May 31May 31 14 hours ago, Jerry Callo said: You would think the directional names would be helpful, but its crazy in Central Texas - Western Ribbonsnake, Western Ratsnake, Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake, Western Coachwhip Eastern Hog-nosed, Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer, Eastern Copperhead Northern Cottonmouth 14 hours ago, Steel Shank said: It may be the damnedest thing I've ever seen. 13 hours ago, miguelito said: We should just remove the directional part and call it "Texas." Texas Ribbonsnake, Texas Ratsnake, etc 13 hours ago, Jerry Callo said: Like the Texas Indigo snake, Texas Patch-nosed Snake, and Texas Coralsnake. Classic Texan, thinking that y'all are just the center of everything. 😁
May 31May 31 3 hours ago, JMFP said: Classic Texan, thinking that y'all are just the center of everything. 😁 Wait. What? We’re not?
June 4Jun 4 43 minutes ago, Handcruser said: What was this Wait - was this from a great big fat snake?
June 5Jun 5 29 minutes ago, Handcruser said: What kind of snake. I need to know whether to burn everything down or what. Can you get a picture of the underside? Specifically the anal plate? Dual rows of scales beyond the anal plate would denote non venomous. Edited June 5Jun 5 by Jerry Callo
June 5Jun 5 Can you get a picture of the underside? Specifically the anal plate? Dual rows of scales beyond the anal plate would denote non venomous. I don’t see dual rows of scales
June 5Jun 5 3 minutes ago, Handcruser said: I don’t see dual rows of scales I don't either, but I also don't see the tail. I don't see markings on the skin that reassemble the markings of the venomous snakes. Looks like a Western ratsnake to me, but that's just a guess. Post it on Central Texas Snake ID Facebook page and you'll get a definitive answer.
June 5Jun 5 10 minutes ago, Handcruser said: I don’t see dual rows of scales You won’t see that if it’s a trans-garter.
June 5Jun 5 Whatever it is, you can be sure that after shedding, it's much bigger now, and probably hungry.
June 5Jun 5 Not a Snek but my cat brought this to me tonight. It is missing about 3 inches of its tail. It is not dead. It ran off before I could get a better picture. I live in NE Texas and have never seen this type of lizard before.
June 5Jun 5 1 hour ago, Handcruser said: That skin is 5 feet long. I need to know what I’m dealing with. I would almost guarantee a rat snake. Feel like half our snake ID requests are rat snakes.
June 5Jun 5 4 hours ago, Jerry Callo said: I don't either, but I also don't see the tail. I don't see markings on the skin that reassemble the markings of the venomous snakes. Looks like a Western ratsnake to me, but that's just a guess. Post it on Central Texas Snake ID Facebook page and you'll get a definitive answer. 24 minutes ago, Lerka Lerka said: I would almost guarantee a rat snake. Feel like half our snake ID requests are rat snakes. No chance it’s a coachwhip?
June 5Jun 5 6 hours ago, Lerka Lerka said: You’ve never seen a gecko? Yes, I have plenty around my yard. Just never seen one with spots.
June 5Jun 5 6 hours ago, Dbeasy said: No chance it’s a coachwhip? There is a good chance is a coachwhip. A Western ratsnake would have a discernible pattern on the shed, which i can't make make out.
June 5Jun 5 I would almost guarantee a rat snake. Feel like half our snake ID requests are rat snakes. The consensus on the Facebook snake ID pages is Texas Indigo. So good snake.
June 5Jun 5 2 hours ago, mininghorn88 said: Yes, I have plenty around my yard. Just never seen one with spots. All Geckos found in Texas have spots or bands. I've caught house Geckos all over Texas.
June 5Jun 5 47 minutes ago, Handcruser said: The consensus on the Facebook snake ID pages is Texas Indigo. So good snake. On those Facebook snake groups the consensus is often wrong. Look for what the moderator says. They are the gold standard.
