Posted by Peter Rodriguez on September 8, 2005

Q: We seem to have a hatching of snakes that we think are bullsnakes, but since they are so small (about 1'), we want to make sure they're not rattlesnakes.

They don't seem to have a band over their eyes, their tails are a solid brown color, and their spots are quite large. They are extremely aggressive and ill-tempered.

We can't find any descriptions of baby snakes of either species, only adults.

I have a pretty good photo I could e-mail if you provide an address.

Thank you.

Peter Rodriguez

Roseburg, OR

Douglas County

Habitat: field/meadow

State: Oregon

Habitat: field/meadow

A: Follow-up reply: Although I haven't had any direct experience with Night Snakes, the aggressive behavior and dark tail tip you describe are typical of Racers. If I had to give you a positive ID, I'd go with that one.

Solon Morse ( September 8, 2005)

A: Definitely *not* a rattlesnake — too long and slender with a narrow head, and young rattlesnakes already have a bud of a rattle, so the tail would look somewhat blunted.

Gopher snakes typically have a dark line on the head between the eyes — and this snake doesn't appear to have the right "build" — again, too long and slender.

It's a little difficult to say for sure from the photo — if you have a higher resolution shot or a shot of the head/neck not obscured by shadows, I might be able to look at some of the details. I suspect it's either a Night Snake or a juvenile Racer. The Night Snake would typically have distinct dark blotches on the neck and vertical pupils, while the Racer would have round pupils and no large dark blotches just behind the head.

Here are some images:

Night Snake darkwing.uoregon.edu

Juvenile Racer (may be a different subspecies than what you are seeing, but you'll get the idea) www.californiaherps.com

Hope this helps, and if you want to send more photos, I'd be happy to look at them!

Solon Morse ( September 8, 2005)