Can you ID this baby snake?

Found this little guy in my pool.
Does anyone know what species it is?
It has a black strip under each eye as well.
location central Florida.
Thanks

At first glance, it looks like a garter snake.

Whats its length? Does it have round or slit pupils in its eyes?

a reply to: NightFlight

Dang, I was hoping for something a little more exciting, like a moccasin.

Just a common water snake (not sure what the formal name is).

When I was a kid we would shoot them with our bb guns when they poked their heads up out of the pond in our neighborhood.

a reply to: Mandroid7

If it was a moccasin it'd probably let you know. They have a reputation for being aggressive.

Nice of you to rescue it either way.

Is it really small? Looks like a harmless Florida Brown Snake (Storeria victais)

a reply to: Mandroid7

www.flmnh.ufl.edu...

Do you think this is what it is?


I have a Florida Banded Water Snake that hangs out in my pond. He is not only very non-aggressive he comes to eat with the rest of the gang when I feed them. He likes the stale bread the best.

I don't like snakes but I feed him right along with the other critters, it stops them from eating too many of my fish when I keep their bellies full.

Now if I could find something to feed my hawk. We have a fight every time I feed the pond critters because he thinks he should be able to take advantage of the fish during their feeding frenzy. He doesn't agree with me when I tell him that it is unfair for him to take them while they are fighting for their treats, so he sits in the trees and screams at me. Sometimes he gets so mad at me he will even swoop at me. Of course, my mother thinks the whole conversation / argument we have, is absolutely hilarious. He is welcome to hunt the pond, but only when it is fair and square.

He has tried to catch the birds and squirrels at the feeder, but the feeder is placed close to the trees, so he doesn't have a clear line for flight. He doesn't go hungry. I have seen him catch both rabbit and armadillo. He just has to work for his food.

originally posted by: Ksihkehe
a reply to: Mandroid7

If it was a moccasin it'd probably let you know. They have a reputation for being aggressive.

Nice of you to rescue it either way.

Yeh, he was kinda shy. I've had one of those bad boys beeline straight at me from the middle of a pond when I shined my headlight at it. It wouldn't have scared me, if I wasn't walking my dog and trying to run backwards at the same time through sticks, wearing flip flops. Rather disturbing, I must say

originally posted by: Staroth
Is it really small? Looks like a harmless Florida Brown Snake (Storeria victais)

Yep..that is exactly what it is. Back and head patterns match exactly. Good catch. It was probably 8" or so.

originally posted by: NightSkyeB4Dawn
a reply to: Mandroid7

www.flmnh.ufl.edu...

Do you think this is what it is?


I have a Florida Banded Water Snake that hangs out in my pond. He is not only very non-aggressive he tries to eat comes to eat with the rest of the gang when I feed them. He likes the stale bread the best.

I don't like snakes but I feed him right along with the other critters, it stops them from eating too many of my fish when I keep there bellies full.

Now if I could find something to feed my hawk. We have a fight every time I feed the pond critters because he thinks he should be able to take advantage of the fish during their feeding frenzy. He doesn't agree with me when I tell him that it is unfair for him to take them while they are fighting for their treats, so he sits in the trees and screams at me. Some times he gets so mad at me he will even swoop at me. Of course, my mother thinks the whole conversation / argument we have, is absolutely hilarious. He is welcome to hunt the pond, but only when it is fair and square.

He has tried to catch the birds and squirrels at the feeder, but the feeder is placed close to the trees, so he doesn't have a clear line for flight. He doesn't go hungry. I have seen him catch both rabbit and armadillo. He just has to work for his food.

Is this the ghost of Steve Irwin?
Sounds like a zoo over there...nice

This is by far my most favorite thing about Florida.
Critters galore. I do quite a bit of hiking, free diving, spearfishing, canoeing and general nature watching.
There is an unreal amount of wildlife down here. I just had a black bear probably 3 ft from me growling and huffing on a tight trail in thick foliage.

Now only if I can get some swamp ape pictures in Lettuce Lake park

originally posted by: NightSkyeB4Dawn
a reply to: Mandroid7

www.flmnh.ufl.edu...

Do you think this is what it is?

Sorry, overlooked your question...
Looks like Staroth gets the prize...Florida Brown Snake, but that one is cool looking.

originally posted by: Mandroid7
a reply to: NightFlight

Dang, I was hoping for something a little more exciting, like a moccasin.

Be careful what you wish for, down there!! A snake guy in Tampa told me that, if you find an unknown snake, the odds are as good that it's no only an imported species, rather than native, but also that it's deadly. This was a zoo guy, who knew his business. There are so many escaped or set loose down there, there is no telling what you can encounter. Don't wish for a moccasin, though; those suckers have been known to chase people.

originally posted by: Mandroid7
Found this little guy in my pool.
Does anyone know what species it is?
It has a black strip under each eye as well.
location central Florida.
Thanks

Think the consensus is a standard brown water snake.
Gotta go with an adolescent, not even fully colored yet.
Either that or Terry B. is getting a lot better at shape shiftin'.
BAY-a_BEE.

originally posted by: LadyGreenEyes

originally posted by: Mandroid7
a reply to: NightFlight

Dang, I was hoping for something a little more exciting, like a moccasin.

Be careful what you wish for, down there!! A snake guy in Tampa told me that, if you find an unknown snake, the odds are as good that it's no only an imported species, rather than native, but also that it's deadly. This was a zoo guy, who knew his business. There are so many escaped or set loose down there, there is no telling what you can encounter. Don't wish for a moccasin, though; those suckers have been known to chase people.

Yep, I have been chased once, and seen another come straight at me guarding a small swimming area, like a territorial dog. Have been struck at 2 or 3 times on the trails by rattlers. Pretty scary stuff. The intelligence they show is absolutely creepy. Iv'e seen no other snake act the way they do aside from the Mamba and King Cobra, on tv of course. Here is a little taste of the size these bad boys can get...80lbs

originally posted by: Mandroid7
Yep, I have been chased once, and seen another come straight at me guarding a small swimming area, like a territorial dog. Have been struck at 2 or 3 times on the trails by rattlers. Pretty scary stuff. The intelligence they show is absolutely creepy. Iv'e seen no other snake act the way they do aside from the Mamba and King Cobra, on tv of course. Here is a little taste of the size these bad boys can get...80lbs

Egads, that thing is HUGE!!! I really can't stand moccasins. Creepy evil snakes, those! Mambas.......first I ever heard of those was from a novel, called, I think, Snake. Mamba loose in Central Park. The descriptions were pretty good, too. I haven't personally encountered a venomous snake, though some rattlers were killed in the campground we visited a lot when I was a kid. We were always cautious on the trails, carrying big walking sticks, and keeping clear of overgrown areas, of course. Never saw a bear, either, though a child was killed decades later in the same area. Kind of feel protected there. IN Florida, we were pretty sure we had something BIG under the house, and sometimes in the pipes. The shower would sometimes not drain AT ALL, then could suddenly completely clear while in use,just like something was in the pipe then moved. Had a nice hole in the yard a big snake could have been in, too. Likely some sort of constrictor, since those are all over down there!