Posted by Black Beth on September 19, 2005

Q: Thank you for taking identification questions - many websites do not.

Our cat found a small 6-7" snake in the house last night. Thankfully, I was there to check out its head, make sure it wasn't venomous (how can you really tell on a head the size of a pencil eraser?), then took the snake from the cat, and tossed it over the fence into the wooded area (approx 25 acres) behind our house. The snake was still alive, and non-aggressive.

Living in NW Florida, I have found that we do have Ringneck snakes; however, this snake appeared to have a pink (not red or yellow) underbelly, dark grayish-brown back, a darker almost black head, and a very faded and almost perfectly cylintrical pinkish ring around its neck.

Ideas?

Also - with baby snakes (or snakes as small as what I found) that are venomous, is the diamond shaped head THAT noticeable? This was my only concern in trying to identify the snake before trying to pick it up to take it outside.

Is there any way to keep snakes from coming inside the house?

I know that rattlesnakes do exist in our region — do they feed on ringneck snakes - if this is what I found? How likely and how aware should we be when it comes to rattlesnakes in our backyard, home, pool, woodpile, garage, or shed? Is there any type of anti-snake property border protectant and/or repellent that works?

I realize most snakes are non-venomous, and have been taught how to distinguish some of the varying characteristics. I'm still not a huge fan of the snake, but am better than my husband who thinks any snake is better dead.

We have had other snakes that are a little larger than the one found in the house last night, that are darker with a brighter pink/red belly, and the circle around the neck (hence the rinkgneck id), but none of them have ever looked like any pictures of ringneck snakes that I can find. The colors of the snakes we've found have been lighter and duller.

My husband has been good at not killing any, so far, because of me and my ringneck assessment, but I would die if either he or I ever came across one that was venomous and could harm us, our animals, or our future and current our neighbor's children.

Thank you!

State: Florida

A: Although ringnecks may vary in color (and can be especially pale when they are about to shed) there is another possibility. There are several species of crowned snakes in Florida, some of which have black heads followed by a pale band around the nape and a broad black band on the neck, giving the impression of a neck ring (the light band is actually on the back of the head, not on the neck.) Often they have pale pink bellies. The Southern Ringneck Snake typically has black dots on the belly — if the snake you saw had no such dots, I would suspect it was a crown snake.

The common species along the Florida/Georgia border is the Southeastern Crowned Snake, but their are several others the only occur in the central and eastern part of Florida.

www.uga.edu

www.dgif.state.va.us

In most cases, poisonous snakes have a heavyset body with a fairly evident broad head, even when young. In Florida, however, you do have Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnakes that are fairy slender with a less pronounced head (as do other species in this genus) than other kinds of rattlesnakes. Large rattlesnakes eat mostly warm-blooded (endothermic) prey, but pygmies are small and consume lots of frogs, lizards, other snakes and invertebrates.

I don't know of any proven anti-snake repellant — the best way to keep snakes out is to deprive them of cover. That means sealing up entryways into foundations, under sheds etc. Woodpiles are very attractive places for snakes to hide — perhaps stacking wood on a concrete pad would help.

Poisonous snakes tend to avoid populated areas — probably because they are persecuted there — but will show up upon occasion. It is wise to have half an eye open when in poisonous snake country, but snake envenomation is rare in the US (and fatalities even rarer.) I spent a decade wading through cottonmouth-infested swamps and hiking hills where copperheads and Timber Rattlesnakes were fairly common, sometimes seeing a dozen or so a day. We logged tens of thousands of person-hours in the field and never had a issue with poisonous snakes. In fact, I have handled several dozen rattlesnakes, and only one rattled at me — none ever struck.

I commend you for taking an interest in snakes — while a lot of people are needlessly afraid of them, snakes are an interesting and important part of our ecosystem. At worst, most are harmlessly innocuous, but many species are quietly beneficial to our interests.

I hope this helps, and sorry for the late response.

Solon Morse ( September 28, 2005)