Oak Snake

[Curtiss]

Got this picture of an Oak Snake in my food plot of LABLAB. Had the camera system there for 4 days, and he decided to come out for a look. I used an active system for the system to take a picture of the snake.
The Oak Snake are rare to find, most of them gone now. I found his hole while checking the food plot. I went back with a camera system hoping to capture him on film. I have now placed a video system there. Maybe!!!!!!!!!
Curtiss

 

[garman]

Now that's a picture you don't see every day!!! Cool!!!

Oak snake?? Never heard of 'em. Interesting!

Great picture!

 

[Bond]

That's one of the coolest pics I've seen in a while.

 

[bat]

Curtiss come on up to the house here, I will give you all of them you want.

Don't like them, don't want them you can have them.

By the way that one is different then what we have here (coloration is different). That one looks like a Cobra or something standing up like that... another

bat

 

[DKScott]

aka Rat Snake

 

[g-hog]

aka DEAD SNAKE if seen around my place

I hate them but great pic. Never seen a snake captured on a cam...Good Job

GHog

 

[watrmn]

Great pic, but you can keep the snakes!

 

[harleydavidone]

Very kool!

 

[Coondog]

Is that the same thing as a Rat Snake??? If so, we have plenty of them in Texas as well... Nice pic!

 

[Welby]

Now that is a cool picture! Way to go.

Although I've not heard of an oak snake before, that doesn't look like the same thing as a rat snake to me. We have tons of rat snakes around here (more than any other!) and they are different in coloration from that one. Underneath, a rat snake is very white. On top, they are a blend of brown and light colored horizontal stripes.

Speaking of rat snakes, I caught one in my driveway just yesterday and played with it. It was about three and a half foot long and very feisty. I nearly got bit twice while monkey with the thing. I don't mind seeing those snakes around.

Ratsnake Website

 

[Curtiss]

This isn't a rat snake. When I saw him in the open, he was around 8 to 9 feet long. He is nowhere grown yet. Some call a gopher snake.
Curtiss

 

[garman]

"He was around 8 to 9 feet long"

Holy Smokes!! What a snake!! Biggest I've seen are the big rattlesnakes in the 5-6ft range!

That is a long snake.

 

[DKScott]

Lots of diferent Rat Snakes:


Gray Rat Snake Elaphe obsoleta spilodes

This attractively marked phase of the common Black Rat Snake is found from eastern North America to Northeastern Mexico. The dark Blotches contrast with a background color that may vary from brown through shades of gray almost to white. There is little difference between the appearance of young and adults. Their local name of "oak snake" comes from the fact that they are often found in oak tree litter. They are excellent climbers and this should be reflected in the design of their terrarium. They readily eat mice in captivity and make good pets.

Yellow Rat Snake Elaphe obsoleta quadrivittata

This pretty yellow and brown snake is native to the central and northern parts of Florida extending into Georgia and the Carolinas. These snakes have been called chicken snakes because of their fondness for eggs however they readily eat mice in captivity. Hatchlings often eat amphibians which can make they tricky to rear. They are large snakes and can reach 72 inches in length. They are harmless snakes which make good pets.

Texas Rat Snake Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri

This large rat snake occurs in eastern and central Texas as well as through Louisiana and Arkansas. The body is yellowish gray to brown with a pattern of darker saddles and a tendency for reddish skin to show through between the scales on the sides. It is often considered more vicious than the other rat snakes although it will settle down in captivity. This is a bulky snake reaching a length of 90 inches. It is an excellent climber with a taste for eggs although it readily takes mice in captivity. There is a naturally occurring form of the Texas Rat Snake called a Leucistic type. These beautiful snakes have alabaster white scales and black eyes. In all other respects they are like the nominate form.

Everglades Rat Snake Elaphe obsoleta rossalleni

Several authorities have questioned the validity of this subspecies suggesting that it is merely a more colorful version of the Yellow Rat Snake. Regardless of its classification, its coloration is appealing and distinctive; bright red or reddish orange with four indistinct darker stripes along the body and a red tongue. It is bred in captivity and is often available. It loves to climb and eats mice quickly making it ideal for the snake enthusiast.

