Another snake ID please

14 years ago

I know you can help me here Marcia. Started working again and have really missed talking with all you guys....

Anywho, was stepping outside this morning and this little critter raised up, with it's mouth open and tried to strike me while his tail shook. It's underside is all white with red dots. I've seen baby black racers, but never this guy.

Again, thanks in advance and I promise to check in more often.

Sue.

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Comments (6)

laura1
14 years ago
sounds like...looks like...and acts like a baby black racer.
I COULD be wrong...let's hear from the expert.
yuliana
14 years ago
I am paranoid about snakes too...

From what I read, if a snake has round pupils, it's not poisonous. That's all it matters to me. Would appreciate someone confirming that.
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gatormomx2
14 years ago
From the link below :
" Young Black Racers, though thin like the adults, have an overall appearance much different than adults. Juvenile Black Racers have a series of reddish to brown colored blotches down the middle of their backs on a background color of gray. They also have abundant small, dark specks on their sides and bellies (Fig. 16). Because of these mid-dorsal blotches, juveniles are sometimes confused with the venomous Pygmy Rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius), which also has blotches down the center of its back. However, Pygmy Rattlesnakes have much heavier bodies and stocky heads with a dark band from the eye to the corner of the jaw."

Here is a link that might be useful: Black Snakes
suegrew
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks GatormomX2 and everyone else. As many of you know, I'm not a big fan of snakes and I knew if I posted a photo, you guys would come to my rescue.
Again, thanks so much. This forum truly is the best. Now I can rest easy and not freak out if I see another one of these guys. This one just seemed so aggressive, I wanted to be sure.
Sue.
cjc45
14 years ago
The behavior sounds like a black racer, that "rattlesnake lunge" is how they catch prey.
manature
14 years ago
I agree with everyone else. Baby black racer. Totally harmless.

Yuliana, most vipers and other venomous snakes (but not ALL) do have vertical pupils, while non-venomous snakes have round ones. However, it isn't always easy to see the pupils of a snake's eyes. It's much better to be familiar with the 4 basic types of venomous snakes we have in Florida. If it's not one of them, you don't have to worry. And they are all 4 pretty EASY to ID.

You'll notice I use the term "venomous" instead of "poisonous" when talking about snakes. That is because poison is something you ingest...you EAT a poisonous mushroom, for instance. Venom is something that is injected into you, via fangs or stingers, (like snakes and bees). So snakes aren't poisonous. At least none that I know of. You can eat rattlesnake meat all day long and it won't poison you. But some of them ARE venomous, and CAN inject you with a toxic venom.

Voila...your biology lesson for the day, haha.

Marcia