Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
We found this snake in our back yard yesterday. Our neighbor thinks it is a moccasin. It is red and black striped with a whitish belly. The head does have black lines from the eyes to lips and the head is a diamond shape. We live in Tampa Florida and there is a conservation area out back.
By Tara
Based on what I read here, I would think that this is, indeed, a venomous watersnake.
ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/
banded water snake non poisonous def not a cottonmouth/moccasin
I am terrified of snakes and my brother moved to Dania, Florida on the interior coast. What can I expect to see?
By Shelley from Marblehead, MA
If you go to google.com and type in" types of snakes in Florida" there will be a lot of information, some sites with pics. There are venomous and non veromous snakes in Floridia. One should know the difference.
Thank you for your reply. I did that yesterday and it is so bad I cannot look at snakes in photos. Do you know IF they slither up the wall into yards from the intercoastal in Dania?
Dania is not the wilderness. It is a well established area and the waterways are not seething with snakes. I've visited in and around that area almost every winter for 20 years and I've never seen a snake.
Please don't be afraid of snakes when you visit your brother in Dania. It is very built up and you'll have nothing to worry about. I've lived in FL before, including in the Keys, and the only time I actually saw a snake was when my cat killed the poor thing and brought it home. Remember that snakes are very shy creatures and don't really want to be near people. If you want to be sure to avoid where they might be just stay out of swamps and don't go looking under rocks or in any dark crevices outside (which I'm sure you won't be doing anyway).
Having a fear of anything can be terrifying. If I can share a little story it might help alleviate a teensy bit of the fear. I am a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and specialize in raccoons, but I have rehabbed all sort of species over the years. I found an injured snake one year and kept him until the injury healed. When I took him out in the woods for release, I found a nice spot in the underbrush and let him go. I stepped back about 2 feet to watch and he started to move into the bush.
I have a fair size property in an area of rattle snakes and they don't normally hang around where there are people, animals, pavement and concrete. Also, just to be safe, wear shoes outside at night and watch where you step in the daytime.
U visited in the winter well u most likely won't see a snake in the winter even here in Florida. But u will in the summer time for sure
Dania has a conservation area on dania beach blvd by the untercoastal motel 6 ..there is alot of wilderness there and they are known for monkeys in the area
What kind of Florida snake has a black body and a white head? I have a small one in my flower bed, and although I have seen many black snakes (nonpoisonous) over the years, I have never seen one with a white head. He was a cute little guy who watched my every move. If he is safe, I will leave him there, but if not, he has to go.
Sometimes I will see a snake near the A/C drip pipe where they go to get water. I know the little snakes are beneficial to the garden, so I leave them there unless I know they are poisonous - then I would call Animal Control to get it out. Sorry I didn't take his picture to help identify him.Looked up your snake in all my books. There were no snakes matching that description in America but several in Australia(some were listed as extremely poisonous). Maybe a pet that escaped or was turned loose? I found a dead iguana in the street one day. They are not native to this area. Had to have been a pet. Another possibility: the snake is shedding and still has the old skin on his head. Old snake skin looks white.
Nan--I'm new to Florida-moved last summer. Since moving to a new home last month, I have seen more snakes, and have many around the church that I work at. I first wonder how small it was? Could it have been a ringneck? They are quite small, we had one in the pool the other day that was no bigger around than a thick ponytail band, the ring on his neck was grey/white. The yesterday, there was bigger one, thin like a shoelace, but his neck ring was reddish. I wonder if what you saw was a ringneck with a thicker ring? Could be an anomoly. Also, note that ringnecks ARE NOT poisonous :) Here is a link to Florida snakes: www.flmnh.ufl.edu/
I am in panama and found such a critter under the front door of my house. I took a picture before I shooed him out. He was small and very cute so I took a picture but the locals tell me he is a 'Vibora Negro' which literally translated in Spanish means 'Black Snake'. They say he is deadly and has fangs but he looks more to me like if he is poisonous to be of the coral family judging by the rounded nose. Anyhow he scuttled off outside but I will post a picture so you can tell if it looks like the one you saw...cheers
