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Snake in my garage
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Posted by birdsfoot_violet (My Page) on Thu, Sep 25, 08 at 11:04
| This smallsnake showed up in my garage yesterday. Can anyone id it? That slightly triangular head makes me suspicious. It is about 1.5 feet long. I live near Asheville, NC, USA, in the Smoky Mountains. I tried looking it up but I know there's a lot of variation in patterns and maybe it's a juvenile. I took pictures and then carried it out to the woods and released it.
http://s447.photobucket.com/albums/qq191/brysoncity_anna/Snake/
Thanks for any help,
Anna |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Snake in my garage
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Thanks for not killing it! Thats definitely a juvenile black rat snake (Pantherophis obsoleta) - they are pretty common in your area. I used to visit Asheville a good bit and lived in Greenville, SC - black rats are pretty common snakes in that area. They are completely harmless and feed primarily on rodents and small birds. Hope that helps!
~Mike |
RE: Snake in my garage
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| Thanks, Mike! I would never have thought that's what it was but am delighted to have another one. I'm surprised at the color variation between juvenile and adult. Last spring I had a big Eastern Rat Snake watching me garden, before it meandered over to a brush pile probably for lunch. It was actually solid black on top. I have added a couple of pictures of it to the same album if you want to have a look at it. Is this one big enough to have hatched this year? Thanks for your help,
Anna |
RE: Snake in my garage
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Hi Anna -
No problem - Eastern/Black rat snakes (they are in a taxonomic blender right now...I am just continue to refer to them as Pantherophis obsoleta until someone figures something out!) undergo a very striking ontogenetic color change from juvenile-adult. Yeah - that little guy almost definitely hatched this year (though he could be in his second summer). They really are nice snakes to have around, very "relaxed" when you just let them be. take care,
~Mike |
RE: Snake in my garage
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| The adult looks more like a black racer to me - the body shape and posture does not look like pantherophis, at least in my opinion. Nice photos - thanks for sharing them |
RE: Snake in my garage
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I can see why you'd say that, as it is very boldly marked - but if you look carefully you'll see that the head is definitely that of a Pantherophis - much more elongate than Coluber. Also, if you look very carefully you can see slight keeling on the scales (esp. just posterior to the head) - a trait of Pantherophis as Coluber have unkeeled scales. Hope that helps.
~Mike |
RE: Snake in my garage
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| Yep, both the adult and juvenile snakes are eastern/black rat snakes (Pantherophis obsoleta). |
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