View Full Version : What kind of snake is this?
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I live in southern Ohio, near a river. We killed it (sorry for those snake lovers but there's kids and pets around here and we can't take the chance when we're not sure). There was another one spotted, though. So I'm wanting to make sure whether it's poisonous or not.
infernalis
06-08-11, 06:31 PM
That's a harmless rat snake.
A north American rodent eating colubrid.
A rat snake...Will not do ANYTHING to kids or pets. No need to kill
NennaMeerkat
06-08-11, 06:36 PM
You can look at the head and tell it wasn't harmful. Snakes that are dangerous have triangular heads while "safe" snakes have generally stream lined heads with their body. Also the eyes are a dead giveaway as well. Round=safe cat slit=dangerous
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/gaston/Pests/reptiles/images/snakehds.gif
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_GKrivj9xddI/TMHNqxyz86I/AAAAAAAAAKE/QbGV-pQpMc8/Picture3.gif
stephanbakir
06-08-11, 06:38 PM
Not all snakes follow that rule.
NennaMeerkat
06-08-11, 06:40 PM
Not all snakes follow that rule.
Those snakes in the US do...except for those mentioned on the top picture of my examples. Coral snakes and the Brown Watersnake.
@SpOoKy; I did not know what kind it was...so why take the chance and let it get away?
@NennaMeerkat; Thanks for the information, though I'm quit sure I do NOT want to get that close to a snake to tell. Picture is zoomed in and taken after it was dead.
@everyone; Thanks for the information guys. I'll let everyone know that the other one's not a huge deal (aka not poisonous).
infernalis
06-08-11, 07:25 PM
Glad you asked rather than killing the other/s
If you google search Ohio Snakes, there is a page with snake ID
stephanbakir
06-08-11, 07:26 PM
@SpOoKy; I did not know what kind it was...so why take the chance and let it get away?
.
You take a damn picture, or save the snake to memory, you DON'T need to kill it. If you see a snake and know it to be dangerous, or are in imminent danger, its best to go around it and call animal control.
There are only 2 snakes in the world that come to mind that will actively chase you down and they live in africa and india...
Make the investment of 20 minutes and look up the snakes in your area and educate your friends and family so this doesn't happen in the future.
If it was going to "get away" it would have been better off. Sorry just how I feel.
You take a damn picture, or save the snake to memory, you DON'T need to kill it. If you see a snake and know it to be dangerous, or are in imminent danger, its best to go around it and call animal control.
There are only 2 snakes in the world that come to mind that will actively chase you down and they live in africa and india...
Make the investment of 20 minutes and look up the snakes in your area and educate your friends and family so this doesn't happen in the future.
EXTREMELY well said , my friend
whoaxmary
06-08-11, 07:39 PM
Yes, very well said.
Being in north america there's no need to kill the snake next time this happens. At least you did seek out information in the end rather than go on a killing spree.
As Wayne mentioned, rat snakes are rodent eating colubids. (The same thing as your average garder snake, and no more dangerous. They won't go looking to eat your pets or children, they'll be looking to get away asap.
You said yourself that you would never want to get to close to a snake , so like stephan said the snake will not chase you or go out of it's way to bit you if you dont give it a reason to . 90% of snake bits are humans provoking it , if we just learn to respect snakes and not screw with them snake bits will be cut in half.
stephanbakir
06-08-11, 07:46 PM
Regarding north American snakes, with the exception of the copperhead/cotton-mouth/coral snake (red touches yellow, kill a fellow) the only snakes you need to worry about are rattlesnakes. If I missed one post please, cuz I might have lol, totally exhausted.
this is what is wrong with people. there first reaction is to kill the unknown to protect them selfs, when the snake is the only thing in any danger.
sad how uneducated people are about the world with so much widely available information.
I like how he asked if it was poisonous or not, implying he might go after the other one like we should kill off all the poisonous snakes.
stephanbakir
06-08-11, 08:06 PM
this is what is wrong with people. there first reaction is to kill the unknown to protect them selfs, when the snake is the only thing in any danger.
sad how uneducated people are about the world with so much widely available information.
I like how he asked if it was poisonous or not, implying he might go after the other one like we should kill off all the poisonous snakes.
Poison is Ingested, venom is Injected.
There is nothing wrong with killing something in self defence or to defend others. We weren't told the story behind why he killed the animal, for all we know the snake was going towards a newborn baby... I doubt that's the case but we cant judge without knowing.
