True, it may be a rat snake, but... do rat snakes rattle the end of their tails like a rattler would? That's what really threw me (after I thought about it). I mean... do ALL snakes do that when aggrivated? O.o?

Unfortunately from this photo it is hard to tell. It is a dark colubrid and not a venomous snake. If I was to make an educated guess, I would say Jackson's Treesnake (Thrasops jacksonii).

Susan ... The clues that it's not one of the Florida venomous snakes, in no particular order - 1 - long SKINNY body (cottonmouths and timber rattlers are fat-bodied) 2 - rounded blunt snout (not the triangular pit viper head) 3 - no rattles (not a rattlesnake) 4 - not brightly banded (not coral snake) It's being amazingly cooperative for a racer. They are well known for being grumpy and biting when handled. ============== PS: If you aren't certain what kind of snake you have ... don't mess with it to take pictures!

Agree with trickyputt. Familiarize your family with the visual characteristics of poisonous snakes and you should be good to go. One good way to make sure it is not a copperhead is to use Google Images to find pictures of copperheads. Yours is clearly not a copperhead. In addition it is good to know what activity you can get away with when you see a snake. Viper type snakes coil up, strike, and release to attack their prey. They need to be coiled up before they can strike. They do not need to be coiled to bite, but in order to lash out at prey, then need to coil. Some other snakes, coral snakes for example, do not coil and do not strike like vipers. They need to bite and chew on their prey. Side note: I started living in rural areas about 5 years ago. The first night staying in a friend's mobile home I saw a huge rattler. It was at night and with a flashlight, they have a very weird glow to them. I did not approach. After I moved to my own house I was walking my dog one night. She is blind and is very well coordinated. I noticed she seemed to briefly get tangled up in something as we walked along the street, so I investigated. It was a coral snake (red on yellow) about a foot long. Got a shovel from a neighbor and killed that one. Then just this past weekend I saw about a 2-3 ft black snake on my front walk. I approached to get it to move away from the door. It easily scooted/slithered into some taller grass in front.