Obviously well fed, most likely from pets left behind.

back in 1980, i was living in corpus christi when hurricane allen hit. the whole city flooded. they warned folks to stay out of the flood waters for just this reason. i was very young, but i remember that i had no interest in finding out if there was any real snake danger.

THAT IS FN FREAKY !!!! NOOOOOO THANKS!!!

Black snakes are common in the south. When i lived in FLA i could pick up a timber in my backyard at any give time and see 4-6 run off (small babies usually). On 2 occassions i cornered a couple this size pictured in my garage. The first time my wife was on the workbench screaming and called me at work and i arrived in uniform (police officer) and battled it with a spade shovel and won 🙂

I'm not a snake hater or lover. I have been known to capture a few in my younger days and keep them like pets. But this one, just the picture, sends the chills up and down my spine.

btw - that DOESNT look like a common black snake to me. Swap snake?

That looks to be a Cotton Mouth.

Ding ding ding ding!!

Water Moccasin is what we called 'em, but cottonmouth is another term for the same snake.

Poisonous enough to make you very sick, but will not usually kill a healthy person of medium size.

It is a cotton mouth water moccassin!

Charlie

wow he's a fatty

a .38 revolver with bird shot cartridges do a good number on em from about 5 to 7 feet away

I wouldn't get much closer than that

or just leave em alone and the rat problem will be reduced

Place em in the storefronts and looting will stop

They could be quite benificial in NOLA right about now

Damn! That is one scary bugger! I kept snakes for a number of years, and he is one big fella'. I would turn around and run like hell if I saw that coming at me.

Heather

Hi

Yeh look at his head, his body structure, and scales definitely a viper (Water Moccasin to be exact) . It is not to diffucult to identify most vipers from other snakes once you know the general features.

Q

PS I ran into his younger distant cousin in Gainesville while hiking. Water Moccasins are an agressive snake even among Vipers. The one I met just moved a bit to the side when he noticed me. He did not back down unlike most snakes that slither away. The one in the picture is a good size fellow isn't he.

Hi

As to venom that depends primarily on the species but it can vary from snake to snake depending on genetics ,size etc.... . I am always cautions around these types of snakes. But one that large would tend to place a bit more respect in my mind.

Q

Someone tell K9KOP about these photos, he's not a big snake fan, to say the least.

I bet if he saw these pic's, he would never want to visit the big easy. LOL!

I actually had dreams about these snakes last night. Not good...

Thats a harmless banded water snake. I have caught many as a young boy.

Cottonmouth has a black stripe thru his eye.

BLACK STRIPE THRU EYE!!! Dammed if I'm getting that close to either!!!!!!