# Id this snake? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106 "2013-04-30T14:41:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/1 "2013-04-30T14:41:32Z")
[Pic](https://www.adoberevel.com/libraries#!/7ca0ccc49de5496a98075f2b3b237035/assets/0a330d148b73cfbb2e410555e3dfd85d). Central South Carolina, in a river floodplain. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/2 "2013-04-30T14:44:08Z")
Pic requires me to sign up an account. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/3 "2013-04-30T15:05:47Z")
Oops, sorry. Didn’t know. I’ll try to find a place to move it. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/4 "2013-04-30T16:11:55Z")
Put it on Photo Shop like you did with the water snake a few weeks ago. ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/5 "2013-04-30T16:21:42Z")
Yeah, I wanna play ‘guess the snake’ too! On mobile now, will check later from desktop. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/6 "2013-04-30T16:42:04Z")
While we’re waiting for a new photo link, I just wanted to brag that I saw two ring-necked snakes (on two different hikes) last week. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/7 "2013-04-30T16:51:51Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > While we’re waiting for a new photo link, I just wanted to brag that I saw two ring-necked snakes (on two different hikes) last week. Cool! Were they out and about, or did you flip over a log or some bark? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/8 "2013-04-30T17:02:46Z")
Both were slithering across the trail–one was in Los Gatos and the other one was at Pinnacles NP. At first they didn’t register as being something other than a stick…by the time I realized what they were, it was too late to get a picture. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/9 "2013-04-30T17:14:15Z")
Sorry. Photoshop moved all their photos to adoberevel. The old ones are still there, but they won’t let us add any new ones. And I can’t access the other photo hosting sites from work (firewall). I’ll try again when I get home. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/10 "2013-04-30T17:18:06Z")
How about [https://dumpyourphoto.com/](https://dumpyourphoto.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/11 "2013-04-30T17:27:37Z")
Blocked, too. “Personal storage” is verboten. But. . . if anyone wants to pm me an email, I’ll send it. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/12 "2013-04-30T17:41:40Z")
Photobucket is my go-to place to dump pics for board postings. Free too. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/13 "2013-04-30T17:57:48Z")
**Earl** emailed it to me. I used DumpYourPhoto as suggested by **lieu**. [Here it is](https://dumpyourphoto.com/photo/2SP4QDHoUU). Y’all are going to think I’m stuck on brown water snake as my default ID, but that’s what I think it is. I think **CannyDan** might agree with me this time. [Brown water snake.](http://us.rd.yahoo.com/customize/links/ymsgr7/*http://bookmarks.yahoo.com/) Remember that patterns on water snakes are hard to see when they are dry and haven’t shed for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/14 "2013-04-30T18:09:48Z")
My vote is on Queen snake. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/15 "2013-04-30T18:30:15Z")
I would vote for brown water snake but I wish I could see his head better, it might be a cottonmouth. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/16 "2013-04-30T18:33:32Z")
It doesn’t have the heavy body or triangular head of the [cottonmouth](https://www.google.com/search?rlz=&q=queen+snake&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=FQ6AUeSUI4H-8ASrmIGgCA&biw=1680&bih=899&sei=Fw6AUYmnAYHA9QSlioDQBw#um=1&safe=off&hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=cottonmouth&oq=cottonmouth&gs_l=img.3..0l10.70817.72422.0.72593.11.6.0.5.5.0.87.379.6.6.0...0.0...1c.1.11.img.e7LzBWA2auc&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45645796,d.eWU&fp=8e4e81d713b0030e&biw=1680&bih=899). It does appear to have a yellow belly like the Queen snake pictured here: [https://www.google.com/search?rlz=&q=queen+snake&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=FQ6AUeSUI4H-8ASrmIGgCA&biw=1680&bih=899&sei=Fw6AUYmnAYHA9QSlioDQBw](https://www.google.com/search?rlz=&q=queen+snake&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=FQ6AUeSUI4H-8ASrmIGgCA&biw=1680&bih=899&sei=Fw6AUYmnAYHA9QSlioDQBw) ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/17 "2013-04-30T18:48:32Z")
Please note the bold cream stripe where the sides meet the belly on the queen snake, not present in Earl’s pic. ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/18 "2013-04-30T18:58:49Z")
Google has a photo sharing site, if that helps you. For instance, here’s a [link](https://plus.google.com/photos/111135406786915743471/albums/5872714424658419889)to one of those ringnecked snakes mentioned by \*\*blondebear \*\*upthread. ETA: Well, I see things have moved on without me! I’d better take a look. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/19 "2013-04-30T19:07:00Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > Please note the bold cream stripe where the sides meet the belly on the queen snake, not present in Earl’s pic. Agreed. What do you think of the yellow-bellied water snake? Nerodia erythrogaster flavigaster > **[Nerodia erythrogaster flavigaster - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=Nerodia%2Berythrogaster%2Bflavigaster&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=AxaAUa6TFpPc8wSfs4CACQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1548&bih=741)** ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106/20 "2013-04-30T19:12:16Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > Agreed. What do you think of the yellow-bellied water snake? Nerodia erythrogaster flavigaster > > [Nerodia erythrogaster flavigaster - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=Nerodia+erythrogaster+flavigaster&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=AxaAUa6TFpPc8wSfs4CACQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1548&bih=741) I thought about that species, but they have zero pattern on their backs, and the one in Earl’s pic has a faint pattern of bands or blotches visible. IDing Nerodia from a single pic is tough. It’s easy to see what genus it is, but the species part is difficult. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/657106.md?page=2)