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snake help

sherrymote Jun 23, 2007 08:42 PM

my mom found a pair of snakes in her house-I have looked online but couldnt find one like it- it was a dark grey/almost black color with white rectangle like blotches that ran length wise-he was snub nosed and not aggressive-no rattles

Replies (7)

Greg Longhurst Jun 24, 2007 07:24 AM

Without knowing where exactly on this very large planet the snake was found, giving an i.d. from a less than complete description is far from possible.

~~Greg~~

sherrymote Jun 24, 2007 12:31 PM

I am in alabama-central alabama. I am conserned for their safety and that of my children when they are there.they live outside the city and a hospital is about 20 mins away. the snakes-3 so far are very distinctive by the rectangle spots that run length wise on the sides-he has a diamond shaped head with a flat nose

LarryF Jun 24, 2007 10:14 PM

First, did you see the snake personally, or are you going by your mom's description?

It sounds very unlikely to be anything venomous, but it doesn't really fit the description of anything else in your area that I can think of, which makes me wornder a bit about the accuracy of the descriptions (thus the question above).

Did you really mean that it had white rectagnles on the sides or did you mean on the back? Solid white rectangles or rectangles outlined in white? Small rectangles or 3/4 the height of the snake?

Does she live near water? If it has regtangles on the sides AND the back, outlined in white, it could POSSIBLY be a brown water snake. They are harmless but will flatten out their heads to immitate a venomous snake.

My first guess would have been a black rat snake, but it sounds like your a few hundred miles outside the known range. If you're looking at pictures of them check out quite a few pictures because their pattern is rather variable. I had one a while back that had solid while rectangular patterns on it's back and an unusually blunt nose and wide head.

Also check out lots of pictures of eastern garter snakes, they have black squares down the side on a light background. They will also flatten their heads.

Also look at eastern king snakes, but the triangular head would seem to rule that out.

Was it thin like a rat snake or thicker like a water snake?

With a picture we could probably give you a difinitive answer very quickly.
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What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.

justinian2120 Jun 24, 2007 06:03 PM

how big?hard to say,nothing pops to mind from your description but it doesn't sound at all like anything venomous.
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"with head raised regally,and gazing at me with lidless eyes,he seemed to question with flicks of his long forked tongue my right to trespass on his territory" Carl Kauffeld

lakebum1716 Jun 24, 2007 09:40 PM

The link takes you to a website that has photos of snakes from east-central Alabama; maybe you'll see what you're looking for.
Some snakes from your area

sherrymote Jun 25, 2007 06:45 AM

I checked the site but it wasn't there-this snake was very distinctive because he had no blotches or bands on his back-they were on the sides and running lengthwise-little inch or two white rectangles-I have seen alot of snakes but never one like this-maybe a sub species of some kind-anyway there have been three so far

skronkykong Jun 25, 2007 10:35 AM

picture

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