NennaMeerkat
06-08-11, 08:33 PM
I am not a fan of killing snakes or seeing them get killed like this. However we do not know the full story of WHERE the snake was and WHY they felt the need. Could have been in a children's playground, a school yard, around babies of any species, ect. ect. And if I didn't know about an animal I dunno if I would outright kill it, but I would take the steps needed to make sure said unknown animal could not hurt anyone.
At least now this person knows and then in the future will take steps (hopefully) to know if the animal is a true threat or not. For some reason we as humans seem to have an innate fear of certain animals...and that fear for some is greatly inhanced. Some of us learn to control it while others find themselves unable. All we can do is inform them and hope for the best.
That being said...
Thanks for the information, though I'm quit sure I do NOT want to get that close to a snake to tell. Picture is zoomed in and taken after it was dead.
You can look at a snakes head from a standing position 5 feet away and know if it is dangerous or not. The head shapes are just that blatent. So take the time next time and see what you can learn from observation.
vendettaseve
06-08-11, 10:05 PM
I have some choice comments about the intelligence of this person, however I shall refrain.
People who kill snakes in the wild just because they see them make me irate, as do people who kill spiders in the wild. Your robbing the ecosystem of balance needlessly when you do such silly things.
The only time you should really be killing snakes you see while your out is the more famous venomous snakes, in your case copperheads and the like, and this is really only if they are in public parks etc, if your an hour into the woods, leave it be.
Also this guy is a troll, how else does one justify signing up to a Pet Reptile Enthusiast forum and going "Durr herpy derp lookit this snake I killed" when you can get a picture of the snake in 10 seconds by typing "common US snakes" into google.
stephanbakir
06-08-11, 10:14 PM
I see where your coming from, but to be honest, I have and will kill anything that threatens myself and anyone I care for. I'll try to find an alternative but if it comes to it...
That's like saying "that guy looked scary to me, so I killed him. That's justified because the way he looked at me scared me" or a person of a specific race scared you or some you know, there for, it is justifiable for you to immediately kill that person.
Literally the exact same thing. In my opinion anyway.
stephanbakir
06-08-11, 10:41 PM
scaring is different then imminent danger. being scared doesn't justify killing, potentially life threatening position is different. If im in a tent and I'm cornered by a snake I cant identify that might be venomous, I'll do my best to remove it gently and safely but the second I'm in danger its gone.
This guy went out of his way to hunt and kill. The snake was not attacking him or causing any problem.
Just like when I see a grizzly bear, I get out of its way, rather then kill it and ask questions after the fact. When entering a forest, you are in animals' homes, no reason to kill any critter that you happen to come across.
stephanbakir
06-08-11, 10:45 PM
Didn't read that =/
He could have just left the snake alone, is all I'm saying. Like most people would do when they come across a creature in its natural environment.
If there is a snake like this take a pic , ID it on google and if it happens to be venomous then call a person who knows how to deal with these snakes ..... Im just saying
ilovemypets1988
06-09-11, 01:50 PM
i think people who kill snakes need to be properly informed, wayne (infernalis) can we do alittle info leaflet on the dangerous snakes in america and how to easily identify them, and have it so people can easily research and come across it, maybe that will stop the killings alittle.
as for killing a snake to protect my loved ones, would i - NO, for the pure and simple reason being, i know how to handle venomous snakes through handling wild adders.
for those who dont, unless the snakes is actually posing a threat dont touch it, if it is, then try to get help before tackling the snake, only kill as a final life threatening resort/situation.
i think people who kill snakes need to be properly informed, wayne (infernalis) can we do alittle info leaflet on the dangerous snakes in america and how to easily identify them, and have it so people can easily research and come across it, maybe that will stop the killings alittle.
as for killing a snake to protect my loved ones, would i - NO, for the pure and simple reason being, i know how to handle venomous snakes through handling wild adders.
for those who dont, unless the snakes is actually posing a threat dont touch it, if it is, then try to get help before tackling the snake, only kill as a final life threatening resort/situation.You ever been bit? I handle Rattlers , Corals and alot more . Blue maylan coral snake bit me once.
ilovemypets1988
06-09-11, 01:55 PM
yh been bit by acouple of adders, weird feeling
You dont really have any feeling with a Maylayan you just start dying
stephanbakir
06-09-11, 02:00 PM
I think its time we stop complaining and appreciate the fact that hes attempting to educate himself. Lets just cool it and hope this doesn't happen again.
