As the temperatures warms here in the Southeast, snakes begin to emerge
from hybernation...I caught one up yesterday and decided to use it to
teach alittle class on snake I.D....1st image is a yellow belly watersnake...
Often mistaken as a water moccasin, it's belly muddy yellow and lacking
in skin pattern on the back and head...It has sharp little gripping teeth set
in rows (like tiny peices of sharp glass)...The 2nd image is a water moccasin,
fanged, aggresive if cornered & poisonous, it's will display a white inner mouth,
often refered to as a cottonmouth for that reason..It's belly is blotchy black &
white, will have a enlongated light white stripes each side of the head at the eye.
Always aggresive and should be avoided...Recess!....lets here some  stories..

I believe my hero Bugs Bunny just about summed it all up... YIPES!

I remember once coming home from picking dew berries all day. Mom had set sundown as the dead line and we were in a hurry to make that. About 6-8 of us kids from around 6 years to 12 years old.
 
We were on a dead run for the house and all short cuts were on the itenary. Mean while we had to be careful not to spill our gallon buckets of berries as there were plans for pies and cereals for the coming week.
 
One of the short cuts included crossing a bar ditch. These things are around 50' wide at the top, go about 20' deep and always have some water at the bottum but usually only around 2-3' wide, easy jump. Now they will run full during heavy rain but I digress.
 
We are headed down the slope at full gallup and I as I remember it I was near the back of the pack when some one near the front yells SNAKE!!!!

Now to bare foot kids this is a warning of the first order.

There were kids going in all directions, buckets flying in others, berries making a dotted spray in still more. It seems in only a flash we were standing at the top of the other side looking back at the offending snake which had not moved. Gathering our buckets and what berries we could we headed on in. Arriving home with less than half what we started down that ditch bank with. Mom was not too sure about the snake story as she allowed how we probably ate what we picked versus bringing it home.

With hot, dry conditions in the early fall here in the South, the best places
to squirrel hunt is near water, creeks & ditches....Look what I come upon
as I was looking for a fox squirrel I'd just knocked out of a cypress tree at
the creeks' edge....Yipe!:eek: .Cottonmouth!...Gotta watch for em...BH51

If you ever encounter a snake of any sort in the woods, the best thing to do is to freeze and back away slowly. Any sudden movements could trigger a strike. In certain parts of the country there are a few poisonous snakes, but why take a chance? if you are out in the woods and you find yourself on a snake, just stop and s-l-o-w-l-y walk back, do not run.
 
If you are being followed or chase then high-tail it out of there and zig-zag. If you happened to get bit, wash the bite with water and soap (if you have any on you) and identify the snake. Then contact an emergency hospital. Most bites aren't lethal, but if you are allergic to a certain venom, you may be in excrutiating pain and may pass out.
 
Reguardless try not to mess with snakes.
 
I know most of the time it is inevitable to run upon a snake, especially when hunting/fishing. But if you know how to handle the situation and back away from the snake without any sudden movements, you can avoid getting bit.
 
Also if you are squirrel/deer/bird or etc hunting or fishing, watch also where you step, especially if you live in the south.
 
God bless :angel:
 
PS: If you live in an area with coral or king snakes. Coral snakes are poisonous while king snakes aren't. They have similar body colorations but there's a difference. Just remember if yellow touches black your ok Jack, if Yellow touches red, your dead Fred!

Here is a perfect example of 12 guage's cliche, if yellow touches black,
your OK Jack....The Eastern Red Milk Snake, not at all striped like the
Coral Snake of the South West, but having the same colors and often
mistaken as one by the fearful....Non-venomous member of the King
Snake family, a constrictor, meaning it squeezes the life out of it's lunch.
Harmless and beautiful, grows to about 3 feet in length...I beleive it
mostly nocturnal....Ain't it pretty?. ..........................................BH51.......

So...I know nothing about snakes, but I came across this one. What kind is it? Im sure it's common.
 

Although similar in color to the venomous Copperhead, its' pattern
appears to be a Corn snake.....Little cottonmouth are similar in
color to copperhead also, when there about 8 inches or so....And,
copperheads have sligtly different patterns about them from one
geological area to another.....I really can't be sure about that one..
Hard to call from a photo image like that....To be on the safe side,
I would consider it VENOMOUS!:undecided: .......................................BH51.................

Thanks for the info. I did a search on the 3 snakes you had listed and finally came to the conclusion it was a cottonmouth. :) Here's the one I found and the one I looked up on the internet.
 

Big snake............Paul H

Yep...That's a nice one Paul....Kentucky garter snake, I think.....
And judge by it's belly, it's done swoller'd somethin' big....Them
ole boys got'em tied up to keep him from wigglin' out of the
back of that   pick'm up   truck,  I'd say.......................BH51.............

What did that thing eat???

Most about anything it wanted to.

Here is a pic of a large Cotton Mouth, (water moccasin) that my
grandson (age 9) and me (pre-historic) bust a cap on, at todays shooting
practice.....sorry about cutting it's head out of the picture...It was n't that pretty anyway............BH51....

I ran across this lil' beauty today....about 2 1/2 feet in length,
copper'ish colored, lovely pattern...Can anyone guess what it is?