Reptile & Amphibian Forums

First I apologize that I killed it but my family was freaking out.

I suppose it is a young snake. This one is about 10" long. Another one found 3 weeks ago was about 6" long so we worry that we have a nest in the house. I was not home but a neighbor came by and removed it. He said it was a Copperhead. But when I searched the internet the identifying markings for a young Copperhead is a bright yellow tail which this one does not have.

The picture is blurry so until I can post another one -- it is brownish with darker stripes running the length of the body.

Thanks for any help in identification and also advise on the habits of this species. That is; should be hire a professional to take care of our problem or will habits and wintertime take care of our problem that they will leave the house on their own?

I can't identify the snake by the picture, but I can tell you as a Houston resident and herper for most of my life that the two most common brown snakes found in th residential areas are the Rough earth snake (which I used to find literally by the hundreds in peoples flower beds or by simply pulling the grass away from a houses foundation) and the Dekays snake. Both are small, terrestial snakes that are completely harmless. I can almost guarantee that your snake was one of those.
I can fully guarantee, however, that the snake in your picture is not a baby copperhead.
Cheers!

Good to know that it is not a Copperhead. But I looked up internet pictures of a Rough Earth and Dekays and I don't think that either are the snakes I have because these snakes have head diameter the same as the body however my snakes definitely have bigger /triangular heads.

Another feature that was noticable in the first one, being in the open on tile in the kitchen is that it moved sideways. The second one moved forward but it was traveling against the wall.

Thank for the quick input.

Houston Area,

On smooth surfaces....like tiles, glass etc most snakes "Sidewind" this tends to make them move in a a direction about 45 degrees to the left or right of directly in front of the animal.

Regards,

Scott Eipper

Before you mangled it, it was a completely harmless, Texas Brown Snake. They are very common in Houston and frequently live in gardens and occasionally show up in houses.

They are totally harmless and shouldn't be killed. They live in the garden and eat slugs and worms. If they are picked up, they simply do not bite.

I grew up in Houston and saw many snakes that people assured me were Copperheads. These included ratsnakes, hognosed snakes, racers, brownsnakes, 3 species of watersnakes, 2 species of Kingsnake, and even a ribbonsnake once. It appears any snake becomes a Copperhead in the Houston area.

Oddly enough, I hardly ever saw a copperhead in the years I herped around W and SW Houston. I'm sure they are reasonably common on the north and northeast side of town, but in the west and southwest sides, they aren't easy snakes to find!

Here's a pic of a Texas Brownsnake from College Station.

and here is a Southern Copperhead from north of Houston

They really don't look anything like each other.
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Chris Harrison

Chris has, as usual, nailed it. The only thing I can add is that it is a pretty reliable rule-of-thumb that any snake you see in North America that has stripes running the length of the body is non-venomous.

~~Greg~~

thank you for the help and I deserve the "mangled" comment.

So if they like garden insects and worms then any idea why they are in the house and growing? We do pest control for roaches so unless they like occasional spiders or ants then I don't know where they are getting food inside. Could they have come from a nest inside and they are trying to find their way outside? Will the season change (if Houston has one)be more apt to keep them inside or drive them outside?

Houston Area,

They don't live in nests..as for food...they would still find enough from the insects/arachnids living around the house.

My personal recommendation is as follows....if you find a snake..leave it alone....if its in the house...call a professional...the truth is most people who get bitten by snakes are doing one of 2 things..trying to catch the snake or trying to kill it.

Use common sense,

Scott Eipper

I have to disagree with them not being common around west Houston. It was not uncommon for us to see 2 or so per outing and I believe Scott once found something like 8 in 2 days. I have found them as far into the city as the villages and have a friend who regularly sees them in Memorial Park and IMO they are definitely more common in the city than leucostoma.
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Andy Maddox
AIM: thekingofproduct
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

"Some things will never change. They just stand there looking backwards. Half-unconsious from the pain. They may seem rearranged. In the backwater swirling. There is something that'll never change-The Meat Puppets"

It's very possible they are just coming into your house to keep warm at night or cool during the day. Using your house as a nice shlter, then trying to find thier way back out. Which is probably when you would acutally see them moving about.
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Crazy ZooLady

Okay, maybe I am just short on patience, but it is extremely ignorant to mistake a Dekay's brown snake for a copperhead. And even if it was a copperhead that's no reason to kill it. if snake enters your house and you don't know what it is, find out or get someone who can take five minutes to look it up before bashing its head in. A Dekay is about as harmful and threatening as an earthworm.

You have no idea how many snake calls I went on in Houston over the past few years where copperheads suddenly and mysteriously changed into brown snakes lol. It is very ignorant, but any brown snake, be it earthworm size or larger, is pretty much a cottonmouth or a copperhead to the general populace.
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Andy Maddox
AIM: thekingofproduct
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

"Some things will never change. They just stand there looking backwards. Half-unconsious from the pain. They may seem rearranged. In the backwater swirling. There is something that'll never change-The Meat Puppets"

What always gets me is how proud people are of themselves for confronting and killing these "deadly" animals without any help from a professional.

That would complete my list of venomous Texas snakes that I have successfully and safely kept and fed. I must live a little too far west here in cactus country. I was thinking of looking around the Bastrop area before it gets too cold. I saw one at the State Park there before. Beautiful animal.

Copperheads are beautiful and they make good pets too, just don't get bit. They're not considered deadly, but you'll still get a nasty infection, trust me I know.