I think its time we stop complaining and appreciate the fact that hes attempting to educate himself. Lets just cool it and hope this doesn't happen again.
Im all for Stephan's idea
ilovemypets1988
06-09-11, 02:21 PM
yh same here
sassy_snake_lady
06-09-11, 03:53 PM
You dont really have any feeling with a Maylayan you just start dying
lol I like this reply!
An adder is as bad as it gets here and it doesn't count for much, experience wise, compared to wild snakes in the rest of the world :rolleyes:
Poison is Ingested, venom is Injected.
There is nothing wrong with killing something in self defence or to defend others. We weren't told the story behind why he killed the animal, for all we know the snake was going towards a newborn baby... I doubt that's the case but we cant judge without knowing.
yes killing something in self defence is ok. are you implying he was in danger and defending himself from this snake? I think not.
he wont be back anyway, hes not going to learn anything.
stephanbakir
06-09-11, 04:53 PM
Lets say you are confronted by an unknown snake that is obviously aggressive and you cant identify it, yourself and possibly others could quite possibly be in danger, you don't have the skills or materials to relocate it without amplifying the situation. Your options are
A: try and remove the snake and put yourself and possibly others at risk because you have no idea what your doing
B: remove the threat and save your family from a potential hardship
I would choose option B every single time. I do my best to educate myself when it comes to any potential threats in an area I plan to visit and this is where I believe the OP was lacking. Did he do the wrong thing by killing a harmless snake? Normally I'd say yes but if it was to defend his family I understand his POV. After reading the 3 pages on this post, I sincerely hope he sifts through the complaints and finds the valuable information given, educates himself and his friends/family so it doesn't reoccur and quite possibly invests 30$ in a snake hook so that if he is ever confronted by a potentially venomous herp he can ease it away from family so they can get to safety and call animal control without needing to kill the animal.
ilovemypets1988
06-09-11, 05:43 PM
lol I like this reply!
An adder is as bad as it gets here and it doesn't count for much, experience wise, compared to wild snakes in the rest of the world :rolleyes:
this is quite right, but an adder is still an adder, even though its not much of a bite, any experience with wild and aggressive snakes is still valuable experience, and as i have this experience, i would sooner try my best to relocate an animal (even if it means putting myself in danger) than kill it.
basically, every experience, no matter how big or small it is, is still a valuable lesson and very valuable experience to be had
forza_inter
06-09-11, 08:58 PM
took the words outta my mouth
You take a damn picture, or save the snake to memory, you DON'T need to kill it. If you see a snake and know it to be dangerous, or are in imminent danger, its best to go around it and call animal control.
There are only 2 snakes in the world that come to mind that will actively chase you down and they live in africa and india...
Make the investment of 20 minutes and look up the snakes in your area and educate your friends and family so this doesn't happen in the future.
this is what is wrong with people. there first reaction is to kill the unknown to protect them selfs, when the snake is the only thing in any danger.
sad how uneducated people are about the world with so much widely available information.
I like how he asked if it was poisonous or not, implying he might go after the other one like we should kill off all the poisonous snakes.I am female, not male and frankly, snakes scare the **** out of me. I'm sorry that killing that snake made you upset but I had more important things on my mind. I didn't have the time to go into my house and research online what kind it was. It was there, near me and my family and I'm sorry, but instinct says protect. Any wild animal would do the same. Why am I not allowed to do it as well? I wanted to find out what kind it was, my question has been answered, so there is no reason to keep posting and berating me for doing something that the majority of humans would do. I didn't kill it for fun, my first thoughts were to protect. I wasn't looking for it in hopes to be able to kill something. I saw it and it happened.
sassy_snake_lady
06-10-11, 11:39 AM
i would sooner try my best to relocate an animal (even if it means putting myself in danger) than kill it.
You wouldn't be in danger, it's an adder lol
lol I like this reply!
