Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I think this snake is N.Harteri. It was found in a school cafeteria and released in a nearby creek. Could someone please verify. Thanks.

Jose

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4.40 normal BPs
1.0 pastel BP
1.0 yellow belly BP
1.0 het albino BP
1.0 het pied BP
1.1 albino BPs
1.1 sunglow/anery corns
0.0.1 sunbeam
0.1 66% het stripe red tail boa
0.0.2 Strawberry hermit crabs
1.0 parakeet
1.0 spoiled rotten dog (Diego)
a crap load of rats and mice

Hard to say without city/state locale, but I would guess Nerodia rhombifer

Sorry about that. Terrell TX. It was one of two snakes found this morning inside the school. The school is in an area surrounded by creeks. We have had a lot of T-storms and a few tornadoes recently in the D/FW metroplex. This is the fourth snake that has been caught on school grounds in the last two weeks. For comparison, before last week only one snake had been spotted in the school since last summer. Unfortunately, all but this one have been killed by staff members. Thanks.

Jose

The Northwest Florida Herper got it right, as he usually does. The belly is the key. Harter's has a ventral surface with a pink center. Posting various views like that made this one a piece of cake.

~~Greg~~

I'm glad to hear you didn't do as the school staff members did, and kill harmless wildlife!, Like most of the general public, the school staff members should take some basic wildlife
"101" lessons!!.......I'm sure their ignorance made them feel like real "heroes" in front of the others!!

best regards, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

As the others said, that is rhombifer.

Nerodia harteri doesn't have the regular alternating dorsal and side blotched pattern that rhombifer does. N. harteri does have side blotches, but they don't alternate as evenly with the dorsal blotches.

Another thing that will eliminate harteri is range. Nerodia harteri is only found in the Brazos River drainage in an area west of Possum Kingdom to about Glen Rose. It doesn't occur on the eastern side of the metroplex near Terrell.

Here's a range map "borrowed" from the herps of Texas website. The blue counties show harteri range.

Here's a photo of a N. harteri from over near Possum Kingdom.

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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas