Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I live just north of Dallas, and we found this guy in the garden in front of the house. I was thinking garter, but most garter snakes that I have seen have the long striped pattern, whereas this one has a more bluish/brown pattern on it's back, which fades to a dull brown at the tail and a bright yellow under it's head, which also fades to brown towards the tail. He is VERY aggressive, striking repeatedly anytime you get close to him. Any help in identifying would be appreciated. The following link is the best I can do at this hour, just click at the top of the page, click on photos, and there are 3 there to look at, which will hopefully help in identification. Thanks again.
Link to photos

That is a racer. I believe the one that is in that area is the eastern yellow-bellied, Coluber constrictor flaviventris. The mottled/blotched pattern is typical of juvie racers. They lose the pattern generally in the first year.

~~Greg~~

Thanks Greg. After doing a little looking around at that species, you are right on the money. I found a site that has a picture of another specimen that is between juvenile and adult stages and it looks exactly as mine. Thanks again.
The other site with pic if interested

That's what we, and this site are here for. ~~Greg~~
Venomous Snakes of Florida