Another Good Ridge Day

[LittleM]

Actually, over the course of two days ................

 

 

 

This one's either pre-shed or possessed.  I'll go with pre-shed.

[BowhunterNJ]

Man you're crazy!  Haha, very cool pics!

[BowTechExperience]

Very cool pics, but I'll admit the closest I would get to them would be with a 200mm lens.. Are they aggressive?

[LittleM]

Any pre-shed snake can be aggressive because they can't see well.  Generally, rattlesnakes and copperheads are not.  Northern black racers and northern waters snakes are much more aggressive.

[BowTechExperience]

What type of snakes are these, and are they dangerous?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 9, 2014 by BowTechExperience

[Haskell_Hunter]

First one looks like a garter snake. Not venomous.

 

The others are black racers, I think. Not venomous.

[Bucksnbows]

BTE, the first one is a garter snake and the other pix are a black racer.  Neither is venomous.  

 

Great pix on all the snakes.  

[BowTechExperience]

Thanks guys, good to know.. Snakes in general just make me a little uneasy... The black racer was making a rattle noise with the tail. I was not sure if it came from the snake itself or from rustling in the dry brush

[Bucksnbows]

Thanks guys, good to know.. Snakes in general just make me a little uneasy... The black racer was making a rattle noise with the tail. I was not sure if it came from the snake itself or from rustling in the dry brush

 

The easiest way to know if a snake in NJ is venomous or not is to look at the head.  Both rattle snakes and copperheads are pit vipers and have triangular heads.  Most other local snakes have more of an oval shape.  That's a bit of an over-simplification, but it will get you by in a pinch.  The rattles on an Eastern are another give away.

 

Here's a great site for IDing rattlers with their various color phases:  https://www.google.com/search?q=eastern+rattlesnake+identification&rlz=1C1GGGE_enUS502US561&espv=2&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=YACWU-KuDIrgsASX0ILYCw&ved=0CB8QsAQ&biw=1366&bih=643

 

And for Northern copperheads:  https://www.google.com/search?q=northern+copperhead+snake&rlz=1C1GGGE_enUS502US561&espv=2&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=rQCWU8rRO9TKsQTf2IHADA&ved=0CB8QsAQ&biw=1366&bih=643  

[Haskell_Hunter]

Thanks guys, good to know.. Snakes in general just make me a little uneasy... The black racer was making a rattle noise with the tail. I was not sure if it came from the snake itself or from rustling in the dry brush

Black racers do rustle leaves with their tails and it will sound like a rattler. Normally they'll just run away, but if you corner one and mess with it, expect a good fight.

[Rusty]

Some great pictures.     

[LittleM]

The large black snakes could either be northern black racers or black rat snakes.  Chances are, if they didn't bolt when you approached them, they were rat snakes.  Unless its very cold out, racers will either bolt or mock charge you.  Easy way to tell is look at their belly - racers have black/bluish belly's while rats are white with black blotches.  Or, racer scales are smooth while rats scales are keeled (small ridge in the center of each scale).  But, if you can get close enough to see each individual scale, its prolly a rat snake.

[BowTechExperience]

The black ones let me walk up pretty close to them. One bolted and the other just stood there watching me. I backed away and walked behind it and then it turned to square off with me.. I grabbed a couple pics and gave it space and  left the area. They appeared to be pretty thick and long ( keep it clean gents ...lol ).  They are definitely cool looking  though..

 

I checked out those links above too.  The colors and patterns of these snakes are awesome, but they can definitely do some damage if one gets bitten.. I was looking at some snake bite victims from the Rattlers and Copperhead...  The venom from these two snakes destroys tissue pretty bad..

[Haskell_Hunter]

You know, those black snakes could have been black mambas...world's deadliest snake.  Here's a photo:

 

 

You were lucky to get away with your life!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_mamba

 

(Just kidding...)

[Rusty]

 But, if you can get close enough to see each individual scale, its prolly a rat snake.

 

That is one of the easiest ways to tell the two apart.