Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I found this guy in my house and swept him out to the vacant lot across the street. I live on a pond in Jacksonville, FL in what used to be a heavily wooded area. There are still large amounts of preservation area in the neighborhood.

I'm hoping it wasn't a moccasin, but it looks a bit like one to me. Please check out the link to Picasa that has the pictures.

Thanks,
Travis
Link To Snake Pictures

negative. That is a harmless watersnake.

A moccasin does NOT have vertical lines that run down through its lips. Also, the watersnake has a 'coffin shaped' head. A water moccasin's head is more triangular, however a watersnake will flatten its head to scare you.

Learn to identify the moccasin by its facial markings, like in the attached pic. Note the horizontal black mark that runs from the eye to the back of the head and is bordered by a white line.

mistaking banded watersnakes for moccasins is quite common, especially with darker specimens.

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1.0.0 Great Plains Ratsnake
1.0.0 Corn, Lavender Aztec het for Amel
0.1.0 Black Ratsnake
0.0.1 Texas Rat (tame)
1.0.0 Broad Banded Water Snake, Hypo
1.0.0 Black Bassador Retriever
2.1.0 Godchildren, 1 Evil, 2 possible hets

thanks for not killing it. most people have a 'shoot first ask questions later' policy with snakes.
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1.0.0 Great Plains Ratsnake
1.0.0 Corn, Lavender Aztec het for Amel
0.1.0 Black Ratsnake
0.0.1 Texas Rat (tame)
1.0.0 Broad Banded Water Snake, Hypo
1.0.0 Black Bassador Retriever
2.1.0 Godchildren, 1 Evil, 2 possible hets

The attached link may be of some assistance to you in the future.

~~Greg~~
Florida's Venomous Snakes

Thanks for the help guys! I'm glad there was no danger and feel good about relocating it. However, we won't be leaving our doors wide open anymore...

Travis