Black Rat Snake Elaphe obsoleta

A beautiful snake with a somewhat nasty disposition characterizes the Black Rat Snake which is found from New England to Georgia and west to the Mississippi River. This is a large snake which can reach 100 inches in length.. The color can vary from a glossy black to gray however the most distinctive marking are the white to gray belly which is not common in other black snakes. They are good eaters in captivity and readily take mice. They are hardy and long lived but are not known to make good pets. Albinos of this species are very attractive with a glossy white color. They are common in the pet trade and seem to have a better disposition that their darker cousins.

Bairds Rat Snake Elaphe Bairdi

This is a somewhat questionable species found only in western Texas south into Mexico. Adults are brownish snake with a length of 60 inches. The scales are edged with dull to bright orange and the belly usually colored yellow orange. This is a species of dry rocky prairies and deserts as well as sparse Central Texas forests. It seems to be nocturnal and is not easily collected. It is hardy and well suited to captivity and will ready eat mice when offered.

Great Plains Rat Snake Elaphe emoryi

This is the western form of the Corn Snake family ranging through the central states into Mexico. This snake is a pleasing combination of gray on gray and will make a good pet. It eats well in captivity and reproduces easily. It is less sought out because of its rather dull coloration however it has been bred into the more colorful corn snake complex and has provided rather beautiful offspring. Like the Corn Snake, it is a good snake for children and the novice snake keeper because it is so gentle and unassuming.

And a Gopher Snake:

Members of the Colubridae Family, the common, large, gopher snake is usually between 36 and 96 inches long. Gopher snakes range in color from cream-yellow to green-gray to tan, with large black, brown or reddish blotches on their back and smaller ones along their sides. Most specimens have a dark line between the eyes and another from behind the eyes to the angle of the jaw. Sometimes striped individuals, with or without blotches, are found.

Range: Throughout all 4 deserts of the American Southwest and beyond, up to 8000 feet.

Habitat: Found in a wide variety of habitats including desert flats, coastal dunes and coniferous forests, but preferring grasslands and open brush areas.

 

[Buck-eye]

That is an incredible picture. You should send it to National Geographic. Great color. Man, I miss all the snakes we had down South.

 

[Beartracker]

If you live in WV long enough you learn to dislike snakes with a passion. Kids get bit around here all the time just playing in there yard. Coperheads. Then we have the real nice Timber Rattler. Lot's of others too. You keep the snakes and if you want more come on to WV and get all you want.

 

[spectr17]

Kewl pic Curtiss.

We call them gopher snakes here in Californian and they get REAL long. Last one I saw was like the pic, he had crossed the road in front of me and I grabbed a camera to take a pic. He went in a gopher hole and popped out to look at me. Just a I raised the camera he popped down in the hole. Dang. He was about a 6 footer.

They can be nasty too. One time I went to have a buddy tow a 69 Roadrunner I had bought to restore and when he climber underneath the car to hook it up he came out screaming and jumped in the cab of the tow truck. I looked underneath the car and there was about 7 feet of gopher snake sticking out of a hole. He was pissed too. I had to chase him out of there with a board to hook the car up since my buddy wasn't leaving the cab of the truck.

I just had another run in with a snake turkey hunting in Missouri. He looked like a gopher snake but I'm not sure it they have them there.

I was walking out at quitting time and heard a turkey putting in the creek bottem so I walked down to the creek bank to see if it was a tom or hen with a tom. As I was glassing with the binos to see deeper into the woods I thought maybe a yelp or two would give away a tom. I did two yelps and the grass suddenly exploded in front of me. I dropped the binos and there was a 3 foot snake barreling right for my ankles. I put it in full reverse while I chopped at the snake with my shotgun buttend. After about 10 yards the snake stopped but because of the high grass in the old meadow I couldn't exactly see where he was.

I then tiptoed out to the trail and got the heck out of there. The snake was kind of a olive green with long darker green stripes running lengthwise. A yellowish belly. He didn't have a viper head that I could tell but I was jumping about 10 feet in the air most of the time I saw him. I don't know if I stumbled on a nest or he just didn't like my yelping.

 

[campkopasquat]

Don't like poisonous snakes? Come to Maine. We don't have any.

 

[ru12hunt]

Cool looking snake! Nice picture

 

[Fred Bear]

we dont have any snakes like that in Michigan either. Just little garner snakes mostly.

 

[smallblockfuelie]

Cool snake picture. I'd never heard them called an oak snake before. Where does the name come from?