Found this little snake in house, any experts?

[Dan44]

About 8-9 inches. found in basement. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/Dan44/snake.jpg

[lavochkin]

Looks kind of like a rat snake. Not poisonous and helps control vermin.

[Diesel]

Corn snake ~

:cupjoe:

[Woodworker]

looks alike a young corn/rat snake, although the pattern is very Garter-like. What part of the country are you in?

[Dan44]

Maryland. Can't see how it got in. Hope not to see any of it's brothers. I took it out side and tossed it towards the woods.

[Ezra Coli]

Pretty fellow, I'd say he's not a rat or corn snake, they have more definitive spot patterns. He's one of the dozens of snakes that get regionally called garden snake. garter snake, ground snake, grass snake, etc. There are actually many many variations of basic "grass snake", all distinct species but many look similar or have similar color phases.

Do a google image search for some of these:

"Storeria dekayi dekayi" or Northern Brownsnake
"Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata" or Northern Red-bellied Snake
"Tantilla coronata" or Southeastern Crowned Snake
"Thamnophis sauritus sauritus" or Eastern Ribbonsnake
"Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis" or Eastern Gartersnake
"Virginia striatula" or Rough Earthsnake

Yours doesn't look like an Earthsnake, but who knows. And although your guy doesn't look like a ribbon snake either he may be a similar, don't know about Maryland but ribbon snakes here can get two or three feet long.

[Ezra Coli]

Here's your guys I think, an Eastern Garter:

http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/VHS/egarter3.jpg

[KWB52]

its a northern brown snake.

[Lynch]

Originally posted by Ezra Coli
Here's your guys I think, an Eastern Garter:

http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/VHS/egarter3.jpg

Bingo.

The coloration just varries by region... which makes the markings vary from more to less distinct.

Used to catch them all the time as a kid... daughter caught one in the yard just last year.

Careful... their only real defense machanism is to poop on you. ;)

Lynch

[powerkicker]

That looks like the dreaded Lesser Carolinian Rattle-Headed Copper-Mocassin...You are DOOMED!:eek: ;)

[hootch]

Looks like either a rat or corn snake to me.

[Jose`-K47]

We call em corn snakes around here.

If it's not a water-moccasin, a copper head or a rattler, it's automatically a corn, milk, or rat snake. If it's green, its a grass-snake.

:drink:

[Lysander]

Is it an Alabama black snake?

[Dafapa]

Originally posted by powerkicker
That looks like the dreaded Lesser Carolinian Rattle-Headed Copper-Mocassin...You are DOOMED!:eek: ;)


Yeah, be careful with it. I've had to kill quite a few of those before.

[Halfcocked]

Originally posted by KWB52
its a northern brown snake.

You are correct sir! We have a bunch of them around here. Actually about a month ago I stumbled across a nest of them, probably 18 total. I believe they are a close relative of the Garder snake, since they do have very similar patterns. I've had a couple as pets when I was a kid. They don't get very big (largest I saw was ~24"). BTW, my reference was the Audobon (sp?) Society Guide of North American Reptiles & Amphibians.

Also, those of you that said Corn snake, here's a real one...http://www.gunsnet.net/album/uploads//6093/cornsnake1.jpg

The corn snakes do make good pets. I got one about a year ago.

[HellTeeOne]

Looks to be an Earth Snake.

[zouavexx]

As an amature herpetologist I can confidently say that its an anaconda.



J/K ;)

[Woodworker]

Halfcocked, This is also a corn snake...

http://www.gunsnet.net/album/data//500/2331stripedcorn.jpg

[Woodworker]

2 of them in fact ;)

[Halfcocked]

Originally posted by Woodworker
2 of them in fact ;)

Yep they come in a lot of colors. Never saw ones like that though.

Here is also a link for the brown snakes...http://www.herpnet.net/Minnesota-Herpetology/snakes/Brown_snake.html Patterns and colors on them vary a bit too.

[Smegma]

Well, it's not a one-eyed trouser snake.

[Woodworker]

Originally posted by Smegma
Well, it's not a one-eyed trouser snake.

That would be a hell of a thing to find laying on the floor in your basement ;)

[tech673zz]

Dan44 - You a brave man in my book if you actually caught that thing. :eek:

[fun with guns]

In my 23 years in SE WI I have never seen a snake in the wild and I live in a wooded valley area.

[1darksoul]

Its just a baby

It's a harmless garter snake. Turn him loose in your garden.

[Country]

Originally posted by Halfcocked
You are correct sir! We have a bunch of them around here. Actually about a month ago I stumbled across a nest of them, probably 18 total. I believe they are a close relative of the Garder snake, since they do have very similar patterns. I've had a couple as pets when I was a kid. They don't get very big (largest I saw was ~24"). BTW, my reference was the Audobon (sp?) Society Guide of North American Reptiles & Amphibians.

Also, those of you that said Corn snake, here's a real one...http://www.gunsnet.net/album/uploads//6093/cornsnake1.jpg

The corn snakes do make good pets. I got one about a year ago.

