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Spotting

Habitat:

Creek in a pile of sticks P

1 Species ID Suggestions

Black Rat Snake
Pantherophis obsoletus List of snakes of Indiana


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3 Comments

JosieQuakenbush
JosieQuakenbush 8 years ago

I would not hold it's head but I didn't know that it was not poisonous or not

MrsPbio
MrsPbio 8 years ago

Very nice Black Rat Snake. I do understand the abundance of caution shown in the photo. With some venomous snakes this is necessary. That being said, I do agree with LisaPowers....

Gentle handling with this species is usually sufficient. Black Rat snakes are not known to be overly-aggressive. They are not venomous, although if provoked they may bite with many short sharp teeth (not fangs like a rattler.) They are however more likely to "musk" you with a very stinky smell.

It's always best to not handle a wild creature anyway unless it's absolutely necessary. ;) For the safety and comfort of both the creature and the human/s,

LisaPowers
LisaPowers 8 years ago

Please! No need to hold the head so. This can harm the snake and is totally unnecessary for this species that calms down quickly with gentle handling.

JosieQuakenbush
Spotted by
JosieQuakenbush

Indiana, USA

Spotted on Jul 19, 2015
Submitted on Jul 20, 2015

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