Identify Snake Florida

[LostTarget]

Hiking in Northeast Florida. Two snakes in photo.

Any idea what type of snake?

[poison123]

look like

Cottonmouth/water moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus)

Venomous.

[Pareeeee]

Originally Posted by poison123

look like

Cottonmouth/water moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus)

Venomous.

Seconded. Was thinking the same thing.

[IW17]

Could be. To me it looks like a dark pair of Dusky pigmy rattlesnakes. The brown stripe above the eye is a clue. How big were they and what terrain were they in? Was there water nearby? It still could be a pair of cotton mouth but it's hard to be certain.

[Sublimeballs]

Originally Posted by IW17

Could be. To me it looks like a dark pair of Dusky pigmy rattlesnakes. The brown stripe above the eye is a clue. How big were they and what terrain were they in? Was there water nearby? It still could be a pair of cotton mouth but it's hard to be certain.

I was thinking Pygmy rattler aswell. The pattern doesn't look cottonmouth to me but it could be. Either way it's definitely a pit viper and VENOMOUS!

[LostTarget]

RE: Water

Not very large if compared to a rattle snake. They were in the Guana River wildlife area.

There is water nearby, but they were in a dry area along the trail. I thought they may have been mating as they had no interest in living.

The diamond shape on top of the head is something I cannot find when looking at various photos on the internet.

I'd post a larger image of the snake, but as a new member I'm finding this is not possible, as I keep getting denied.

The only workaround to this is to Google "Guana River - The Lost Target" to see the full size photos I posted. But not something I would usually would not do as I have no desire to draw traffic to another site.

[sharthun]

Yeah looks like dusky Pigmy Rattlesnakes to me.

[pdomensis]

I'm not from the east. Do cottonmouths have keeled scales? They look like rattlesnakes to me.

[IW17]

Originally Posted by pdomensis

I'm not from the east. Do cottonmouths have keeled scales? They look like rattlesnakes to me.

Yes they do. But different keels. Hard to explain unless you see them side by side.

[limey]

Dark phase Dusky pygmy's. Looks just like the ones I work with.

The smallish head and patterning is the giveaway. Cottonmouths have different banding, are chunkier, and have a thin white strip near the head. A pygmy eye is that unique translucent coppery colour rarely seen on other species.

[StudentoReptile]

Get out the dichotomous key for Florida! Trying to ID snakes over the internet will go round and round endlessly. That is what dichotomous keys are for.

[pdomensis]

I would have poked it with a stick to see if it rattled. End of debate.

[Teal]

Originally Posted by pdomensis

I would have poked it with a stick to see if it rattled. End of debate.

This literally made me laugh! I was thinking along the same line... If the picture only showed the tails...!

[Sublimeballs]

Originally Posted by pdomensis

I would have poked it with a stick to see if it rattled. End of debate.

Made me laugh enough to draw a bit of unwanted attention at work.

[LostTarget]

Thanks for every ones input.