Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A relative almost stepped on a snake this evening, and we've been trying to identify it. If anyone can help, it would be much appreciated! The snake was seen in South Carolina, in late evening, was approximately a foot or so long, and went into an overgrown area of weeds, brush, and debri.

Sorry about the picture; the snake was moving so fast, we couldn't get a clearer picture. The head appeared to be triangular as far as we could tell, so we're afraid it's venomous and would like to know what kind it is if anyone could help.

Image

Looks like a young rat snake. Harmless.

Agreed. Young Ratsnake. Completely harmless.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Yep, definitely a harmless juvenile Ratsnake. Depending on the specific area of S. Carolina it was found in, it could either be a Black Ratsnake (P.o.obsoletus), intergrade "greenish" ratsnake (Black x Yellow (quadrivittata), or even a hatchling yellow that hasn't developed any color yet. All baby ratsnakes of the "obsoletus" complex are a grey background coloration with very defined black pattern as hatchlings, then develop differently as they mature. So it can often make precise subspecific ID dificult many times as hatchlings.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

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