An adder is as bad as it gets here and it doesn't count for much, experience wise, compared to wild snakes in the rest of the world :rolleyes:
Held an adder once , it was cool
TeaNinja
06-10-11, 11:41 AM
I am female, not male and frankly, snakes scare the **** out of me. I'm sorry that killing that snake made you upset but I had more important things on my mind. I didn't have the time to go into my house and research online what kind it was. It was there, near me and my family and I'm sorry, but instinct says protect. Any wild animal would do the same. Why am I not allowed to do it as well? I wanted to find out what kind it was, my question has been answered, so there is no reason to keep posting and berating me for doing something that the majority of humans would do. I didn't kill it for fun, my first thoughts were to protect. I wasn't looking for it in hopes to be able to kill something. I saw it and it happened.
humans aren't driven by pure wild instinct. if i were you i'd go through a list of all the animals in your large scale area and see what's actually dangerous so you know later in life. i'm not sure where the snake actually was, but i bet you could have not killed it and everything would have been just the same.
i'm not even mad and i didn't post once on this whole thread, but you are not a wild animal and can control yourself. If it was me, i'd have moved the children and not killed anything, but to each his own (or her own)
sassy_snake_lady
06-10-11, 11:41 AM
I am female, not male and frankly, snakes scare the **** out of me. I'm sorry that killing that snake made you upset but I had more important things on my mind. I didn't have the time to go into my house and research online what kind it was. It was there, near me and my family and I'm sorry, but instinct says protect. Any wild animal would do the same. Why am I not allowed to do it as well? I wanted to find out what kind it was, my question has been answered, so there is no reason to keep posting and berating me for doing something that the majority of humans would do. I didn't kill it for fun, my first thoughts were to protect. I wasn't looking for it in hopes to be able to kill something. I saw it and it happened.
Totally see where your comming from and in your situation I'm pretty sure I would have done the same.
ilovemypets1988
06-10-11, 12:12 PM
You wouldn't be in danger, it's an adder lol
i would do it whether its an adder, cobra, viper or any other snake, they dont scare me, i respect them enough to know what can happen but thats besides the point, i would still try to relocate before kill no matter how dangerous the snake is
Lankyrob
06-10-11, 12:18 PM
I am female, not male and frankly, snakes scare the **** out of me. I'm sorry that killing that snake made you upset but I had more important things on my mind. I didn't have the time to go into my house and research online what kind it was. It was there, near me and my family and I'm sorry, but instinct says protect. Any wild animal would do the same. Why am I not allowed to do it as well? I wanted to find out what kind it was, my question has been answered, so there is no reason to keep posting and berating me for doing something that the majority of humans would do. I didn't kill it for fun, my first thoughts were to protect. I wasn't looking for it in hopes to be able to kill something. I saw it and it happened.
Whilst there are situations where it is impossible to move away from the snake, and therefore some sort of confrontation is inevitable, you havent explained in any way why you couldnt do this rather than kill the animal. As T said we are NOT wild animals that have no capacity for thought and consideration before taking action - personally in 99.9% of situations i would move myself and my family rather than harm any animal.
sassy_snake_lady
06-10-11, 12:27 PM
i would do it whether its an adder, cobra, viper or any other snake, they dont scare me, i respect them enough to know what can happen but thats besides the point, i would still try to relocate before kill no matter how dangerous the snake is
Sorry but that's rubbish, it's not about scaring you or how brave you are, it's the situation. Until you are in that situation you don't know how you would react.
For example, if I noticed a dangerous snake close to my child, I would rather kill that snake that put my child in danger by trying to move the snake and relocate it.
Lankyrob
06-10-11, 12:41 PM
Or just move the child........
sassy_snake_lady
06-10-11, 12:48 PM
Yeah, great idea, why didn't I think of that.
How stupid of me!
We shall agree to disagree, I can see what's going on here!
TeaNinja
06-10-11, 02:34 PM
what's going on is you appear to be saying it's better to start with killing the most likely innocent animal instead of moving your child because you don't know if it's dangerous or not.
sounds pretty stupid to me.
sassy_snake_lady
06-10-11, 03:33 PM
what's going on is you appear to be saying it's better to start with killing the most likely innocent animal instead of moving your child because you don't know if it's dangerous or not.
sounds pretty stupid to me.
I really don't care how it sounds to you...
I wasn't aware I had to describe in great detail the imaginary scenario, I had in my head to get my point across but ok my bad, I shall be more specific!
Imagine you walk into your childs bedroom and child is sleeping and a snake, maybe dangerous, maybe not....
you know what, forgot it, like I said we shall agree to disagree. :rolleyes:
Dont hate sassy cuz she's a peacemaker :P
SPARTAN 77
06-10-11, 04:00 PM
It looks like a Elaphe obsoleta or a Rat Snake. you shouldn't worry about it.
TeaNinja
06-10-11, 06:07 PM
i'd bet you $20 the snake was outside.
whoaxmary
06-10-11, 08:05 PM
This thread makes me glad I save snakes from the mower at work. Too bad I haven't seen any yet this year.
