Help ID'ing??

[Astra_Valyesky]

This little guy was brought into Biology a few weeks ago from the wilds, they believe he is a milk snake, but the markings just don't match up.

He's aweful mean (but he is wild) though his teeth feel more like velcro than a real bite.

When alarmed he beats his tailtip off of whatever he's resting on to make a rattling sound and when he goes to bite (as he's mostly bluff) he exhales sharply in a hiss, his underside reflects rainbows (yes this sounds odd but it's very very true) and he uses his tail as a whip. Tongue is black.

Colours (as pictures are bad) are light grey on the hed mixing to light browninsh tan with dark brown spot markings (that are outlined in black)

On his head there is a dark brown/grey strip from front of eye to front of eye, black lines that mark off the tip of his snout with a dark brow blotch between his eyes.

His eyes are light brown/grey with a visible black iris and they do move up down and all around in their sockets...

<.< >.> anyone have any clues?

Size comparison is with my Isengard (whose age I'm not all that sure of, 3 months mrrhaps as I don't know how young they sell BP's)

..if the pictures attach..which they won't....aaaah well, linkage time

[Jeanne]

My 2 cents.


First of all, that is NOT a milk snake. Wrong coloring and milk snakes do NOT have fangs. The snake you left pics of has fangs. And just looking at it, I am making an educated guess..looks like a baby copper head..in that case, get rid of it NOW. THEY ARE POISONOUS!!! Where I grew up we had copper heads and I have seen a great many of them, that looks like a copper head to me. I left a link for you to compare it to a copper head, the colors match and so does the checkered belly.
http://sites.state.pa.us/Fish/copprhe.htm


Here is another link, this is an Osage copper head, looks just like what you have.
http://www.geocities.com/copperheadjunkie/OsageJH.jpg

[Astra_Valyesky]

erm...I doubt he's a baby copperhead its stated "[Copperhead] babies, like all hemotoxic snakes, look like miniature duplicates of the adult in every way. Typically, a bright yellow or lime green tail tip is seen on the young"

It also doesn't resemble any form of venemous snake (and as its bit me and fellow peers and my Biology teacher isn't a fool - I doubt it is venemous, just nasty)

And he doesn't have fangs, his teeth are much akin to a python's, rows of hard...prickly..things, those two lines going down his upper jaws are..o.o;; well I don't know what they are, but they are't fangs.

:-D thanks for the idea though, I wish he was a copperhead, then I'd have less trouble sending him back to the wilds (which is becoming more doubtful)

[Jeanne]

I dont know what else to tell ya, but if it came from the wild, I would set it back out since thats where it belongs. The only other thing i can think of is some type of rat snake like critter, but I am not sure if there are any there where you are.

[Astra_Valyesky]

Snakes should always be returned to where they were taken from, and he's been captive for quite awhile, and yes I've begun doting on him. Plus I can't just throw him somewhere not knowing.

I found a NEAR match in the Glossy Snake

http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/tx...a.elegans.html

Save that they state the belly (ventral side) should be unmarked whereas my boy is semi-checkered and rainbowish. But everything else (save that he's from Texas and I'm in the middle of PA) down to the black line from jaw to eye and the white stripe on the head (neck to head) is...correct...

so maybe its just a juvenile thing with the belly?

[BallKingdom]

Hey, thats a black rat you got there. A nice one too. If you're going to keep it, cool. But if not try and let it go soon so it can hibernate.

Judging by the size, granted I'm not too great with colubrids, I'd say it's 5 months.

Congrats.

[Astra_Valyesky]

I'd rather like to keep him, guess I better go hit the books about Rat Snakes.

Also I don't belive he's a _black_ Rat snake as they are "Exceedingly rare in Massachusetts, black rat snakes have been found only in the Connecticut Valley and southern Worcester County, where they occupy rocky ledges and forested hillsides."

and I'm in PA. Also he's not all black at all...though the head matches up so I'm still thinking Rat Snake.

Any tips?

[BallKingdom]

I found one once in Maine, southern Maine tho.

Is it a kind of greyish color?

[Astra_Valyesky]

He/She's head is a very light grey which blends out to a creamish tan base color (the color the markings appear to rest on) while his markings are dark brown (they tend to be a uniform shape crossing from one side of him to the other over his spine as rounded rectangles - then on both sides of him on his middle side are circles, then at his very bottom and belly pale brow/grey box-like marks, each marking getting more small than the first)

He has a light brown/tan/cream line from the back of his scull to a few scale lines down (exactly like they show in the Glossy Snake photo)

and his belly reflects rainbows nearly like spilled oil would.