Halfcocked, that looks pretty much like what we call milk snakes around here. They're good snakes. If you've got mice in the house or barn they'll beat mouse traps or cats hands down.

[Ezra Coli]

The thing about snakes is there are so many regional variants of the same species that it makes it hard to tell similar species apart. The basic common strains of both Milk and Corn snakes are similar and very pretty little dudes, like the pic above.

We have earthsnakes in my garden, lots of them, and they are solid reddish brown, almost maroon on top, and yellowish white undersides. Very basic snakes, but fun for my son (and dad) to play with. We turned up a nest of them last year, 20 or so young ones and a larger mama snake, it was like holding living spaghetti. They put off a musky odor, but they are cool little critters.

When I was a kid we used to catch ribbon snakes, they were always the best ones to catch because once you got them they were docile and nifty little beauties. A big one I had cornered reared up once and gave me a nasty bite, but even he calmed down once I had him.

And even though I've been bit 3 times by moccasins (OK, cottonmouths for you herptologists), still I love snakes.:)

[Ezra Coli]

Hmmm, I wonder if a snake in my attic would help the rat problem. :D

[Ezra Coli]

Can you mailorder corn snakes as pets? My son loves anmals and I think we might like to look at a snake for him.

[Jose`-K47]

Yeh, we don't kill that sort of thing around here either. They're fun to play with though. They're pretty dosile, even if you pick them up.

Hint: Don't do this to all copper/yellow colored snakes.

:drink:

[Country]

Originally posted by Ezra Coli
Hmmm, I wonder if a snake in my attic would help the rat problem. :D

Probably would. A long time ago I was living in an old farmhouse in Vermont and two milk snakes moved into the attic for the winter. Not a mouse or rat to be found. Walked into the bathroom one day and there was one of them stretched out on the bathtub rail sunning itself. Left it alone. They were doing a good job.

[Halfcocked]

Originally posted by Ezra Coli
Can you mailorder corn snakes as pets? My son loves anmals and I think we might like to look at a snake for him.

You can mail order them. http://www.kingsnakes.com/forum/ This site has a classified section and I saw them for as little as $11 each (shipping usually is a killer though). Pet shop prices are usually $40-$50 (I paid $40 for mine). They breed corns in many colors, from albinos, to dark colors. Mine is the best snake I've owned (I also have now, 2 king snakes, a garter snake and a black rat snake). It is a good eater, doesn't bite or musk and isn't real jumpy like some of the other snakes out there. They only get 3-4 foot long too, so they won't be too much of a handful. A local pet place may also order one for you.

Sorry, wrong link above... This one has a section on corn snakes for sale in the classifieds...http://market.kingsnake.com/index.php?index.html

[SLR-95 Dude]

I had several as pets when I was a kid (Red Rat Snake or Corn Snake). I finally get rid of them when I had to raise mice to feed them.
Probably the best snake pet one can find. Very friendly and wouldn't bite anyone.

[RebFootCav]

Originally posted by Ezra Coli
Can you mailorder corn snakes as pets? My son loves anmals and I think we might like to look at a snake for him.

This might be somewhere to start. I started checking out some of their forums, once I bought a corn for the OL.

http://www.serpenco.com/shop/customer/

They seem to have a few for sale as well, But I have never ordered anything from them. I usually buy from my local guy's shop.

Just keep in mind, that snakes are little Harry Houdinie's and will likely espape if you lack anything in it's cage. One big enough for your rats, will get you in the local news if it escapes....LOL :eek:

[Dan44]

Originally posted by tech673
Dan44 - You a brave man in my book if you actually caught that thing. :eek:

Not really. I lived in central Florida for ten years and lost my fear of them. They're every where down there.

[Woodworker]

I second Serpenco.com, Rich is a good guy, also runs faunaclassifieds.com

WW

[rgaper]

The gf and I came across this snake two weeks ago while bicycling Pine Creek Canyon in northcentral PA. It was about 2.5-3 feet long. Milk/corn snake?

http://www.gunsnet.net/album/data//500/15406DSC08204-med.JPG

[Lynch]

The chestnut markings are indicative of a milk snake... I'd actually have to view the scales on the head to confirm positively.

Milks are a variety of King snake. In my opinion, one of the most beneficial of species and outstanding pets.

Lynch

[rgaper]

Originally posted by Lynch
The chestnut markings are indicative of a milk snake... I'd actually have to view the scales on the head to confirm positively.

Milks are a variety of King snake. In my opinion, one of the most beneficial of species and outstanding pets.

Lynch

Here ya go! I believed it to be a milk snake, but the one I'd seen previously was far more reddish than this one.

http://www.gunsnet.net/album/data//500/15406DSC08202-med.JPG

[Lynch]

Milk Snake.

Lynch

[rgaper]

Originally posted by Lynch
Milk Snake.

Lynch

Thank you sir!

"Them ther woods" in that area have some pretty big snakes. Even the garter snakes get big. I guess it's because of the climate?