Help me identify snake please (Tampa, Lakeland: live, dangerous, assessment)

[SwampRat621]

Found this snake by my pool this morning.
About 7 or 8 inches long
Anyone know what type?
I couldn't bring myself to kill it
Should I have?
Thanks

[FloridaKash]

Not sure, maybe a Black Racer? Belly looks a bit different. Pretty easy to tell if a snake is venomous or not. If they have a Viper shaped head they are venomous. If their pupils are not round they are venomous.

[Pragmaticus]

I think it is a black racer. When they are small, they have clear strips (making them difficult, at least for me,to differentiat from the venomous ones, but the head part that Kash mention is important too). When they grow they become more darker and looks to me it is in a transition to adult.

FYI. Since I live surrounded by nature and I get quite a bit of them and I started reading (you can google about different types that are common in Florida) about it to make sure I understand what it is. There are nice website with pcitures.

[jambo101]

Thanks for not killing it, it will now be on its way and you'll never see it again.

[TampaKaren]

Gosh, be careful there. I heard a report on Baynews9 yesterday that a 3-year old toddler from Manatee was bitten by a pigmy rattlesnake. The reporter said the rattler is often confused with a juvenile black racer (which I'd never heard). The Black Racer is harmless while the Pigmy Rattler is lethal if not treated quickly. Here's a link to the online article: Only on BN9: Toddler bitten by rattlesnake while on playground

[Not_liking_FL]

Originally Posted by TampaKaren

Gosh, be careful there. I heard a report on Baynews9 yesterday that a 3-year old toddler from Manatee was bitten by a pigmy rattlesnake. The reporter said the rattler is often confused with a juvenile black racer (which I'd never heard). The Black Racer is harmless while the Pigmy Rattler is lethal if not treated quickly. Here's a link to the online article: Only on BN9: Toddler bitten by rattlesnake while on playground

The juvenile racer does have a pattern that is similar to a pigmy rattler. The pigmy rattler does not make enough venom to be lethal, in most cases. I think their bite would be comparable to a Copperhead. A bite from either would require a trip to the ER.

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

The juvenile racer does have a pattern that is similar to a pigmy rattler. The pigmy rattler does not make enough venom to be lethal, in most cases. I think their bite would be comparable to a Copperhead. A bite from either would require a trip to the ER.

Yep. 100% agree with your assessment above.

[Stewabby]

Looks very similar to a pygmy rattlesnake. One bit one of our dogs a few months ago. She okay now but don't mess with them.

[TampaKaren]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

The juvenile racer does have a pattern that is similar to a pigmy rattler. The pigmy rattler does not make enough venom to be lethal, in most cases. I think their bite would be comparable to a Copperhead. A bite from either would require a trip to the ER.

Maybe I was a bit too melodramatic but why take a chance. This fish and game biologist said the bite could be lethal but no deaths have been recorded (at this writing) --> Lakeland Ledger - Google News Archive Search.

Just for the record, my property backs up to ~35 acres of wetlands and marsh. We see snakes on a regular basis, mostly black racers, though long ago we saw a coral snake and most recently a neighbor killed a cottonmouth. Honestly, the bam bam bam from the gunshots scared me more than the snake. We normally keep away from snakes and leave them alone to go about their business.

[thession]

Looks like a common water snake but to be sure http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/images/pit_viper.jpg you have to get close enough to see their eyes. I prefer to use my camera with a zoom lens to help in the identification.

https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/im...NwB1Mo8KG-kABw

A lot of florida snakes mimic more dangerous ones for survival purposes. That's why you want to keep your distance from them. Snakes are very beneficial to the environment especially if you have rodent problems from fruit trees. Let me know if this helps.