What kind of snake is this????

“I saw this snake kind of sunning on an island in the middle of the Mississippi, by a rock pile by a lock and dam. Lots of fishermen there, so I assume it gets a lot to eat with their leftovers.



AND HERE IT IS ENLARGED AND CROPPED

”

“To me, it looks like a banded water snake. An adult gets to 36 inches so that one might be a younger one.”

“It's some type of common water snake.

http://herpcenter.ipfw.edu/index.htm?http://herpcenter.ipfw.edu/outreach/MWsnakes.htm&2
last edited: 5/29/06 7:34:13 AM”

“Definitely a Mambo.”

“Looks like a Real Esnake, they usually hide near Real Esnake signs.”

“It looks pretty close to the Northern Water Snake on that site I found...



”

“I agree with deadNBloated (what a name), note the similarities of the head to your specimen
last edited: 5/29/06 10:20:54 AM”

“PHEW! I was coming up on it where it lay... and stepped on its tail, which did NOT appear to have rattles. (I know... I know... ALWAYS better to PLAY with it and THEN figure out what type of snake it is! LOL!)

So it was slithering away. I wanted to go toward the dam and was paralleling it and it kind of did a mini-lunge at me! HOLY SHEEYAT!!! Then I got worried. (But not worried enough to NOT take its picture. :-)

You see it also does looks vaguely like a timber rattler.

Glad to hear its a water snake.”

“I see it also said this about it, which jives with my slightly skeery experience:

The species are almost always found in or adjacent to water. They prefer slow flowing water, but can easily swim and maneuver in strong currents. When disturbed or threatened they can be very aggressive and will strike out.”

“.....and you had to go and mess with it!”

“We had a little girl of about six get bitten by a snake this weekend. She stepped on it & it bit her hand quite badly. It left fang marks & bruising. We think it was just a bull snake although we did not see it ourselves. There are no rattlers or other poisonous snakes near "our" lake, but there are lots of other snakes due to the rocks lining the shore.

Anyway, this was an immigrant family, fairly uneducated, & they were totally freaking out. They wanted to go to the hospital but we said she probably should just see her regular doctor on Tuesday, to make sure her shots were all up to date, and that she was not getting an infection from the puncture wounds. We helped them to wash the girl's hand off & applied some antibiotic ointment, & gave them a bag of ice to reduce the swelling.

I felt very sorry for the poor little girl, she was crying, and I think her parents' (over) reaction scared her even more than the snake did.”

“You peeps are full of beans....

The immortal writer Lewis Grizzard taught me all I need to know about snakes. He said that there is but 1 kind of snake, and it is the dreaded Copperheaded Water Rattler. Lewis said that those bad boys can swim, climb trees, open doors and windows, and drive vehicles just to come and bite you.”

“I've always hated the car-driving snakes of the south!”

“
On the way to bite lizs!”

“It's definitely a lizseater.”

“that's a mississippi river island rock pile lock and dam snake”

“On the way to a trip this weekend the topic of snakes came up. It was 2 dads and 2 lads on a trip. I mentioned all the copperheads at Sipsey and we'd need to watch the boys. He said his wife was bitten by one, once upon a time. He's originally from Indiana. He said he tells his friends that his wife was bitten and that they had to change churches. He's the type of guy that can say something like that with a dead serious expression. I thought it was pretty funny that he'd tell folks that.”

“why do those stories always start "there was this guy from indiana"
last edited: 5/30/06 8:01:39 AM”

“I should add, that when he's talking with his friends or family from Indiana he tells that story. In other words, everything you've heard about Alabama is true!”

“http://www.wkrg.com/news/article/snake_at_subway/13610/


scarey stuff!!!!”

“Lol! Knowing me, I'd have tried to bring it home as a pet.”

“We have a pair of black racers out in the stonewall patio area.

My wife keeps a journal of nature type stuff, was recording the arrival of the Baltimore Orioles, blooming of the apples trees etc when she noted that this day last year she spotted the snakes for the first time.

This morning was warm and fairly sunny so she snuck out of a look.


Two racers, one on each side of the patio steps. They rattle leaves with their tail when disturbed (which can be a little disconcerting if you aren't familiar with them).

They spotted her and retreated into the wall.


Last year I found and kept one of their skins, perfectly intact. 5'5".”

“I would almost have taken a black rat snake at one point not too long ago. We got a cat instead. I think my wife is happier with that choice but them rat snakes are fearsome rodent hunters.”

“i had a black rat snake once”

“Cool! They'll keep your garden clean.”

“They also like to snack on little kittens.”

“Good snakkin'!”

“mine escaped. i lived on a canyon. plenty of vermin. it was either et or et well”

“Was out on a little (but welcome) backpacking trip over the weekend. I placed a geocache while out. Here is what happened today, to the first person to attempt to find it!

Link that includes photo:
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=2bc2bd26-0871-4f7e-9010-0b6e74f14baf

Log Date: 5/12/2008
DNF, but had a lot of fun anyway.

I was here once before, at this exact spot and thought then that this would be an ideal spot for a cache. I was here in search of the LAGRAC'S GRAND CELEBRATION, V2.0 cache, and walked in on the same trail to this spot. Upon getting here, I found that I had not taken the best route to that cache, and had to scramble down the bluff to GZ for that one last summer, even though there is a much easier way to get to that one.

Anyway, when I saw this one pop up, knowing I had to go to La Crosse today, I relished the chance to return, and show WI Robin the great view. Love the spot.

I DID NOT love the fact that I couldnt find the cache. I liked the spot enough that we looked for it for over an hour, before I finally listened to reason and gave up. The coords match pretty well where I would have hidden it, high up on the bluff, so I dont think I can use bad coords as an excuse. I guess I am just blind, as I looked in just about every crevice within 40 - 50 feet (except the one noted below).

What I did find was a pair of large Timber Rattlesnakes about 30 feet WSW of GZ sunning themselves near their den, on the south facing bluff, about 15 - 20 feet down from the top of the ridge. Timber Rattlesnakes hibernate over the winter in rock crevices, and come out slowly when it starts to warm. We only saw 2 of the snakes, but since they are known to have communal dens over the winter, I am sure there are more in the den.

Anyway, that experience reminded me of the usefulness of a stick in digging out crevices, on order to decrease the chance of animal and snake surprises.

I steered a path 10 feet clear of the snakes. WI Robin was not so wise, inching closer and closer to get a "good" photo with the camera on my phone, which doesnt take good pics anyway. I will upload a photo, if I can.

In addition, WI Robin could not resist moving one of them with a stick, "for a better look." Man, some people just like to press their luck!!! As it was, the snakes were still pretty sluggish, so the risk was low, but I prefer to give snakes a wide berth. Googling Timber Rattlenakes, I am sure that is what they were, and have no doubt about the identification.”

“Poking a sunning rattler with a stick is my idea of a good time... yep yep... sheesh...”

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i cant be bothered”