Identify snake by molted skin?

[Reg]

My wife has snake phobia and demanded that I have this identified. Any guesses?

[Guest Jamie]

I see what looks like stripes or lines running it's length, so I'm guessing Garter Snake.

( The skin appears to be belly up, btw. )

Any chance of getting a better pic? And it's length and width would be good too.

Even for that though, it'll be tough to identify for certain.

J.

[res308]

Tell her that's a rattle-headed-copper-moccasin!

[Guest Jamie]

Tell her that's a rattle-headed-copper-moccasin!

Rattlin' Coppermouth.

J.

[Guest jackdm3]

Mouthy rattler.

[Oh Shoot]

Can tell you without question it's a Bushmaster.

They've everywhere in TN, hang out near mountain lion populations, and are really nasty tempered.

- OS

[Guest jackdm3]

Thought it was just a S. American thing from what I saw in "Romancing the Stone."

[Guest BEARMAN]

Looks more like a Gaboon Viper to me, with the brownish scales and pattern.

[Guest Jamie]

Can tell you without question it's a Bushmaster.

You sure it's not an Anaconda?

J.

[Oh Shoot]

Thought it was just a S. American thing from what I saw in "Romancing the Stone."

Yeah, they've come north like the fire ants.

You sure it's not an Anaconda?

Nah, definitely venomous.

Bushmaster, I'd recognize one anywhere.

So to OP, keep an eye out for them murderous panthers, too.

- OS

[Guest Jamie]

Nah, definitely venomous.

Bushmaster, I'd recognize one anywhere.

So to OP, keep an eye out for them murderous panthers, too.

- OS

And Bigfoot... can't forget Bigfoot.

Seriously though, to the OP: it'll be tough to tell what species of snake it is without some key areas of the skin.

You can narrow it down a bit by whether or not the scales are keeled or smooth, and if there's any sort of a pattern on the skin at all, but without a look at the face/head... there's just not enough to go on.

BTW, skin pigment doesn't usually carry off with the shed skin. A little bit of a pattern... lighter or darker... is usually about the best you get. The shedding in the other thread is an oddity, and the snake probably had some sort of injury or disease. Even a green snake shedding will have that same brownish color as your picture.

J.

Edited June 18, 2010 by Jamie

[Guest Jamie]

By the way, folks, the most common snake in Tennessee is the Boomslang.

Hey, Bubba... heard you killed a snake today. What kind what it?

Bubba: "A boomslang."

A boomslang? Aren't those only found in Africa?

Bubba: "Nope. Killed this 'un in the back yard."

How do you know it was a boomslang, Bubba?

Bubba: 'Cause my shotguns went 'boom', then I slang it over the fence for the crows to eat."

J.