Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The mother of a friend of mine was bitten this weekend on their boat. The father hit the snake on the head with a shovel. I think it looks like a moccasin. I have pics to send if anyone is willing to help me try to identify. Just provide email address. After being bitten she said her leg burned & was numb up to the knee...there are no symptoms reamining tho. She had slight nausea the say of the bite. Also the hospital said they didn't know what it was & could not get game & fish to come. Any guesses would be great...thanks to anyone who responds!

I would like to take a look, email me at
thurockk@aol.com

Thanks,
Bryan
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roomates:
1.0.0 anery corn "zepplin"
1.0.0 normal corn "little bub"
0.0.1 red milk "ed"
2.0.0 false map turtles "marley & harley"
0.0.1 alabama map turtle "pulchra"
0.5.0 eastern garters

If it was a "Water mocassin" (aka Cottonmouth) it would have caused much more serious side effects. Sounds like some sort of water snake, which is completely harmless except when harassed. Not really sure of the locality, kinda looks like a Northern Water but I'm not very familiar with snakes outside of Ohio.

They can be easily moved with gloves, a trashcan, and a stick for next time.
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Current Collection:
0.1 Antherystic Elaphe Guttata Guttata - Corn Snake
1.0 Elaphe Vulpina Gloydi - Eastern Fox Snake
0.1 Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta - Black Rat Snake
0.1 Leucistic Elaphe Obsoleta Linheimeri - Texas Ratsnake
1.1 Morelia Spilota Cheyni - Jungle Carpet Python

That is what I thought. It is much too skinny and the shape just isn't right for Agkistrodon. I believe the lady had the whole pain and numbness idea cooked up in her head.
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Andy Maddox
AIM: thekingofproduct
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

"A yellow ribbon instead of a swastika. Nothin' proper about ya propaganda. Fools follow rules when the set commands ya. Said it was blue when ya blood was red. That's how ya got a bullet blasted through ya head"- Rage Against the Machine

Yeah I agree with you there. After looking more closely, it looks a little like a plain bellied water snake. Thanks!

pic

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roomates:
1.0.0 anery corn "zepplin"
1.0.0 normal corn "little bub"
0.0.1 red milk "ed"
2.0.0 false map turtles "marley & harley"
0.0.1 alabama map turtle "pulchra"
0.5.0 eastern garters

pic2

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roomates:
1.0.0 anery corn "zepplin"
1.0.0 normal corn "little bub"
0.0.1 red milk "ed"
2.0.0 false map turtles "marley & harley"
0.0.1 alabama map turtle "pulchra"
0.5.0 eastern garters

pic3

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roomates:
1.0.0 anery corn "zepplin"
1.0.0 normal corn "little bub"
0.0.1 red milk "ed"
2.0.0 false map turtles "marley & harley"
0.0.1 alabama map turtle "pulchra"
0.5.0 eastern garters

pic4

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roomates:
1.0.0 anery corn "zepplin"
1.0.0 normal corn "little bub"
0.0.1 red milk "ed"
2.0.0 false map turtles "marley & harley"
0.0.1 alabama map turtle "pulchra"
0.5.0 eastern garters

Belly looks like Nerodia rhombifer to me.
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roomates:
1.0.0 anery corn "zepplin"
1.0.0 normal corn "little bub"
0.0.1 red milk "ed"
2.0.0 false map turtles "marley & harley"
0.0.1 alabama map turtle "pulchra"
0.5.0 eastern garters

I really would rule out the possibility that it is a cottonmouth also. First off she would have been much worse off, second it doesnt look like one. check out a cottonmouth here.

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/fl-guide/Agkistrodonpconanti.htm
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

Battling ignorance one stupid person at a time.

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat(Lola)
1.0 Neonate Black Rat (het for Lic Stk's) (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds ("Bill" and "The Bride aka Beatrix Kiddo"

You can't judge the species based on the bite though. A very weark/dry bite can cause some weak symptoms as far as I recall. In my opinion the symptoms were all in her head. She believed she had been tagged by a venomous snake and probably was freaking out and just sort of believed things were going on that weren't.
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Andy Maddox
AIM: thekingofproduct
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

"A yellow ribbon instead of a swastika. Nothin' proper about ya propaganda. Fools follow rules when the set commands ya. Said it was blue when ya blood was red. That's how ya got a bullet blasted through ya head"- Rage Against the Machine

I was wondering about it. I definitely feel like it is Nerodia, but it is just so dark and I don't have my guides that have the ventral shots.
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Andy Maddox
AIM: thekingofproduct
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

"A yellow ribbon instead of a swastika. Nothin' proper about ya propaganda. Fools follow rules when the set commands ya. Said it was blue when ya blood was red. That's how ya got a bullet blasted through ya head"- Rage Against the Machine

it's definately a water snake. I have caught bandeds that were so dark you couldn't even see the bands. What kind of loon makes up things like their limbs going numb and burning when there is no possible way that it took place. Maybe she should be hit in the head with a shovel a few times to knock some sanity in her. it's a shame peole that post on here can't tell the difference between a water snake and as cottonmouth. LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME!!!!!!!!

A dark individual but it is N. rhombifer without a doubt.
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Pierson Hill

Herpetology and Herpetoculture

It sure looks like Nerodia to me, although since the head is so mangled and the snake is so dark that I could be wrong. Not heavy bodied enough for a moccasin. Too round of a head. Belly doesn't look right for a cottonmouth. Looks to me just like a nonvenomous water snake (Nerodia). What part of the country are you in?
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Andy Maddox
AIM: thekingofproduct
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

"A yellow ribbon instead of a swastika. Nothin' proper about ya propaganda. Fools follow rules when the set commands ya. Said it was blue when ya blood was red. That's how ya got a bullet blasted through ya head"- Rage Against the Machine

North Arkansas.....

Definitely Nerodia. Probably sipedon pleuralis, the Midland Watersnake, judging from the belly markings. The critter was in its shed cycle, obfuscating the markings quite a bit. The attached site has info & photos of the cottonmouth.

~~Greg~~
Florida's Venomous Snakes

Looks like nerodia I've encountered in the Heber Springs area and the Eureka Springs area--two Ozark Mt. locales in different parts of the state.
regards,
althea

This looks like either a Midland or Northern water snake to me. When they attain adult hood, they start getting dark and keep getting darker with age. We have them here in in KY and most fishermen swear they are cotton mouths, even though cotton mouths do not range up into this part of KY (Hardin county). The snake pictured is not near heavy bodied enough to be a cotton mouth, the cotton mouth is very heavy bodied and its tail most of the time looks very short and stubby.

I would need to know where this snake was found in order to better narrow it down.

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1.0 Corn snake (KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes (MO locale)
1.0 Eastern Yellow Belly racer (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Yellow rat snake (Dwight Good stock)
1.1 California king snake (Coastal phase)
1.0 Prairie king snake (KY locale)
0.1 Black king snake (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern Milk snake (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern/Red milk intergrade (KY locale)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian