Defitely a water snake, you can tell by the head shape. I don't think you'd see a racer sitting out like that at night either; and it doesn't have the upturned snout of a hognosed snake. It must be the Florida Water snake, albeit a dark version of that species. It is obviously a good sized snake and these snakes tend to darken as they grown older.

Here is what Conant says:
"in darker black obscures the other colors, and virtually plain black specimens are not rare".

The only other watersnakes on the Atlantic coast are:
Atlantic Salt Marsh snake (not likely in housing area-habitats)
Green Water snake (This snake did not have the chunky head and row of scales between the eyecap and the upper labials)
Brown water snake (This snake is too dark)

Nice find! Florida has got to be one of the best spots in the country to snake hunt. Happy Herp'in!

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