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DeKay's snake
This has been identified as a brown snake (aka DeKay's snake).
I posted this snake yesterday, and he was quickly identified as a red-bellied snake. As you can see in the last photo, he doesn't have a red belly. I live near Atlanta, GA in case that might help with the ID. I will have many children in my yard this summer, and I just want to be sure he is not poisonous. I am going to buy snake traps, and will free what I catch if I am sure it's safe. Hope the additional photos make the job easier. Thanks for your help!
I have taken care of the update and learned a good lesson. There have been no attempts to catch the other snakes in my yard! It has been all over the news that copperheads were rampant in GA this year, and my brother-in-law overreacted in a swift manner. Thanks for deleting the disturbing photo. I am sorry for the death and upsetting everyone.
Hi Jana, I have deleted your first image as such a graphic portrayal of a mutilated animal is unsuitable for a community of wildlife lovers. Under normal circumstances we would delete the spotting but we have decided not to in this case because there is valuable information in the comments that may help other users distinguish between harmless (& beneficial!) snakes & potentially venomous ones.
In addition to the great advice offered by Neil, Janson & Goody, can I make a plea that you take some time to familiarize yourself with the snakes in your area, particularly the venomous ones so that you can avoid a similar situation in the future. Of the 41 species of snake in Georgia only 6 are venomous so this should be easy for you to do.
Now that Goody has identified this for you can you also please update the common & scientific names in Edit so that this can come off the unknown list.
I am deleting the other spotting of this snake as it is a duplicate.
Brown snakes like this one are harmless, and they eat up a lot of insects, snails, and worms. Snakes are very secretive creatures and do their best to stay away from humans. If you feel like these organisms are a danger to the children playing in your yard, instead of buying snake traps, I'd recommend contacting a local animal control service. This web page provides contacts in your area: http://www.trutechinc.com/georgia-animal...
If these are all the same snake - and I'm sorry it was killed before being identified - it's a harmless brownsnake (aka DeKay's snake). The brownsnake and the red-bellied snake are in the same genus, making them very similar in many ways. That's why I started with the red-bellied snake. Your belly photo proves that it's the other species.
Spotted on Apr 3, 2012
Submitted on Apr 24, 2012
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