VA/TN snake ID

[stangugrl]

My b/f was moving stuff around in the backyard and moved a dog house and found a little big guy. He doesn't know snakes, AT ALL. He said it was about 1 1/2 ft to 2 ft long and about 3/4" wide, looked young, darker blackish grey color, with bands that were tanish brown color and in a point going down(like an arrow), he had a diamond shaped head, and when he got near the snake it flattened itself out. I have tried looking on the net to see if I could find a similar picture, but have resulted in non. If you guys could help, that would be awesome. I really want to know what species this snake is and more if it is poisonous or not.
Thanks in advanced
:shrugs:

 

[grimm1]

couldn't tell you without a picture. generally speaking, in north America, if the head is triangular or diamond shaped it is venomous with coral snakes as an exception. if you don't KNOW what type of snake it is, assume its deadly and leave it be.

 

[Sanebedlam]

It defiantly sounds poisonous due to the head shape as grimm said. Guessing from the general description and location you might look up Water moccasin here on this section (I know at least one person posted pictures of one recently)

 

[Nanci]

Is it an Eastern Hognose? They flatten out quite a bit...

 

[Duff]

Venomous, not poisonous. If we're going to make fun of the media for getting in wrong all the time, we really should try to get it right, lol

 

[v_various]

Venomous, not poisonous. If we're going to make fun of the media for getting in wrong all the time, we really should try to get it right, lol

funny, just last night I was talking to a friend like that.

me: Venomous, not poisonous. There's a difference, poison is passive. Like if you eat it.
friend: well, what if I ate a cobra? And ate his vemom? I'd get sick and that means they're poisonous, right?
me: Sure.

I couldn't really think of a good argument for that.

 

[desertanimal]

I don't believe you get sick from ingesting venom. But you certainly get sick from ingesting poison. Some poisons you can also get sick from having injected (like dart frog excretions), but in the non-human biological world, dart frog excretions are never injected, only sometimes ingested or absorbed through mucous membranes. The difference is in the biological delivery system, and it still holds whether you can get sick from ingesting some venoms or not.

 

[stangugrl]

thanks you guys for all your help...He said it looked like the eastern hognose, but has the colors of the cotton mouth :bang:

 

[Nanci]

Well, Eastern Hoggies are super variable, so the upturned nose would be the identifying feature. They will hiss like crazy, spread out their hood, strike (blindly with a closed mouth!) and if you aren't scared by all that, roll over and play dead, possibly regurgitating at the same time.

Nanci

 

[stangugrl]

Well, Eastern Hoggies are super variable, so the upturned nose would be the identifying feature. They will hiss like crazy, spread out their hood, strike (blindly with a closed mouth!) and if you aren't scared by all that, roll over and play dead, possibly regurgitating at the same time.

Nanci

Def. wasn't Hognose then, because it didn't have a 'hognose'. I and wonder if it isn't a water snake like the one in a new post.

 

[stangugrl]

it is labeled, 'Saturday Herping'

 

[scottsquatch]

eat it up...

most venoms are just complex protiens. This means that you would simply digest them if you ate them. I won't go out on a limb and say you can eat ALL snake venoms, but the venoms in north america can be ingested without ill effect. (I'd imagine some people could have an allergic reaction from ingesting the venom though) Anyway, I just thought I'd give my two cents.

 

[stangugrl]

I went out in the yard where he found 'that' snake at to see if there were any others and there are holes in the ground. So obviously the snake was burrowing?! Any ideas now that we know it burrows?