Is anyone here familiar with snakes?  We found one in our chicken house this morning.  We've been searching the web for a couple hours but haven't found anything that looks like it, and I really need to know because there are supposed to be quite a lot of poisonous snakes here in Texas.

It was about 4 foot long, light reddish brown with large dark brown diamonds in a line down the center of its back.  One thing I do know is that it was definitely not a rattler.  We got a close look...he didn't have a rattle and was not at all aggressive.  Of course, he may have just been sluggish because of a full belly.  One of our baby chicks is missing... :(

Any ideas??

If it looks like the snake shown here http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/fl-guide/crotalusadamanteus.htm it's a rattlesnake that lost it's rattle in an accident or fight, or it's still quite young & hasn't properly grown it's rattle.

ps be careful :D

Nope, that's not the one.  The majority of his body was light reddish brown, and the diamonds were in a single line down the center of its back with the diamond points end to end.

I might say copperhead but they dont usually get that big.. rat snake maybe. 

try this site..
http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txherps/snakes/

corn snake, gopher snake, etc.

Attached Link: this?

3 1/2 to 5 foot, has diamonds :)

  The main thing to look for, is bulges, about where the jaws hinge... if that's kinda wide... the arrowhead shape...it'll likely be poisonous.... Copperheads?... I used to catch them for the Serpentarium in Florida.... some would get as long as six feet. Lou.

onnetz, thanks but that's one of the sites I found with my search...went through every single one of them and didn't see it.  Of course, some of them didn't have pictures.  I guess I'll have to Google the ones that didn't and see if it's any of those.

Miss Nancy, I checked and not either one of those.

This is really bugging me!  I can't believe I haven't been able to find it.  Unless...can snake cross-breed?

remember that individuals of a species can show wide variations from a typical photo or drawing. snake species of the same genus can cross-breed, but it's more likely you've got a true-bred individual. next things to check are the mexican snakes, or anything that might have come from a pet shop (imported species).

  Do a google in the images tab for Copperhead Snakes... they do come in various colours from an almost pink red shade, to "Brown, brown" It mostly depends on where they come from. What they run into in Alabama sounds close. ... Not suggesting that you go hunt it up, but it would help a lot if you had an image. Lou.

anxcon, nope, it's not that one.

archdruid, unfortunately, that's the one thing we didn't get a good look at.  :(

Miss Nancy, good point about the variations, although I haven't seen a single picture that looks even remotely like it.  And I hadn't thought about crossing the border (LOL!) or an imported escapee.  sigh

I'll keep searching, but I'm sure it'll be back.  Maybe I can get a picture.  But one way or another, we're going to have to get rid of it.  I really don't want to kill it (maybe we can try to trap and release it somewhere else), but between the damn coyotes, foxes, possums, hawks and now snakes, our chickens are almost all gone.  They've completely wiped out our guineas, and we only have one duck left.  The only ones that haven't been killed are the geese and turkeys.

  ok... but was the head "arrowhead shaped", or slim like your image?   GEESE?... all right!.... they do make a good alarm system... if they're making a ruckus, likely one of your problems is in the area. :blushing: but you'd already know that. Still looking around, though. Lou.

archdruid, the head was the one thing we didn't get a good look at.  :(

Yeah, the geese can make a lot of noise when they're agitated, and we've got one male that is really aggressive.  Him and the male turkey (Cocoa) have really been going at it.  Poor Cocoa...one third of his body has been plucked bald.  That goose latches on and doesn't let go until the feathers come out.  :(

I found this article and it makes me lean torwards the rat snake even more.
http://coloherp.org/cb-news/Vol-30/cbn-0306/TexasRat.php

the poser image appears to be a red diamondback. there may be some folklore about some of 'em being "silent" (no rattles), in addition to tail injuries caused by an unknown agent.

Quote - Is anyone here familiar with snakes?  We found one in our chicken house this morning. 

And you're still leaving there?!

I'd have been packed and thousands of miles from there by now!

Slithery things just creep me out. Nothing like a snake, or worm or a hairy spider to send me shrieking from the room, LOL

Aren't the younger rattle snakes more venomous? Or is that just a myth?

I've heard that the venom in young rattlesnakes is not more poisonous, just more concentrated. I haven't been willing to test this theory. I do find a lot of young bull snakes in the yard, these I leave alone. And occasionally, I find young rattlesnakes. If I can, I'll relocate them. They mostly eat rodents, and that's alright by me. One year I had a rock chuck come up to the fence and totally creap-out my blue healer. She didn't know what to make of it, so she headed for the house. I, on the other hand, tried to scare it off. I yelled at it, kicked the fence, and went so far as to fire a round into the ground next to it. Did it run away like I thought it would? Heck no, it just stood on its hind legs and hissed at me. The next round went through the lungs & heart.

