Can anyone ID this baby snake?

[JLeigh]

He hit it with the lawn mower. Does anyone know what kind of snake this is (other than a gross dead one) ?

SNAKES CREEP ME OUT.

We live in GA. It's only about 9 inches long. Thanks in advance!

 

[PeepsCA]

The markings look similar to the Gopher Snakes I have here. Ours coil up and will shake their tails and strike at you, imitating a rattle snake (and as adults they really do look similar to the rattle snakes here, but they are usually shiny). Supposedly they are harmless and are good for rodent control, but IMO the only good snake is a dead snake, lol. They ALL freak me out, and these get over 5 feet long. Non-venomous or not, they are just as deadly (to me) cuz they will still give me a heart attack if I stumble across one, lol. Some people claim they are egg stealers, but I have not had any in my coops so I don't know for sure. My Guineas killed a 4+ foot long one a couple yrs back but I can't find the pic I took of it. I googled and found this link of one for ya tho:

http://www.californiaherps.com/noncal/northwest/nwsnakes/images/pccateniferor906cu.jpg

Did ya feed him to your Guineas? Free protein!

 

[nick032110]

Rat Snake

 

[amishhippie]

Rat snake times two. I have kept snakes going on twenty years and am almost 100% certain.

 

[Chickery Chick]

I believe you have killed yourself a young Black Rat Snake.
http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/black_rat_snake.htm

Black Rat Snakes are powerful constrictors, which means once they catch their prey, they wrap their body around it and squeeze until the animal suffocates. Rat snakes eat birds, eggs, lizards, frogs, other snakes, chipmunks, squirrels, small rabbits, mice, rats, bats (see photo to the left), voles, shrews, and other small mammals.
In the winter, Black Rat Snakes hibernate in a den, often with other species of snakes, such as the Copperhead.

Be glad you killed it. If you have egg layers and small chicks around they will eat them.

 

[back2simplelife]

Agree! Def a rat snake aka chicken snake! We lost an older pullet to one! I guess it tried to swallow her but couldn't. Darn things are everywhere here!

 

[JLeigh]

Chickerychick, I'm glad we killed it, no matter what it is! I could barely stand to touch it knowing it was dead n' stinkin'. We leave king snakes and garters alone, but not by MY choice. I'd kill every last one if it were up to me. Peeps, can they eat it if it's been dead for an overnight, at least? Thanks for the help everyone! Rat snake it is.

Last spring I saw one of my chickens eat a small but plump snake (about 6 inches long) and I FREAKED OUT. I didn't just freak out, I mean I FREAKED. OUT. (Did you get that?). I worried all night long that I'd wake up to a dead chicken. I thought the venom would kill her, but all was well - at least with the chicken - yet I was still pretty upset about it. Worried about that chicken for days.

Thanks for the help everyone! Rat snake it is.

 

[back2simplelife]

you can... your lucky yours will eat it! ours won't come near any size! dead or alive! and eeek! we JUST got a 30" copperhead in the back yard about 5 mins ago! I knew I shouldn't be thinking of snakes!

 

[JLeigh]

Sorry, back2. Didn't mean to bring down the bad snake jujus.

 

[back2simplelife]

lol.. is all good! This is the 4th in 4 months! (and about 20 rat snakes during that time!) Hubby got him and I stayed on the porch shaking like a leaf! Did I mention I loath snakes!