Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've been all over the net and can't find the snake i saw. Unfortunately i don't have a photo and he was killed by a car so his head was crushed beyond recognition all i have is his body marks. He has a /// dark black like a double chevron stripe repeating all the way down his body. very distinct very black. this pattern is solid has no other markings that i could see.. besides the unbroken w type pattern he's light tan in color but has a darkish tan stripe running along his back... his belly is pale... with a slight pinkish tinge... he was about 13 inches long or so... and about 3 fingers thickness around.... i hope this helps any information would be appreciated or a site where i might look up snakes of alabama something with a good database of images. Oh i'm in Mid south alabama... around the montgomery area i live in a heavily wooded area this snake was found at the edge of some tall weeds near the road. it's been raining recently and the soil is pretty sandy but the bottom of my drive where he was holds quite a bit of moisture. I don't know if this helps. we have a lot of rocks nothing too dry lots of leaf debris and wood debris. He didn't appear to have a rattle.. and didn't seem to look like any rattle snakes i've seen. HIs coloration wasn't mottled at all. He was light tane with a very black marking.

Without a picture, any ID is suspect. BUT, it sounds to me like a Timber Rattlesnake.

I'm sure there are better on-line guides, but here's one for your area: www.savelakemartin.com/lakesnakes.htm
Some AL snakes

thank you. I suspected as much. do you know any way to repel snakes from a large area??

Erm...wierd question...

Why do you want to repel snakes away from a large area?

well i figured out that there isn't any way. especially since i live in the woods. why i would want to repel snakes. I have two small children. the snake in question was found sitting nicely in the spot that i stand with my daughter every morning to put her on the bus. as a mother i'm frightened for my children. I had no problem with non poisonous snakes and love to have them around because i'm in a forested area... however the poisonous varieties are alarming. I live over 1 1/2 hours from the nearest hospital. so i'm not too keen on having poisonous snakes around us.

Best advice I can give you is that now that you know there are canebrake rattlesnakes in your area, be a little extra observant. As long as you or your kids do not get too close to one, it will not pose a threat. Most snakebites are illegitimate, which means the victim was bitten by a snake he or she had already seen. Some of those involve a person in the process of attempting to kill the snake. Rattlers are just as beneficial as other rodent eating snakes, they just need a little more respect. The attached site is about Florida venomous, but your area has most, if not all, of the same snakes.

~~Greg~~
Florida's Venomous Snakes

*nods* undestandable .. as pointed out, just be very observant in the area where you found the venomous snake. They really don't want to bite and will try to get away unless they are "pinned in" or being taunted.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with healthy respect for a venomous snake I've gently backed away from copperheads and rattlesnakes myself If nothing else, look at it as a great opportunity to teach the children respect for the animal and not the difference between respect and outright paranoia/fear.

Good luck, hopefully you won't see any more of the rattlers.

Bill