Is This a Copperhead?

Rick · #1 07/03/13, 05:56 PM

Pattern - particularly the head looks a little different than the one I saw on a google search.

This one was a young'un - just about 36 inches. First snake in 12 years I felt had to go - he just didn't fit in with our garden plan.

Mil-Spec Machete chopped successfully about 25 times in the weeds after pinpointing it's location by raking the weeds away until it moved.

Wolfy-hound · #2 07/03/13, 05:57 PM

You killed a cornsnake.

bassmaster17327 · #3 07/03/13, 06:12 PM

Poor snake, he would have caused you no harm

farmrbrown · #4 07/03/13, 06:12 PM

Nope, probably a corn or rat snake, nose is too blunt, head not triangular, and color pattern different.

Rick · #5 07/03/13, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassmaster17327

Poor snake, he would have caused you no harm

Now I feel bad. Didn't act like I would expect a copperhead to.

I can see his button like marking is different from a copperhead. The head has a very distinctive pattern and the copperhead has a solid tan.

I really regret it, but he got our adrenaline pumping, and we weren't taking chances.

Does anyone know any other snakes with similar markings?

Rick · #6 07/03/13, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolfy-hound

You killed a cornsnake.

Thanks for the ID. Won't make that mistake again.

xymenah · #7 07/03/13, 06:17 PM

A pretty corn snake at that. They make good pets too.

Rick · #8 07/03/13, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xymenah

A pretty corn snake at that. They make good pets too.

I guess we spent a bit of our karma points.

GBov · #9 07/03/13, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick

I guess we spent a bit of our karma points.

Even snakes have karma and its was to be chopped to bits lol.

Sorry to laugh but please don't beat yourself up, when in doubt, whack away!

Says the one who drove many miles to find just the right place to relocate the same kind of snake from our very populated neighborhood to waaaaay down a dirt road with no houses around.

The cotton mouth however, it became fish bait

xymenah · #10 07/03/13, 06:50 PM

99% of the poisonous snakes in my area have rattles. The only one that doesn't is the coral snake and its easy to identify. Most of the time you can tell if its poisonous is how the head connects to the body. If the head is very triangular and the jowls do not meet the body smoothly its poisonous if its a fairly smooth transition from the head to the body its not poisonous. Many states have a website with a list of poisonous reptiles so you can easily identify them.

Rick · #11 07/03/13, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GBov

Even snakes have karma and its was to be chopped to bits lol.

Sorry to laugh but please don't beat yourself up, when in doubt, whack away!

Says the one who drove many miles to find just the right place to relocate the same kind of snake from our very populated neighborhood to waaaaay down a dirt road with no houses around.

The cotton mouth however, it became fish bait

Thanks for the pat on the back - I need it.

That was kind of you, many would just do it in "because" !

Alice In TX/MO · #12 07/03/13, 06:58 PM

Copper Mouth Water Rattler.

GBov · #13 07/03/13, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick

Thanks for the pat on the back - I need it.

That was kind of you, many would just do it in "because" !

I came out to one of my quail cages and found a VERY fat black rat snake, six live quail and one trampled to death quail.

So I caught the live ones and bunged them into another cage, took out the dead one to throw to the pigs and closed up the cage and j-feeder - its way in - and left it there for a week so it could get the good out of its meal.

Loosing a quail or two to a big rat snake doesn't bother me because I know its next meal will be a rat and I HATES rats!

The coral snake in the back stumped me long enough for it to get away, that old saying about black touch yellow took just long enough to identify the snake and it to say bye bye lol.

You did the best you could and that, after all, is all one can do.

Rick · #14 07/03/13, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

Copper Mouth Water Rattler.

So the Google Queen tricks me to google for such fractious frivolity.

Homesteader · #15 07/03/13, 08:00 PM

It's okay. You cannot take a chance with your or your family's lives. So if you aren't really good at id'ing a snake right away, it's okay. Better safe than sorry. Don't feel bad, please.

Rick · #16 07/03/13, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Homesteader

It's okay. You cannot take a chance with your or your family's lives. So if you aren't really good at id'ing a snake right away, it's okay. Better safe than sorry. Don't feel bad, please.

Thanks! I even tied tied the dogs down to keep them safe,

TnAndy · #17 07/03/13, 08:22 PM

This is a copperhead.....watch where you sit.

Rick · #18 07/03/13, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TnAndy

This is a copperhead.....watch where you sit.

I think I'll stand, thank you!

PrettyPaisley · #19 07/03/13, 09:10 PM

I remember freaking out over a snake a few years ago and killing it. Turns out it was a king snake

I felt so guilty but its hard ( at least for me) to keep calm around snakes. Since then I have only killed one other non-poisonous snake-but who knew garter snakes were so aggressive ?????

Ernie · #20 07/03/13, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PrettyPaisley

I remember freaking out over a snake a few years ago and killing it. Turns out it was a king snake

I felt so guilty but its hard ( at least for me) to keep calm around snakes. Since then I have only killed one other non-poisonous snake-but who knew garter snakes were so aggressive ?????

When we lived in Illinois, I found a snake in my basement and I clubbed it to death with a boot. It looked like a rattlesnake.

Upon inspection, if wasn't one but rather some snake that looked like one.

So ultimately, the penalty for being a rattlesnake or pretending to be a rattlesnake turns out to be the same if you're caught in the basement.