June 5Jun 5 4 hours ago, mininghorn88 said: Yes, I have plenty around my yard. Just never seen one with spots. So, yeah. Apparently you've never seen a gecko
June 5Jun 5 6 hours ago, mininghorn88 said: Yes, I have plenty around my yard. Just never seen one with spots. Are you sure you're not thinking of Green Anoles? Sometimes they are green and sometimes they are brown.
June 5Jun 5 4 hours ago, Handcruser said: The consensus on the Facebook snake ID pages is Texas Indigo. So good snake. That was my guess because of shape and size of scales.
June 5Jun 5 4 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said: Are you sure you're not thinking of Green Anoles? Sometimes they are green and sometimes they are brown. Yeah, people call anoles "geckos," "chameleons," etc. but they're not. Each one, respectively.
June 6Jun 6 10 hours ago, TwiceHorn said: Yeah, people call anoles "geckos," "chameleons," etc. but they're not. Each one, respectively. I had a veiled chameleon growing up. Such a badass little animal, but very short lifespan. After that I got a Ball Python. I’ve had him since I was 12. I turned 43 this week and he’s still around.
June 10Jun 10 49 minutes ago, Shoxthemonkey said: Rat Snek? Yep. Looks like a juvenile Western ratsnake.
June 10Jun 10 53 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said: Yep. Looks like a juvenile Western ratsnake. My daughter just finished a semester of herpetology at Texas St. She says it is a Great Plains Rat Snake. Apparently, the dark band across the nose is the telltale sign. 9 out of 10 snakes we see around here are Rat Snakes of one variety or another. Pretty safe guess whenever a snek shows itself. My best friend's wife sent me the picture and asked if it was a good snek or bad. I told her it was good so she picked it up and carried it across the road and released it in a pasture. He would have put on a hazmat suit and welding gloves before he would have touched it😄.
June 10Jun 10 8 minutes ago, Shoxthemonkey said: My daughter just finished a semester of herpetology at Texas St. She says it is a Great Plains Rat Snake. Apparently, the dark band across the nose is the telltale sign. 9 out of 10 snakes we see around here are Rat Snakes of one variety or another. Pretty safe guess whenever a snek shows itself. My best friend's wife sent me the picture and asked if it was a good snek or bad. I told her it was good so she picked it up and carried it across the road and released it in a pasture. He would have put on a hazmat suit and welding gloves before he would have touched it😄. I’m not seeing a problem with that.
June 10Jun 10 Both Western ratsnakes and Great Plains ratsnakes have a bar across the eyes. The Great Plains ratsnake has an "arrow point" pattern on the top of the head where the Western ratsnake does not. Great Plains ratsnake: Western ratsnake: Here's a good picture of both: I can be tough to determine for sure. I thought yours might be a Great Plains as well, but I think it is a Western.
June 10Jun 10 On 6/6/2025 at 12:35 AM, Biff Tannen said: I had a veiled chameleon growing up. Such a badass little animal, but very short lifespan. After that I got a Ball Python. I’ve had him since I was 12. I turned 43 this week and he’s still around. Snek pic?
June 10Jun 10 I have to ask - what is the worst bite you’ve ever received from your buddy? My friend was tagged from time to time by his snake being excited that a rat was about to be dropped in his tank - the snake would sometimes strike as rat-chow was about to be dropped, miss and grab his hand. Which he said was not pleasant and that the teeth are designed so that the prey cannot pull out of the bite so easily.
June 10Jun 10 I had a ball, a couple red tail boas, and a dumeril boa when I was in high school. Had to sell (on the cheap) to a herpetologist in the area when I went into uncle sam's canoe club. So not as long as Biff's run, but still a bit of a run. I used tongs when feeding, never got tagged. Never handled their food, and then them, without rigorous hand/forearm washing, etc. Basic, common sense. Not that I was an expert, that was just how I was taught (by referenced herpetologist.) The herpetologist was mainly focusing on corn/milk sneks, breeding and such, and was (and continues to be) well known in those circles.
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