Snake Identification

[poison123]

Water snake.

[poison123]

It does not have the raised snout. It's not a hognose.

[poison123]

Maybe a Broad Banded Water Snake

[FWK]

The specialized upturned scale is present in both animals although the tip is cut off on the second snake by the edge of the photo. Honestly looking back at the first picture I feel a bit foolish for thinking it was a Pine. I let what seemed to be obvious, the pattern this is strikingly similar to a Pine, blind me to the fact the neck is all wrong and the head made no sense at all. I just dismissed the head thinking it had been crushed. I blame the beer I was drinking lol.

I'm pretty sure only Diamondback and Northern Water Snakes are found in east Kentucky, Banded Water Snakes are found only in the extreme south-west tip.

[toddnbecka]

Where were the snakes killed? Water snakes seldom move far from water, and usually dive in for cover when approached or disturbed.

[ink625]

Originally Posted by toddnbecka

Where were the snakes killed? Water snakes seldom move far from water, and usually dive in for cover when approached or disturbed.

The first was killed on a bare hillside a few hundred feet from a pond. The second was killed in a driveway about 500 feet from a pond.

[bigsnakegirl785]

They are both hognoses. The one has the snout cut off by the photo. The other one you can see the point at the tip. Although they superficially appear to be a broad-banded the patterns are completely wrong. Broad-bandeds are not blotched. These are definitely eastern hognoses.

[poison123]

After looking again, I do see the raised snout. It's hard to see on my phone.