say for sure. Definitely appears to be a colubrid. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable in colubrids will come along.
I don't know much about Polish snakes but it doesn't look like any of them to me. It looks like a New World Rat Snake to me. Eastern or Western Rat Snake. Could you tell us exactly where it was found?
SSSSnakes
12-12-14, 08:07 PM
I don't know much about Polish snakes but it doesn't look like any of them to me. It looks like a New World Rat Snake to me. Eastern or Western Rat Snake. Could you tell us exactly where it was found?
I agree. My first thought was a Rat Snake of some kind.
CrotalusR#1
12-12-14, 10:07 PM
Pantherophis obsoletus
eminart
12-12-14, 10:18 PM
Looks like a gray rat snake to me. You aren't in the U.S.?
CrotalusR#1
12-12-14, 10:43 PM
It's a dark Pantherophis obsoletus for sure.
Minkness
12-12-14, 11:28 PM
I can't seem to view the image =/
Edit: nvm, figured it out =)
Interesting, there's definitely a resemblance. In that case it would have to have been somebodies pet and either escaped or been set loose. Thanks for your help guys.
Oh and to answer the question about where it was found - it was lying on the grass in a park on a cold day, barely alive, almost like hibernating or something. It seems to have gotten better, but I don't have more details as to what happened later. And yes, that's in Poland. Thanks again.
Crazy. I have never seen an Old World Rat Snake that looked anything like that. CrotalusR#1 seems convinced it is a Western Rat Snake and I see no reason to disagree. I don't know what it is dong in Poland though. It does not look like an animal that has enjoyed the cushy captive life, its nose is obviously heavily scarred. Maybe it made the trip as a stowaway or someone picked it up on a trip to the U.S. and it escaped once they got it back to Poland? Who knows. I'll do more studying when I have time but for now I'm sticking with Western Rat Snake.
toddnbecka
12-13-14, 07:41 PM
A scarred nose could be from rubbing on a screen top enclosure.
A scarred nose could be from rubbing on a screen top enclosure.
Yes, I suppose under certain circumstances. But I would expect scarring caused by rubbing would most likely occur on the tip of the nose and be relatively uniform, not across the top of the nose and irregular. The rostral scale should be worn down by rubbing but looks to be largely intact. The scarring seen on this animal appears to be from cuts and scratches, consistent with live prey fighting to get away. Boomslangs are infamous for rubbing, you can probably find pictures of them with rubbing damage for reference.
raidcrasher
12-13-14, 08:41 PM
Agreed it is definitely a Pantherophis obsoletus.
eminart
12-14-14, 10:12 AM
What makes you guys think it's an obsoletus and not a spiloides?
CrotalusR#1
12-14-14, 02:42 PM
What makes you guys think it's an obsoletus and not a spiloides?
There's just know mistaking it. It's a dark Pantherophis obsoletus for sure. .
If you search on google images Pantherophis obsoletus, the first few pictures are exactly what the snake is on the thread.... If you type the common name you may not see the pictures I'm talking about.
eminart
12-14-14, 04:18 PM
There's just know mistaking it.
I'm not so sure about that. There's seems to be a lot of discussion even with scientists on where to draw the line on the different rat snake species. I'm not saying you're wrong, I'd just like to know which features distinguish this from spiloides in your mind. The colors between "black", "gray", and "texas" ratsnakes seem to vary and overlap a LOT to me. It seems they're separated more by geography than anything.
CrotalusR#1
12-14-14, 09:07 PM
I'm not so sure about that. There's seems to be a lot of discussion even with scientists on where to draw the line on the different rat snake species. I'm not saying you're wrong, I'd just like to know which features distinguish this from spiloides in your mind. The colors between "black", "gray", and "texas" ratsnakes seem to vary and overlap a LOT to me. It seems they're separated more by geography than anything.
It just looks like a obsoleta to me in every way. It's just one of those things where when you have seen enough of them it's just obvious, know what I mean? It's like how some people can't tell the difference between C.atrox and C.scutaltus. To me they look nothing alike.
raidcrasher
12-15-14, 01:19 PM
It just looks like a obsoleta to me in every way. It's just one of those things where when you have seen enough of them it's just obvious, know what I mean? It's like how some people can't tell the difference between C.atrox and C.scutaltus. To me they look nothing alike.
I totally agree. After 30 years and having seen thousands of these, my best guess is a obsoleta. Its just an experience thing.
I think it's a black rat, or something very related to it.
Pareeeee
12-18-14, 08:08 AM
Can't view the images in mobile without downloading them.
Hi, I had to shuffle things around a bit on my server, so if anyone wants to see the images, they're here now: https://gnite.pl/pliki/public.php?service=files&t=0b0aac9cc1c59351d87783410066483a
vBulletin® v3.8.7, Copyright ©2000-2025, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.