Hubby killed a snake yesterday!! What kind was it? pic added

[Teach97]

Yup...not a copperhead.

I have a Mexican milksnake...usualy very sweet unless shedding and then it strikes at everything that even resembles movement! Try giving it a good talking to next time!

 

[Randy]

We don't have anything like the one pictured around here so I don't know what it is but I can say for sure that it is not a copperhead.

 

[shay20]

This snak was darker tan than that shown in the picsof a milk snake.

 

[shay20]

Ohhh ok, milk snakes have the brown markings on the head, cooperheads do NOT right?

i think this one had the brown markeings on the head.

 

[bandbaustin]

Thats a corn snake, you can tell by the checkerboard patterns of black and white on the bottom of it. Non dangerous at all. It is a very dull looking one, there are many beautiful color variations of this snake but I have found many in our wood piles that look like this. Can't really hurt a full grown chicken but can eat eggs and chicks. Good hunter of mice and rats though!!!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are very few different poisonous snake species anywhere in the US. (You don't have to worry about the coral snake in Massachusetts.) I'd suggest learning what poisonous snakes are in your area and how to identify them. You don't have to learn how to identify all the non-poisonous ones, just the few ones that are dangerous to you.

I don't rely on colors and markings exclusively. Sometimes the patterns can be a little hard to see and the colors can vary widely. If the snake has a pencil shaped head (other than coral snakes) I know it is not poisonous. If it has an arrowhead shaped head, it is real suspicious. An arrowhead shaped head does not absolutely, without a doubt, for sure, every time guarantee that it is poisonous, but it is worthy of a lot of respect.

I don't know what your state laws are. In Arkansas, it is illegal to kill a snake. If I find a poisonous snake around my house, well, they can fine me or throw me in jail. If I find a non-poisonous snake, I appreciate the insects, amphibians, other snakes, and rodents it eats. If I find one that I am not sure of, I take a lot of effort to identify it before I act, if I can.

 

[ranchhand]

For future reference:

http://www.masnakes.org/guide.html

 

[shay20]

Quote:
This one had the arrow head shape.

 

[shay20]

I got it, it was a milk snake, thanks guys for the help and info on them, i just realized the markings are actually totally different, close in coloring but different markings.

great links thank you s o much, such a huge relief knowing it was not a copperhead.

I will look into all the dangerous snakes in my area so i am aware of them, also i need to find where my oegb girls are laying there eggs, before the snakes do.

 

[Baymen Moe]

Quote:
Don't know where you live shay but Mass only has two dangerous snakes, the Copperhead and the Timber Rattlesnake. Both popualtions are very limited in size and range. Both require very specific types of terrain to be prolific. That being said it doesn't mean other snakes are not a threat to chicks or eggs.