We keep seeing this guy in the garage, at first I was thinking it was a water snake, but not so sure. Safe or get rid of it? Dog has been chasing it

We are currently on vacation in Orange Beach Alabama if that helps with the ID. Close to the water.

Looks like a Copperhead.

My uneducated guess is a young water moccasin. Hard to tell if the head is triangular or not but it looks like a thick chunky body for the size and I've seen pictures of younger smaller moccasins and the have that coloration. They are supposed to get darker with age. If it shows its mouth and it's a pearly white inside stay away. Showing their mouth is the equivalent of a rattler rattling.

Agree that is a moccasin. The dark stripe through the eye is a tell. It is not a copperhead. The pattern isn't right.

edited
Wife posted to snake ID board. COTTONMOUTH was reply.

edited
Struck first sentence based on other replies.

Based on photo, non-venomous. A better pic of head and eye to be sure.

Kill it!

It's a copperhead which has gotten slightly too old for its yellow tail. Copperheads are responsible for the most number of snakebites in the United States. Luckily, their venom is not life-threatening, but it's extremely painful.

besure to read the snake id
banded water snake.
http://www.snake-removal.com/bandedwatersnake.html

http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu...ake_comparison.shtml

brown water snake

this thread shows copper head color phases
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...6031561/m/1440065654

copper head banding can vary significantly. a few years back I posted a pic of a melanistic copperhead. Nearly all charcoal grey and black. Here is another variation.





The above shows a northern water snake and a cotton mouth. Just look at banding and tail shape.
this thread shows cotton mouths
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...6031561/m/2210028654



And here is a near perfect marking match.
Juvenile western cotton mouth

Not a copperhead. Immature cottonmouth

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
Kill it!

It's a copperhead which has gotten slightly too old for its yellow tail. Copperheads are responsible for the most number of snakebites in the United States. Luckily, their venom is not life-threatening, but it's extremely painful.

We had a guy die last weekend from a copperhead bite in my area.

Looks a lot like a water moccasin to me. I’d kill it before your dog “catches it”.

After looking at the pic again, the dark horizontal stripe that goes across it’s eye tells me it’s a water moccasin.

Wow, lots of different options. Looking up pictures of a cottonmouth, this looks pretty close. We have been seeing this one daily, might kill it next go around just in case the dog gets away from us. We have currently been herding it back to the sand. Figured it would help with any mice in the area. Wish I took more pictures of the head to help with ID.

It was a smaller snake, maybe 20-22”.

Looks like this one... cottonmouth

Round these parts we have a nickname for that breed of snake, "dead".

Needs a bacon wrap, stuff, and grill.

Personally I would need to see its head better to tell for sure if it is poisonous, but it looks like it. It is definitely not a Copperhead, but it very well may be a Cottonmouth. Both are aggressive poisonous snakes.

Looks like a broad banded water snake to me. A juvenile cottonmouth typically has a green or yellow tail that is distinct from the rest of its pattern. Also, a cottonmouth has a very distinct neck, the body tapering sharply just behind the head and I don't see that with this snake.

That looks like a bad snake. Bad if you get bit that is. I would kill it if possible. Looks like a cottonmouth to me. I've seen a lot of them fishing and hunting in swamps. If you get a full load, it could be a serious problem, like losing part of or a whole limb or worse. It could be the end of your dog too.

That snake needs to be gone. Dead. It's definitely a cottonmouth.

quote:

Originally posted by pbramlett:

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
Kill it!

It's a copperhead which has gotten slightly too old for its yellow tail. Copperheads are responsible for the most number of snakebites in the United States. Luckily, their venom is not life-threatening, but it's extremely painful.

We had a guy die last weekend from a copperhead bite in my area.

Yes, I live outside of Birmingham and reports say that the victim had an allergy to the venom and died of anaphylactic shock. Even if you are not allergic to the venom you do NOT want to get bitten by one! I vote kill it!