# snake id help...



## Bulldawg76 (Sep 22, 2013)

Thanks. On pinhoti trail in Alabama.


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## BOWHUNTER! (Sep 22, 2013)

Big water snake about to shed?


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## NE GA Pappy (Sep 22, 2013)

I wonder about that identification... that thick body and thick tail has me wondering....  I don't know where the location is, but I would take a stab at it as a moccasin.  

Where is Nic when you need him?


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## jesnic (Sep 22, 2013)

Hard to tell with that pic. Usually, the head is wider, blockier than the body and the pupils are not round on a cotton mouth. But that is certainly one fat water snake. Can't really see his head good enough to tell. Slit eyes, pits over nose, eyebrows over eyes? Tail looks too thick not to be a moccasin.


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## blt152 (Sep 22, 2013)

I see what appears to be vertical pupils and the tell tale stripe on the side of the head back to the corner of the jaw. All these points to a moccasin.


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## Bulldawg76 (Sep 23, 2013)

Dang, I was sure leaning (and hoping) for water snake.  Seems like his head was wider at times. Or he could make it appear wider.  Coulda been perspective as we were keeping a healthy distance after my buddy almost stepped on it.  It seemed content to leave us alone so we left it alone.  The rough part was we had to go back up the trail past that spot.  Didn't see him again, not for lack of looking.


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## jesnic (Sep 23, 2013)

A water snake will flatten out his head and make him look menacing. A cotton mouth just has a fat head and looks menacing all the time.


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## rip18 (Sep 23, 2013)

Looks like a nice, mature yellow-bellied watersnake.


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## jbird1 (Sep 23, 2013)

Watersnake


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## Bulldawg76 (Sep 23, 2013)

Great.  That makes sense as it appeared he has flattening his head out to look tough.


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## cre8foru (Sep 23, 2013)

I agree with Rip. Yellow-bellied Watersnake.


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