I once did a phone ID for a friend, and --based mostly on the fact that the snake had fallen from the rafters-- I told him that it was most likely a Gray Rat Snake (which are abundant in that area.)

He took some pictures of the snake, then scooped it into a bucket and released it in some nearby woods. When the pictures were developed, he sent them to me... and it was a Copperhead!

That taught em two things: generalities are not absolutes, and trying to ID a snake over the phone can be difficult at best.

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