I'm thinking a baby bull, but the way it was posturing and striking at me I'm not so certain. The markings don't really look rattlerish, but...?

Not a rattler. They look like tiny rattlers.

Could be a bull snake. Hard to say without some expertise.

the eyes don't look like slits, so it's not venomous as far as I can tell. to me it kinda looks like the Western Terrestrial Garter? I looked up a couple snake ID sites... that's my guess.

They make the best kind of pet. . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ntn8yfOmIA

 
Looks like the gopher snakes we have around here. I understand there are different varieties in different locales. But ours exhibit the diamond-like pattern and aggressive behaviors you describe.
 
Here's an adult Sonoran Gopher snake, native to this area. They will coil up and hiss and strike at you, but they are remarkably good pest control.

 

There is a snakes of Montana poster on this page.

http://fwp.mt.gov/recreation/safety/wildlife/snakes/

I've never seen a garter type snake display that aggressive behavior though.

Immature Gopher snake

round eyes and round head usually good, right?

Yeah, those are both good signs, unless of course, it's a coral snake in drag...

Can't tell in this mixed up time in which we live!

Don

[quote]What kind of baby snake is this?[quote]

A cute one.

That's good to know about the eyes and head. We don't really have venomous snakes around here, but if we did I would probably pick one up and die since I can't tell the difference.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
I've never seen a garter type snake display that aggressive behavior though.

I've been bit by several of them, even pet store ones. lol

They also throw up on you.

I’d call it a bull snake. Part of their defense mechanism is to having markings that are similar to a rattler’s and to display aggressively when they feel threatened. He’s a good one to have around.

They can scare the beejeezus out of you if you’re walking along, head down, and find one just a step away—in the Arizona desert. Yeah, there’s a story, just like that

Yeah, I got hammered pretty hard in the web of my hand between the thumb and forefinger by an adult garter snake in the midst of showing my youngest son how to treat them nicely, "Because theY are really gentle, good rodent control, and our friend!"...OUCH!

I was proud of myself for not following my distinct urge to throw the

bugger against the tree next to us
Don

I've been tagged by a Garter a few times. They can be aggressive. Venomous snakes in the US are very easy to ID. AFAIK, the only one that doesn't have a pit viper-style head is the Coral Snake, and then you have to know the "red and black, poison lack; red and yellow, poison fellow" adage. Pit vipers' heads are very triangular.

Do the immature ones also have the triangular heads like the adults do? That's always been my way of identifying the bad ones, but I don't know if that's true with the little guys too.

He does appear to have round pupils though, so I think I'm good.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Do the immature ones also have the triangular heads like the adults do? That's always been my way of identifying the bad ones, but I don't know if that's true with the little guys too.

He does appear to have round pupils though, so I think I'm good.

I came across a rattler den once and yes, the little ones look like their parents.


I'm going with the Bull snake guess. I had the crap scared out of me by one once while hunting. Coiled up and hissed like a rattler. The guy I was with laughed his ass off by my response and told me it was a Bull snake and that they are all bluff.

Jim

None of the single ID points that people think distinguish venonmous from harmless snakes are definitive.

Vipers (rattlesnakes, cottonmouth, copperhead) have triangular heads. But so do some other snakes.

Slit pupils - a venomous snake can show very round pupils in dim light. Some harmless snakes will have slit pupils in bright light.

Round heads - in the US, venomous coral snakes have round heads.

None of the so-called telltale signs are foolproof, although they can be hints or things to consider in light of everything you can observe. As JAllen says, nothing beats knowing what you are doing, so unless you are very confident, just leave snakes alone. If you do they will generally leave you alone.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jhe888,

It's funny that I've never been bitten by picking up a wild snake, but I was bitten by my daughter's pet snake.

I fail to see why people have “pet” snakes. No thanks.