This thread makes me glad I save snakes from the mower at work. Too bad I haven't seen any yet this year.
YAHHHHH , a snake saver:)
vendettaseve
06-10-11, 09:48 PM
i'd bet you $20 the snake was outside.
Read the original post, they were found outside.
@Sassy if you find a snake inside your house, that doesnt belong to you and you know nothing of snakes. Feel free to kill it, thats not the discussion here. This guy went out of his way to kill this snake (and troll the forum), you have no need to play devils advocate.
totheend
06-11-11, 12:09 AM
You are more likely to get bit while trying to kill it. So really you are just putting yourself in unnecessary danger by going out of your way to kill it....
I am not trying to be a jerk, just giving you something to think about.
If one of my kids was near a snake in its natural habitat, I would move my kid. End of story.
I would never make the decision to move my child, and then hunt and kill the snake.
Who in their right mind would hunt down and kill an animal in their natural habitat??
Ridiculous. This thread makes me so angry.
If you live an area that has wildlife, why the f wouldn't you educate yourself as well as your spawn about the wildlife???? Respect... Some people just can't comprehend the idea.
ilovemypets1988
06-11-11, 11:23 AM
sassy, i have faced a king cobra and have handled it, so yh i would move the snake before anything else
TeaNinja
06-11-11, 11:55 AM
sassy, i have faced a king cobra and have handled it, so yh i would move the snake before anything else
lol....cool i guess......but completely irrelevant. we're talking about people who don't know about snakes killing them vs moving their children. i say if they don't even know what kind of snake it is, DEFINETLY don't try and mess with it. just leave it alone and move out of its way.
This thread makes me so angry.
If you live an area that has wildlife, why the f wouldn't you educate yourself as well as your spawn about the wildlife???? Respect... Some people just can't comprehend the idea.
EXACTLY!!!!!
Oh and by the way I am terrified of children! they are gooey and covered in virus' and bacteria. I don't go around killing them when they enter my habitat.
Children are way scarier then an unidentified snake, IMO :)
ilovemypets1988
06-11-11, 07:18 PM
well that is very true, as an old sayng goes, an animal is much more affraid of us than we are of it.
also i would like you all to consider this, for those of us that are both, reptile keepers and parents, our children will be very well educated on animals and would normally know what to do in a snakey encounter out in the wild, and how to identify the snake as there curiosity would make them wanna find out as much as they can about the wild animals in there surrounding area and those children that have the honours of having reptiles at home would be more inclined to do this research s they can be "cool" to all of there friends.
also another thing to consider is, wouldnt it be more beneficial to educate our children with what lives in our surrounding areas, so that they know whether or not to stay away from these living beings and also so that they can identify the animal and also help other people with there knowledge so that they dont harm the animals, after all, children are our future and if we dont educate them know, these animals wont be around for much longer.
we are making examples as they learn from what we do as we are the people who children look up to, to be shown what to do and killing an animal is just showing the children of today to do the same thing. knowledge is power and i think that its time that we carried this power over and handed it to the future selves.
marvelfreak
06-11-11, 07:37 PM
Until you are in that situation you don't know how you would react.
This is so true. If the snake moving towards your child, you only have a slit second to reacted, and you have know clue if it's deadly or not i would hope you would protected you child. You can say you'll do this or that, but truthfully until our in that situation an have a second to decide you don't know what you'll do. As a parent your childs safety should come first and foremost over any animal. Period!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lankyrob
06-12-11, 06:37 AM
This is so true. If the snake moving towards your child, you only have a slit second to reacted, and you have know clue if it's deadly or not i would hope you would protected you child. You can say you'll do this or that, but truthfully until our in that situation an have a second to decide you don't know what you'll do. As a parent your childs safety should come first and foremost over any animal. Period!!!!!!!!!!!!
Absolutely 100% in agreement which is why i would grab my child and run away from the wild animal - or put myself between the animal and the child. I can honestly say my first thought would be to get away, not to kill the animal in question.
ilovemypets1988
06-12-11, 10:30 AM
Absolutely 100% in agreement which is why i would grab my child and run away from the wild animal - or put myself between the animal and the child. I can honestly say my first thought would be to get away, not to kill the animal in question.
totally agree with you there, its funny how some people try to warrant killing an animal in certain situations when theres always an escape route, an animal comes from 1 side, that leaves 3 more sides to escape to!
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