It's a Rat Snake. It looks like an intergrade between a Gray Rat Snake and a Black Rat Snake. Alabama has the Gray Rat Snake, the Black Rat Snake, and a large crossover population where the gene pools intergrade. This looks like a snake from an intergrade population. Rat Snakes are very large and harmless snakes.

I'm sooo glad someone IDed that bugger I have one just like him (maybe bigger) in my yard, watch like a hawk to make sure he is not in my way. when they (I have more one)are around I swear I feel them so I can usualy scare them away. Last week I was out potting Plants and I needed more Pots which were a little distance away from where I was working. I headed to the pots. Well I felt that there was one close by soooo I very carefully eye out as far as my eye could see, didn't see anything so I thought to self "she is in a bush somewhere so I'm not going to worry. Sooo I by now I'm at the pots. I take one step forward and all of a suddon this huge snake wraps around my leg and I just about died, nothing but blood curling scream comes out of my mouth as I doing the chicken dance and there are pots flying all over the. I know in my knower that some are not poisonous but I could still die of a heart attack. Try as I have I can't seem to not be terrified Of them. That lawn mower deal sounds realy great HEHEHE Hi Kara I went to your plant swap My plants are doing awesome! thanks sooo much for letting me come. Carmen

Definitely not a moccasin. The head is all wrong. I might be willing to agree on the black racer, but the young ones I've seen about this size (basing size on the rubble and debris) usually have more grey and more defined blotches in the pattern. Still, it could very well be one that has started darkening early... Yeah, I'll go with Juvie Racer that needs to lay off of the tanning booth. It's the only thing that really comes to mind looking at him.

Not trying to stir the pot, but both non posionous and even posionous snakes eat lots of pests we don't want in out gardens, sheds or homes. Killing them really isn't nessecary and they can be moved with a snake hook or even a shovel. Killing animals just because they are there and I don't like them seems like a poor excuse. No flame inteneded, but it would be better to throw them back in the woods. I've been bitten by a copperhead and it was my fault and I didn't kill him because he happened to be posionous and I was handling him incorrectly. I'm far from being a tree hugger, I hunt and fish, but don't think the idea of killing because you don't like an animal is very sporting. Garter snakes are great around the garden as they eat slugs and so will baby copperheads.