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Snake id

3473 Views 14 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  Island Man
Don't have a pic. Saw a snake yesterday fishing in the neuse river around ft barnwell. Best pics online match to an eastern garter snake(the back was small hatch type patterned between stripes, not blotch patterned like a water snake), but this one was easily 5' long. It was swimming a creek and climbed a cypress in the creek center. Does anyone have a better fit ID? I took herp in college but don't remember any looking like this one. First one I have seen while fishing, whatever it was.
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This is a garter. A bigger one at that. I doubt it was a garter if it was close to 5 feet long. If it was indeed 5' it would be an impressive specimen.
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Orange belly water snake? These are probably the most common water snake in the area. A cotton mouth swims with its head out the water a ways.
Cotton Mouth would probably be a bit wide, I'm thinking rat snake, they come it many colors and patterns.
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I am very well versed on the cottonmouth and red belly snakes. It definitely was not either of those. It did look similar to the garter pic, but the stripes were not that pronounced, and of course it was long. That rat snake pic is very close in coloration of the body and likewise the patterning, except that there were no darker blotches. Due to that, and it's sheer abundance, maximum lengths and variations, I think I will study a few more pics of the dreaded "chicken snake".

it really seems like any time there is a question of ID, it is 80% of the time a rat snake, and the rest are brown water snakes. But of course for all my family and friends they are ALL moccasins and copperheads. :D

Thanks guys. Thanks for that pic frudaddy.
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Well didn't take long. Apparently I saw my first yellow rat snake.up to now I had only seen black. Thanks again.

side note. I also saw my largest brown water snake to date, and apparently it was a fine specimen, as it was 5'. I just saw the record is 69".
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...But of course for all my family and friends they are ALL moccasins and copperheads. :D
I have noticed this as well, if it's swimming it must be a moccassin, on dry land it's either a copperhead or a rattler. People don't even know that almost every snake can swim just fine, and I have never seen a long shiny black copperhead. I have a tendency to stop and look, so I'll actually know what I saw, mostly black racers.
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Bobby Booshay mama says snakes are the devil......
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Sounds like a definite cobra to me!
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I was going to say rattle headed copper moccasin but your probably right about it being a cobra..
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Seems to me as if he has seen Godzilla. If you think about its really the only explanation.


Gene - RED >X< - Asheboro
I've only seen him 2x. This wasn't one of those times.
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Well played sir...well played!


Gene - RED >X< - Asheboro
El Chupacabra.
Theres a new app in the app store *snakes of nc* has pics and info on all snakes pretty cool. More people should use it and not kill helpful snakes.
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