Snake Identification

Nerodia of some sort...looks like a diamond back water snake. Most are very agressive but not venomous. They have an anti coagulant in the spit though that will make you bleed like a stuck hog from a minor bite. When i say "aggressive", i mean they bite like crazy when ya try to handle them...not that they are agressive without provocation. A good way to tell pit vipers from non-venomous snakes is they cat slit pupil. Non venomous snakes have a round pupil. You dont have to be close to see as its very noticeable from a distance. The only venomous snake native to north america (that im aware of) with a round pupil is the coral snake...and most everyone knows what they look like. Water snakes can be hard to i.d because there are quite a few and they are similar...on top of that, even the same species can vary alot with the geografic region. But my guess is harmless diamondback water snake.

Not a rattlesnake. Not a copprhead. Not either a northern or southern watersnake. Look at the offset reticulation pattern of the top markings vs. the side markings. I say that it's one of several races of Pituophis melanoleuces, a.k.a. pine snake, bullsnake, or gopher snake. They exist in a number of color variations and will coil and try their best to give the impression that it's a rattlesnake.

Martin

Did it have round pupils or slitted like a cats eye? Were their pits on the head? Was the neck the same size as the body or very narrow/graceful with triangular head? Those are the things to look for when you walk up on a snake...

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I`m also voting western hognose. they act mean but not. we catch a few eastern hognose every year in my gardens, they feed on toads

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i vote copperhead. copperheads can have many variations of color. the markings can also vary greatly. do a google image search and look at the variations. the kicker for me is the pronounced triangular head. notice how the "neck" is narrow and attaches to a larger and triangle shaped head.

my next guess would be moccasin, but it looks like a copperhead to me. it is definitely a poisonous snake.

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Wrong tail for a hognose. Hognose tail is short and fat. Bullsnake is long and thin. If you look at one of the 3 photos, you'll see that tail sticking straight up and the last few inches are a slight blur. It was vibrating. If that happens beside a dead stick, it sounds almost like a rattlesnake. Bullsnake is the only one that I know that does that.

The reddish-brown coloration of that one is very close to the color which is most common in SW Wisconsin. (Northern two-thirds of the state lean to black.) And as mean as they try to come across as, 5 minutes of proper handling and they'll calm down as if they've been your friend forever.

Martin

i don't know what it is but that's one happy fat snake!!! what ya got around there that it could be eatin?

Ok, in my humble opinion
She's a water snake, round pupils (darker picture,) keeled scales, typical checkerboard pattern with dark edges on brown spots...
So, she looks like this, (which I think is misidentified at this site as Nerodia taxispilota brown water snake, not native to OK)
or she could be a brown water snake that hitched a ride northwest from Alabama in a boat or a seaplane
link to brown water snake info.


I think she is a common water snake, Nerodia sipedon sipedon, also known as a northern water snake, they have widely varying patterns, and are found in OK.
link to common water snake info


The common water snakes we have in the big river in Missouri look just like your snake (and my first picture,) only ours appear more red like this.
They are mean, will chase me, and will not back down, they just get more aggressive.

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Liz
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Dogs have masters, cats have staff.

Its one of them rattleless diamondback rattlers!

Love that. It is a Nerodia, or water snake. Not sure which from your pictures. Brobably a brown, but it could be one of the others of that complex. They are known for being pugnatious, that is nasty attitude. Course, most any wild animal will try to protect itself, and that is what it is doing. Like others have said, its not poisonous.

Don't know what it is, but a bull snake will coil & hiss (sound resembles rattles) when angry or scared. They are not usually not aggressive, more mellow, but will bite. They are good to have around. They will kill rattlers and often drive them away.

While I agree with most of your post, the last part is incorrect. People always have this idea that bullsnakes fight rattlers and kill them. No, bullsnakes are just bigger and need more food. Since snakes are territorial, if a bull snake has made this area his hunting ground, the rattlesnake moves on.

They are indeed something you want around. Ours was named "George."

All of that said, you're also right, the snake in the first pic is definitely not a bullsnake (gopher snake).

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It's a watercopperrattlehead! Make good soup, try it!

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r.h. in oklahoma

Raised a country boy, and will die a country boy.

I also live in NE Oklahoma and we do not have many species of poison snakes, but you can bet your "biffy" this one is. Look at the triangle head and pattern on back. My guess, it is for sure a rattle snake, diamond back. We have a lot of "velvet tails" or timber rattlers, one and the same. For sure not a copperhead. Not a "pigmy" or ground rattler (one in the same also). Not dark enough for a Cotton Mouth and more pattern than most would have here on this one. I would say for sure if you are one to dispatch snakes, this is one that would hurt you. That is pretty much the poison snakes here in NE Okla. Careful out there!

kinda reminds me of what is called a dry land moccasin around here it is a moccasin family (poisinous) just not always found around water but always in a cool/damp place.........no matter what kind it is I would say for sure YES it is poisonous due to shape of head etc

I agree. That is definitely a triangular head, which is found on venomous snakes. Sure wish we could see the pupil shape, but there's a blade of grass in the way.

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There is no indication whatsoever that that snake is venomous. It is neither a rattler, cottonmouth, coral snake, nor copperhead. Eliminate those 4 and there are no other venomous types on this continent. If there are some who are not seeing those pictures clearly, my only advice is to get a new monitor!

Martin

I thought there was suppose to be 5 venomous snakes on this continent, but yet I can't think of what the 5th one would be. I believe Martin is right, the snake doesn't look like any of the poisonous snakes mentioned. Also snakes do vary in color but I believe that is from if they are getting ready to shed their old skin or if they have just shed their old skin leaving them with a brighter colored skin.

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r.h. in oklahoma

Raised a country boy, and will die a country boy.

Triangle head shape has absolutely nothing to do with snake I.D. That snake is 100% non-venomous. Its either a diamond back water snake or a northern water snake...neither is venomous. And yes, LOTS of non-venomous snakes have triangle heads, including water snakes. Colors and patterns can/do vary from region to region and adults to juvies. The most absolute way to determine a venomous from non-venomous is the pupil shape. All rattlers, moccasins, and copperheads have cats slit pupils....eveything harmless has round pupils. EXCEPT THE CORAL SNAKE. Coral snakes are vemomous and have round pupils but they are easy ti ID from color.

Yup totally non venomous.. No question about it..

Here's what a venomous snake looks like head wise, most poisonous snakes in the U.S. are pit vipers..

The triangular part is a little off as many non poisonous snakes have pretty triangular heads.




Furthermore, a moccasin and copperhead have very distinctive heads, flat on top and kinda like a the bow of a boat when looked at from the side... Look closely at the following and pay attention to the sharp nose, and the rounded nose...

moccasin flat triangular top of the head, sharp nose from the side.


Copperhead flat triangular top of the head, sharp nose from the side.


Very different than say, this rat snake.. rounded head into a very blunt rounded nose.


Or this northern water snake.


Rattlers have more different head shapes, some less distinctive, but always a heat sensing pit in the face between eye and nostril..

If you will look down the page I have a couple of pics of two different rattlesnakes. Your snake has the head of a poison snake, not the markings of a rattlesnake. Too big for the hognose I think. As I said earlier, right head for Cottonmouth, but color not right. It would appear to most likely be a bullsnake. The bull snakes found around here ar usally in prairie areas.