An "old friend" came back by for a "visit" ~ pics~

[Poulets De Cajun]

Forget that! I would have had to introduce him to my friends Smith & Wesson.

 

[Wifezilla]

That is a beautiful snake. Snakes don't bother me....well...not too keen on the poisonous part.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Very cool pics!

I love snakes and have had them as pets... that said, I'm on the side of the fence that says the poisonous ones are definitely not welcome and would probably be perm. removed... especially since we have young kids that run around in the yard.

Aren't Water Moccasins the most poisonous snakes in the US? Yup, I'd probably have to SSS.

But again, really really nice pics!

 

[Highlander]

Yikes. Glad I live in the UK!!!

 

[ursusarctosana]

There are a lot of species of mean-tempered water snakes that look extremely similar to cottonmouth water moccasins. Take a look at the photos at this site. It appears the structure of the snake's head in the close-up of the second sighting on your property is different from the close-up of the water moccasin photo on this site:

http://www.carolinanature.com/herps/cottonmouth.html

Also, from Louisiana:
http://brgov.com/DEPT/Animal/venomous.htm

Not that I'd take any chances!

But just FYI.

Notice the diamond-shaped head in the web photos versus the round eyes set higher up in your photo. The snake is dirty and it is a photograph, so it's difficult to tell.

Amazing snake. I love snakes, especially of the pit viper family.

This snake, on your property, may be a Nerodia fasciata which is commonly confused with the cottonmouth. These water snakes can grow to be 5 feet long and can have extremely thick bodies. In Louisiana they are known as the broad-banded water snake.

Here is a Nerodia fasciata:
http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=I_JDW574&res=640

Another Nerodia fasciata (notice they can vary in coloration and striping) showing a close-up of the mouth area:
http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=I_JDW569&res=640

This site has a rather straight forward identification chart:
http://www.squidoo.com/diamondbacked_watersnake

Species classification is fascinating.
What do you think?

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

The problem with snake identification is that from 197 yards away I can't really tell if the head is flat or diamond shaped and exactly where and what shape the eyes are. Thus I always have to fall back on my "all snakes are bad" philosophy.

 

[TheOLDNewChick]

No no. No moccasins for me, thanks. Thankfully, the gators take care of most of them in the pond. No offense to snake lovers, but when it comes to the venomous ones, I can, and WILL kill it.

Last year my dad almost stepped on one about that size.

 

[Felicia]

Quote:
Totally true...

 

[hoosier]

Quote:
...and don't you just love the descriptions of the scales on their belly - like I am going to pick one up, turn it over and examine it to see if it is poisonous!!!

I have never seen a poisonous snake on our place, even though I know they are in this area. I like having snakes around, but I doubt that I would feel the same if I knew it was dangerous.

 

[horsejody]

Wow! The chicken in the first pic was so scared that the feathers stood straight up on its head!