Just found this snake in my basement. Can anyone accurately identify species?

knife hunter

knife hunter

"Die Hard Hog" Moderator & Dealer
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Just found this snake in my basement. Can anyone accurately identify species?


I fear that its a baby copperhead and that there could be more:eek:

Please tell me its some kind of rat snake as I am still packing the basement:D

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Here in Missouri that would be called a "glossy snake". Notice the solid black eye pupil? That means it is non-vemous as the pit-vipers have the split pupil .."snake eyes". But always better safe than sorry; take good care of your lovely family Trevor...;):thumbup:
 
Definitely not a copperhead, they have slits instead of round pupils. If VA is like KY all the venomous snakes are nocturnal and have "cat like" eyes.

Happy moving brother! :D
 
Sweet! I kinda hate he got stuck to the tape now, but I am sure the new owner will be happy if I never mention it;):D

Thanks guys for your assistance and support lately.:thumbup:

I am about to wrap things up and will be reunited with the family soon. Three weeks has been good, but about long enough. I look forward to all their drama;):D and soon:cool:
 
It's a young black racer - here's some info:

Common Name: Northern Black Racer
Scientific Name: Coluber constrictor constrictor
Etymology:
Genus: Coluber is Latin for "snake".
Species: constrictor is derived from the Latin words con which means "together" or "with" and strictus which means "drawn together" or "tight".
Subspecies: constrictor is derived from the Latin words con which means "together" or "with" and strictus which means "drawn together" or "tight".
Vernacular Names: American black snake, American racer snake, black chaser, black runner, blue racer, chicken snake, cow sucker, green snake, hoop snake, horse racer, slick black snake, true black snake, white-throated racer.
Average Length: 36 - 60 in. (90 - 152 cm)
Virginia Record Length: 70.7 in. (179.5 cm)
Record length: 73 in. (185.4 cm)

Virginia Fish and Wildlife Information Service: Species Booklet

Photos:

Juvenile - Prince William Co. (the adults turn more or less solid black) Obviously attracted to your snakewood-handled knives, better send them (and not the snake) to me. Best Wishes, Bloody Bill
 
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knife hunter said:
Just found this snake in my basement. Can anyone accurately identify species?


I fear that its a baby copperhead and that there could be more:eek:

Please tell me its some kind of rat snake as I am still packing the basement

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002.jpg


003.jpg
Click to expand...











That appears to be of the dead snake species. You can usually tell, by the way the head is decapitated or else you will see them on roads, flattened much like a pancake would be:eek::D
 
I am not an expert on your part of the country, T, but in addition to the eyes that others noted, the head on that snake doesn't have the triangular structure I usually would look for to identify it as poisonous.
 
Since you killed it, you probably will have rats and mice nibbling on your knife handles! I recommend distributing all your knives to other forum members to keep them safe. Let me know if I can assist you in this. :-)

The first indication for me that this was not a poisonous snake was the head shape, as raoul noted. I find that helpful, since it can usually be spotted from a distance.
 
Hey T, the last I knew, every venomous snake in the eastern United States that is dangerous to people are some form of pit viper.

This means that they have a triangular V(iper) shaped head that flares out like an arrowhead when viewed from above and the eyes have vertical slit pupils like a cat in the daylight.
Neither the head nor the eyes of that snake are indicative of anything remotely dangerous to you or your family and could have even been made into an educational pet for the kids.
That poor snake was probably doing a really good job of keeping rodents out of your basement while getting ready to survive the winter. It was probably one of the two below.

For comparison from the Virginia Herpetological Society Rat Snake vs Copperhead
rat-vs-copperhead.jpg


And compared to a black racer
racer-vs-copperhead.jpg


The only exception in America that I know of is the small rainbow colored coral snake which gets confused with harmless king or milk snakes.
The old saying that still applies in the US is red next to yellow, deadly fellow :thumbdn::eek: but red next to black, venom lack :thumbup: :D as seen in this pic).
milk-vs-copperhead.jpg

This site has good info on the coral snakes. http://www.reptilechannel.com/snakes/venomous-snakes/coral-snakes.aspx

 
Looks like the start of a nice pair of coybow boots, or, a sheath for a Busse knife. Contact Armoralleather and Dwayne will set you up.
 
Killing a little snake like that!?
Good gawd broh!!
I will never open another "snake" thread! :D
 
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