I live in central Florida and a few weeks ago this snake appeared in my backyard. We don't live real close to any nearby ponds or lakes - at least 1/2 mile away. The snake was approx. 2' long. Can anyone help with identifying him?
Venomous snake(?) ID
Here is a link that might help you...
http://www.floridabackyardsnakes.com/
I looked at the venomous snakes and none looked like yours. The list of non-venomous was long, so I gave up after a few. If the snake is not a threat to humans, I don't worry about it because of the great service they provide in eating rodents and pest insects.
My only concern is when they go after "my" birds. We had Barn Swallows on the porch, and then a Fox Snake tried getting up the siding before a child scared it off. We put sulphur on the porch floor to deter it from coming back. It worked, and we had four little birds leave the nest when the time was right.
Not all snakes need to be near water, so can commonly be found in yards. But I did find one in a rain barrel of ours some years ago. Alive. We have since got some with better covers.
That looks like a Banded Water Snake or one of its cousins in the genus Nerodia that occur where you live.
These guys are not venomous but usually don't make good pets-nervous in captivity & often won't eat.
This message was edited Aug 4, 2015 10:21 AM
In Iowa, many of our snakes are protected so pet consideration is not really an option. I like seeing wild creatures in the wild. Something is lost when people attempt making them pets.