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View Full Version : Snake ID: Baby Rattlesnake?


jjones0101
09-07-17, 01:58 PM
Hello. I would appreciate any help. I found this dead snake in my driveway yesterday (must have been run over) and need to know if it is a baby rattlesnake. Earlier this summer, a man was confirmed bitten by a rattlesnake not 50 yards from my house so I know they are in the area. I just want to know if I should limit my family's time in the yard, etc. Thanks again for any help.

https://ibb.co/c4249F
https://ibb.co/jjVrpF

killercandy15
09-23-17, 03:07 PM
Definitely not a rattlesnake. A couple major points to look at:
Are there heat pits on the face?
General head shape.
Pupil.
Body design.

With rattlesnakes all species in the US have heat pits on their face. They look like an extra set of nostrils. Rattlesnakes in the US are in the Crotalinae or Sistrurus (hopefully spelled that correctly) and both are snakes with heat pits. No other North American snakes have heat pits to my knowledge. However escaped pythons in Florida are an exception.
The head shape is triangular but short. Their heads are wider than longehich can be similar to some pythons in shape, but pythons aren't found in the US (again with the exception of escaped animals).
North American snakes you are likely to come across are colubrids or other small snakes with round pupils. A rattlesnake has a thin pupil like a cat eye.
Most rattlesnake species in my opinion appear a bit fattened like a ball python. Colubrids often have a small head and slender body but I feel most rattlesnakes with the exception of the Pygmy rattler all have pronounced heads and chubby bodies.
This snake in the photo looks like a young gopher snake to me. Also note that alive animals may strike and rattle their tails of threatened. It sounds unlike a rattlesnake tail however the action makes people run in fear. So a snake rattling its tail as well isn't always a rattlesnake.

SerpentineDream
09-26-17, 04:26 PM
Looks like a juvenile racer to me. Where in the US do you live? That can help pinpoint the species.

But yes, definitely nonvenomous.

Bandit
09-27-17, 06:51 AM
Nonvenomous racer. They lose their pattern as they get older. Depending on where you live, it could be a number of subspecies.