Recognise this snake?

copper head

Speaking of heads, you don't show the head, which I am led to believe is a key to knowing whether it is venomous.. I'm definitely NOT a herpetologist!!!!

This is a copperhead... http://www.snakesandfrogs.com/scra/snakes/images/copperhead2.jpg

Don't think it resembles the OP's snake.

Not even close.

Never saw a copperhead that resembled these colors or markings; the ones I've seen presented the color of a dirty penny. I had an aquaintance (a chemist) some years ago that was a fan of snakes. He brought a pet snake (in to the office) that closely resembled this coloring and markings. It was not venomous and he carried it around in his pocket. I seem to recall that it was a (corn?) snake, but he termed it to be an albino of the species. Perhaps the snake in the photo is an albino of some species. I am not a fan of snakes and I usually give them wide birth unless I can see that it is a garter snake.

no

Greetings, chaterpilar,

Suggest you first make sure the snake is dead. Then, pick it up by firmly grasping it behind the head. Open the mouth with a probe (not your fingers), and look for fangs. If fangs, then it most likely is venomous.

How about a close-up photo of the head with open mouth and fangs?

I thought it is an Eastern Coachwhip, Maticophis flagellum, a non venomous tree-climbing snake.

The colour on its body gives it away, and the long slim body which gives its name as a coachman's whip. The male adult may reach to four to five feet length, some to 8 feet, the colour transits to darker tan as it reaches the head, and the overall appearance is that of a whip.

They are not constrictors, they grasp the prey in the mouth and hold on. Their eyes are more towards the front, which gives them a narrower vision than most snakes.

They are found in Aiken State Natural Area, and the Coastal Plains of South Carolina.

Dead snake

What's with the gammy right leg?

If you think you've got a problem look what my mate found hanging on his fence recently!

Looks like its just had a meal but has a really really bad case of heart burn.

That is one big snake. It may not be poisonous but it sure do have some mighty big teeth.

Tom,

Where are you? I need to know so I can avoid visiting! What a critter. What kind of snake is it?

It's from Australia - a farmer was worried by the number of sheep he was losing so put up an electric fence, (you can just see it in picture 1)!

What with poisonous snakes, spiders and crocodiles no wonder they do well in all the olympic running and jumping events!

Tom

"Where are you? I need to know so I can avoid visiting! What kind of snake is it?"

It's a python, according to the folks who took the photos - and those folks are not in Australia. See http://www.bushveld.co.za/pictures-python.htm for the site with additional photos.

no

"no"

"No" to what? Your post #33 is to mine (#18), which was in turn a reply to #11, which refers back to photos in #9. Are you saying that the original snake was not a python? if so, OK, fine, but that's trivial because nobody said that it was. Or are you saying that the snake in #9 and in the link from #18 is not a python? If so, what alternative evidence do you have? The photos in #9 have been on the web for a couple of years with a claim that they're from Australia, but those photos and others of the same snake are available by following the link I gave, and the information provided at that site seems self-consistent and plausible - MUCH better than the stories that accompanied the Aussie sheep ranch version. Or, are you saying that they mis-identified the variety when looking directly at it and taking photographs (mind - they sell animal photos as a business)? If so, what is it (and show us your evidence!)?

I'm guessing that you are the same guest who provided the same "no" to someone's identification of the original snake as a copperhead; I agree, given that it's on the wrong continent (especially after the original post said that the kind was common in Saudi Arabia, pretty much ruling out an escaped stray or zoo animal). But when you provide a one-word, un-punctuated message to a complex chain of preceding posts, it is a waste of our time even to read those two letters!

no

Retracted. Sorry.

GEE....Now would be the perfect time to pet her.

Holy Crap Batman! Was that thing dead? I wonder what it just ate? Maybe one of those sheep!

talking of big snakes and their diets...look at this...

Cheers..

Or this, from OZ - it's a cow in the water...

Enviroman,

That's cool, a snake swallowing a cow. Have you seen man-eating snakes? The Anaconda in South American jungle called "Amazon".

What's inside the anaconda caught?

Three boys were camping out, and at the crack of dawn, two boys found their friend was missing. They called for search party, and caught a snake with it's belly full.

Photo at the right shows a snake with fat belly.

They cut open the anaconda, and found the boy inside. Picture below.

Right Picture shows how the anaconda constrictor kills its prey by coiling round and suffocate its prey and break the bones, dislocate its jaw bones and swallows him.

"Or this, from OZ - it's a cow in the water..."

Not quite . . . but a damned impressive snake, nonetheless! http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/cowsnake.asp

The snake was found in Saudi Arabia, so none of the above mentioned comes into question. Even without seeing the head (which would be very useful), it is probably a member of the viper family. Follow the advice of making sure it is dead and opening its mouth with an inanimate object. I learned that lesson the hard way and spent a week in a hospital in southern France instead of attending my sisters wedding.

probably not. Check the tail. Probably non venemous, too.

As mentioned by others, a clear shot of the head would be advantageous. The presence of fangs would indicate whether venomous or not, but not all fangs are clearly obvious. Here are some typical Saudi snakes (none seem similar) to compare:

Carpet viper (venomous)

Horned viper (venomous)

Hooded Malpolon (non-venomous)

Caspian whip snake (non-venomous)

I would if the head was in place it was flattened...but thanks for all the inputs....and more are welcome..

I shall research further - you say this is a common snake there, and the color represented here is fairly accurate and typical?

yes it is common and the color is that..matches with sand.

Flattened or not, it would be of value.

My two cents:

While the head may be flattened, if it was triangular shaped, assume it was a poisonous viper.

North American vipers (rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths) all have three things: fangs, poison, and triangular shaped head. Those Saudi vipers in the photos show that same head shape, where the wide jaws creates that triangle look. Compare that to the the whip snakes photos, where the jaw is smooth with the body.

Oh, and one other thing: while I'm pretty sure triangular heads indicate a poisonous viper, the inverse is not true. Lack of a triangular head does not indicate a non-poisonous snake! In North American, coral snakes have no heavy triangular head (cause they aren't vipers) but they are poisonous.

In addition, non venemous snakes can show the triangular skull shape--it's mimicry. The coral snake, in addition to head type also does not strike..and inject with fangs. It bites and chews. Can you name the coral snakes mimicker?

Hello, Without seeing the head it is hard to tell. Me being from South Alabama I do not know allot about any other than the south east USA vipers particularly eastern diamond back and cane break or timber rattlesnakes and of course the cotton mouth moccasin and copper heads we had around there. I grew up with rattlesnakes everywhere my parents own the ALABAMA RATTLESNAKE CO. so as a kid I learned to hunt, skin and tan rattlesnake hides. In south Alabama the eastern diamond backs grow very big and believe me when I say one bite from a rattlesnake can make your whole year bad. One of the scariest thing you can see is after a Rattlesnake head has been severed it can still strike at a heat source waved near the snakes heat sensors in it nose. Well if anyone is interested at seeing some good pictures of the rattlesnake visit http://www.alabamarattlesnakes.com/index.html

pipewelder

One thing about the OP's snake... it is likely not a sea snake, although I've seen a very similar one swimming in the sea alongside a Bahamian beach.

Hello Guest,

Excellent reply..but honestly, me, aka chaterpilar had nothing to do with the death of that creature....although the shadow of my legs are there in the photo....

It was my day-off and was going for shopping and i found this reptile on a highway..and since the traffic was not much and the "crime scene" was at the edge of the road ( as correctly mentioned by Guest)..i took some snaps.

Our guest has a keen eye for details and hence i gave a "good answer" to him...although my quest will end when i get the proper name to this snake..and i am still waiting....