Posted by Robin Johns on April 21, 2005

Q: My husband saw a snake in our back yard a few days ago and we are concerned that it might be venomous. It was about 3 feet long and had a rather wide girth. My husband said the snake looked like it may have recently molted and had few distinguishing marks save for an orangish-yellowish stripe running down its back (although my husband did say it looked "dirtyish". The snake was coiled on top of its tail so he was unable to see what the tail looked like. My husband found it in a ditch that runs along the back of our yard (approx. 1 acre). The ditch contained some old wood thrown in there by construction workers. In addition, there are some wide blackberries growing in it. My husband came inside to get me to take a look at it and by the time we went back outside, the snake was no where to be seen. We have not seen it since. We live in a residential neighborhood in Watkinsville, Georgia. The subdivision does border on some farmland. We have lived here for 5 years and have never seen any kind of snake before. Do you think there is a chance that it might have been a canebrake rattlesnake? Are they found in our area? I have two young sons (ages 4 & 6) that I have been afraid to allow to play outside since we saw it. Any insight you might be able to give us would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for your time.

Sincerely,

Robin Johns