Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My parents have been having visitors lately and are wondering what kind they are- if someone could identify them I would be grateful! This picture was taken in Elgin Texas, about 20 min outside of Austin, in a gated community which is still mostly a heavily wooded area but for the houses themselves. Thanks for any info!

It looks like a black rat snake (pantherophis obsoleta obsoleta) to me but according to Conant / Collins (1958, revised 1998) they don't occure in your neck of the woods. There are Texas rat snakes (pantheropis obsoleta lindheimerii) in central Texas and I think that they are a very likely candidate, though they are not normally so dark.

Cam Hanna
-----
"I'm tired of being a wannabe bowler! I wanna be a bowler!!"
-- Homer Simpson

They are variable, but that one is certainly within the range of variation you see in central TX.
-----
Chris Harrison

It looks like a big one, too. Rat snakes are harmless unless provoked, then they can deliver a nasty bite. They'll keep the rodents down to a minimum.

you consider nasty, but even 6 ft rat snakes are not that bad compared to a 4 ft water snake. Rat snakes teeth are not all that large, and they normally don't get stuck to your skin when they bite.
-----
Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

If you steal in hunger, I will kick you when you try. These stand for me. Name your god and bleed the freak. I'd like to see. How you all would bleed for me.-Alice In Chains

Yeah, water snakes are beyond nasty, and they have those curved teeth. Been bit many times by northern water snakes.

Still did'nt enjoy being bitten by an adult black rat years ago.

I got bit by an Emerald once... that beats all my water snake bites. I bled like a stuck pig...
-----
Currently have:
0.1 Antherystic Elaphe guttata - Corn Snake
1.0 Elaphe vulpina gloydi - Eastern Fox Snake
1.1 Morelia Spilota Cheyni - Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Leucistic Elaphe obsoleta linheimeri - Texas Ratsnake

Saving for:
Agkistrodon Contortix mokasen - Northern Copperhead

Water snakes give a NASTY bite! My friend had one and he drilled me on the side of my hand and gave me a good bite. I was fishing one day and didn't see one near some rocks and he got me right on my leg. I was just glad he/she wasnt a copper head..lol

Texas rats, even the largest ones, inflict only superficial bites in my opinion. One has to put the statement into perspective.... compared to an indigo, boa, or python of similar size, the Texas rat is harmless.

Agreed. The teeth aren't even there compared to something like a chondro or an emmie. I got tagged barely by my chondro a few years back...it was painful.
-----
Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

If you steal in hunger, I will kick you when you try. These stand for me. Name your god and bleed the freak. I'd like to see. How you all would bleed for me.-Alice In Chains

Just curious as to how the snake in the pic compares to the obsoletas in the Houston area. It's almost certainly a Texas Rat, but that one's at least as dark as most of the Black/Texas intergrades we have here in OK.

They can be very snappy, for sure. Teeth are fairly small, but if they get a hold of you they can rip you pretty good when they pull back (or you pull back the other way! ) .
-----
MichaelB

Basically it is a bit darker with more black than the ones we see around here. We have some that are almost orange or yellow. Some are darker, but they are just more of a chocolate brown.
-----
Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

If you steal in hunger, I will kick you when you try. These stand for me. Name your god and bleed the freak. I'd like to see. How you all would bleed for me.-Alice In Chains