Quote - I've heard that the venom in young rattlesnakes is not more poisonous, just more concentrated. I haven't been willing to test this theory. I do find a lot of young bull snakes in the yard, these I leave alone. And occasionally, I find young rattlesnakes. If I can, I'll relocate them. They mostly eat rodents, and that's alright by me. One year I had a rock chuck come up to the fence and totally creap-out my blue healer. She didn't know what to make of it, so she headed for the house. I, on the other hand, tried to scare it off. I yelled at it, kicked the fence, and went so far as to fire a round into the ground next to it. Did it run away like I thought it would? Heck no, it just stood on its hind legs and hissed at me. The next round went through the lungs & heart.

Snakes don't have ears  so the sound of a gunshot won't scare it :)

Acadia, I was writing about a rock chunk, not a snake.

Quote - Acadia, I was writing about a rock chunk, not a snake.

And so you were :)

Ahhhh!  A ground squirrel!  I've never heard it called a "rockchuck", but apparently that's it's main name.

They're cuties!!!  Why did you shoot her?      She was probably protecting her babies.

Well, the one I shot was a male, so no babies. Its not a ground squirrel, those are what we call "gophers", which are in fact ground squirrels. Rock chucks are ill-tempered lil critters. I've run into them before while out bow hunting. I leave them alone, they've left me alone. This particular rock chuck wanted into the yard, threatened my dog (whos a very gentle dog), and I gave it three chances to leave. But when it hissed at me, I wasn't going to take the chance that it had rabies, I took it out. As you've read from my earlier post, I'll go to lengths greater than most to preserve life. All my neigbors, universally, shoot coyotes on sight. I've never killed one. But there are limits. If a coyote showed up in your yard to make a meal of your beloved cat, I'd take it out without a moments hesitation. Several years ago, here in Montana, a small child was killed by a mountain lion, in a popular family campground! And a friend of mine in the middle of the night had a mountain lion leap from the ground to the top of her trailer and paced back and forth. I wouldn't have believed it but I saw the tracks with my own eyes. Sometimes nature bears its ugly fangs, and when it does I do what is sometimes unpleasant to protect my family and pets.

Quote - Several years ago, here in Montana, a small child was killed by a mountain lion, in a popular family campground! And a friend of mine in the middle of the night had a mountain lion leap from the ground to the top of her trailer and paced back and forth. I wouldn't have believed it but I saw the tracks with my own eyes. Sometimes nature bears its ugly fangs, and when it does I do what is sometimes unpleasant to protect my family and pets.

And people wonder why my idea of camping is a 5 star hotel !!!  Between bugs, bears, rain, out houses  and other wild critters, you can't pay me enough to go camping.

The Eastern Diamondback looks to be the closest match, although the colours and markings are still not quite right. 

The pics I Google'd on the Eastern Diamondback all look grey-brown-black whereas the one we saw was reddish-brown.  And the diamonds were a very different shape.  This is so odd...  But whatever it is, I'm pretty sure now that it's some kind of rattler that was missing it's rattle.  It's gonna have to go.  I don't want a poisonous snake hanging around.  I don't like killing anything, but I'm not taking a chance with trying to trap it.

Thanks so much everyone!  If you can think of anything else it might be, please let me know!  I'll try to take a picture if we see it again.

Yeah. : ) As you get older, sleeping on the ground kinda loses its luster.

Sounds like a corn snake or a king snake - both  fairly harmless - except they have been know to steal eggs!
corn snake -
king snake-

Texas rat snake

Gopher snake

Never heard of a corn snake, look at the size of that thing! That snake ain't been missing no meals! And from the coloring, looks like the closest match so far.

I would add this warning, ANY snake, harmless or no, can bite. Just because it isn't poisonous does not mean you won't get bitten. Handle any captured snake as though it were and you'll reduce your chance of getting hurt.

Quote - I would add this warning, ANY snake, harmless or no, can bite. Just because it isn't poisonous does not mean you won't get bitten. Handle any captured snake as though it were and you'll reduce your chance of getting hurt.

 
tru

maybe a redracer?
i know southern nevada has them.

try looking here:
http://www.texassnakes.net/pictures.html

texas night snake

http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txherps/snakes/

http://www.surgery.uthscsa.edu/stpc/snakes.asp

this is a very good site for ya to check out.
http://www.kingsnake.com/stha/snakecall.html

tells you who to call to rid yourself of the snake in your area.
also has pics of the ones that live in your area too!

Qoute:
First of all, DON'T PANIC (easy for us to say)!  There are 72 species (types) of snake native to Texas.  Only 11 are venomous.  Of course, to someone unfamiliar with these reptiles, ALL snakes are considered dangerous!  That's a safe assumption to make, unless you are positive of the snake's identification (and they don't carry wallets!).  Not to worry; our members are familiar with the various types of snakes found in the local area and can make an accurate ID.