ID This Snake?

[floodgate]

A friend and I were out in our open Jeep when we spotted a large snake alongside the dirt road. We stopped to look at him and saw he was a big gopher snake, with narrow head and no rattles, though colored and marked very similarly to the local diamondback rattlers. Facing us, he went into a full rattlesnake act, S-curves, lunges towards us, and tail vibrating so fast it actually made a whirring sound like a faint rattle. We got to laughing so hard at the act he was putting on, that he finally gave up trying to scare us, turned and stomped off into the brush radiating disgust. Ever seen a snake stomp? Well, I assure you this one did...

[MtGun44]

I agree with the 'live and let live' approach. I usually ask snake killers if they like rats and
mice? I have picked up and moved coral snakes in FLA years ago. They are VERY slow and
lethargic, and if you pin the head with a stick and pick them up by the tail, they will just hang
down. After about 10-20 sec of this they start to try to 'climb' back up on you, but a moderate
down-up motion increases the loads so they can't do it and are strung out straight again.

I'd carry them away from the chicken house and drop them in the woods 75 yds away. Never
worried about being bit. The mouth is small, teeth short, and no poison pressure injection
like a pit viper has. Coral snake has to chew on you for a bit to get any poison in, it has to
be released a the base of the short, non-folding teeth and follow a groove down the outside
of the tooth and be worked in. If you pull one off instantly, no poison or nearly none.

Fiddle with rattlers, cotton-mouth or copper head? Not a chance in this life. Lightning fast,
pressure injected through hollow teeth like a hypo. . . . . not to be messed with.

Bill

[Reg]

Actually ALL of you are very, very wrong. It actually is a very rare three toed skink. Normally found high in the Colorado Rockies and only above 10,00 feet.
Mean little beggers. Have been know to attack the rare High Altitude Buffalo and in some cases, bring them down.
Only known protection is homemade wine, generously used
Yup, mean little beggers.
Where did I leave my glass?