Identify this Snake

Discussion in 'New Roundtable' started by KyleK, May 20, 2012.

  1. KyleK

    KyleK Who, me? Staff Member

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    Is this a bull snake?

    [​IMG]
     
  2. stevescookin

    stevescookin Certified Who Dat

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    It looks like a timber rattler to me based on the head shape and the dark band across the eye. It's hard to go by looks alone. The vipers (rattlesnakes, moccasins etc.) have a very flattened head that makes a right angle with the side of the face...producing a straight line at that junction. The snake in the picture looks like that...but I can't see a second, nasal pit in the picture.

    Non poisonous snakes can flatten their heads to mimic poisonous ones.
     
  3. stevescookin

    stevescookin Certified Who Dat

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    Probably not. here's the range....Kyle told me privately that it was in Wichita Falls Texas. and that would be rare there.

    [​IMG]
     
  4. stevescookin

    stevescookin Certified Who Dat

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    Here's a bull snake..

    [​IMG]

    could be.
     
  5. stevescookin

    stevescookin Certified Who Dat

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    Here is the most dangerous snake of all...

     
  6. KyleK

    KyleK Who, me? Staff Member

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    That looks pretty much exactly like it though. Your range is right on the edge of WF.
     
  7. martin

    martin Banned Forever

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    I thought this was another celebrity penis thread
     
  8. Herb

    Herb Founding Member

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    Could it be a hognose snake?

    [​IMG]
     
  9. stevescookin

    stevescookin Certified Who Dat

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    That's possible too but , even from the side, you can usually see that distinctive nose. That's what's hard about ID'ing a snake from a picture...you just can't see some of the distinguishing features very well.

    There's a lot of non visual cues you have to use like :
    -location and range of the snake
    -what kind of habitat it was found in
    -behavior, what it was doing
    -what their diet is and is there a lot of their prey likely to be around

    Every hog nosed snake, I ever caught has been in sandy areas. I don't know enough about their type of habitat, but that's been my experience. They're not that shy too. All snakes try to get away, but the hog noses are pretty easy to find.

    I can relate to the hog nosed snakes because of their defensive behavior. when they're cornered and about to be caught, they raise up and strike and hiss and put on a real bad a$$ act. But if you keep messing with them, they change tactics, they play dead !!

    It's almost like their thought process (if they really had thoughts) is "Don't mess with me. I'm bad...real bad...watch this !! Yea you right, I'm bad to the bone. Oh no, that giant isn't buying it...OK now I'm dead...real dead, see You don't want a dead snake right?"

    It's hysterical. they roll on their backs and their tongue hangs out their mouth. I've picked them up and flipped them over on their stomachs and they roll right back over...like they're thinking, " I told you I was dead already !!"

    I found a picture of this...

    [​IMG]

    It's a real trip... I love those snakes, they're pretty docile and if you keep one in an aquarium for a while, they're not threatened by you any more and won't play dead when company comes over.
     
  10. stevescookin

    stevescookin Certified Who Dat

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    I'm pretty sure the snake in the picture is a bull snake. The flattened top of the head, kind of threw me, but after reading this, i'm betting it's a bull snake.

    Behavior

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    [​IMG]
    Bullsnake, aggressively posturing due to feeling threatened

    Though some bullsnakes can be docile, and with some time become accustomed to handling, most bullsnakes are quite defensive and known for their perceived "bad attitude".[citation needed]
    When threatened by anything as large as a human, a bullsnake's primary defense is to rear up and make it look as large as possible. They typically then begin lunging and backtracking at the same time in order to escape.[citation needed]
    Bullsnakes are sometimes mistaken for rattlesnakes and killed by laypersons. Due to its coloration, dorsal pattern, and semi-keeled scalation; the Bullsnake superficially resembles the Western Diamondback Rattler (Crotalus atrox), which is also common within the same range. The bullsnake capitalizes on this similarity by performing a very impressive rattlesnake impression when threatened. First, it hisses, or forcibly exhales through a bisected glottis, which flaps back and forth producing a very convincing "rattle" sound. It will also take on a rattlesnake-like "S-curve" body posture, as if it is going to strike. The bullsnake will commonly vibrate its tail rapidly amongst the brush or leaves, and flatten its head to make it take on a more characteristic triangular-shaped head of the rattlesnake. These defensive behaviors are meant to scare away threats, however, not sound an attack.[citation needed]
    In contrast to rattlesnakes, which usually keep their tail elevated in order to sound the most efficient rattle, bullsnakes tend to keep their tail in contact with the ground, in order to beat it against something to make a sound.[citation needed]
    Their rattlesnake mimicry is so impressive that it is sometimes the bullsnake's very undoing when discovered by humans.
     

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