Speckeled King Snake

Today I just got back from a vacation in California. If you live in south eastern Louisiana you know its been raining constantly lately. I woke up early this morning to check the roads and the trace. The first thing I encountered was a dead speckeled kingsnake. What a disheartening site. One of my favorite snakes of Louisiana. Usually what happens after a hard rain is snakes have to exit there usual hiding places and find higher ground so there actively crossing busy streets. This is a deadly combination. So please be careful when driving after a hard rain. The next thing I saw made my summer a 2 3/4 ft speckeled kingsnake. He was on the side of the ditch on the trace. I spotted him then he spotted me. I actually froze for a minute or at least it felt that long. When you find something that you've been looking for, for so long its a great feeling. I regained my senses after he took off . I was not going to let this snake go at all costs. So without hesitation I was in the ditch after him. I scoped him up and that was it. He was a very calm snake not ever trying to bite. The king snake is a wonderful species. He is a constrictor growing to great lengths. Its got a reputation for eating poisonous snakes and this is true. But its not its main source of prey. Mostly king snakes eat mice and rats.

Collection of Louisiana wildlife pictures.

Here's some of my latest finds!

Here's a beautiful water moccasin I saw right down the street from my house. Just a juvenile but man you got to love the pattern on this species. I love this picture for two reasons: One is that the water moccasin is retreating. It disproves the myth that all venomous snakes want to attack you. All I did was get to close for the snakes comfort and it took off. Two, I love this picture because it gives you another way to tell if it's a water moccasin or water snake. If you look closely you can tell that you can not see the eyes of a water moccasin while looking straight down on it while a water snake you would be able too.
Christian my lil brother. He's so happy he finally caught a snake. Just look at how proud he is. lol
These two are of a beautiful diamond backed water snake. One quality of water snakes not yet discussed is that when cornered near water they like to bury there heads in the mud and curl up which makes it pretty easy to catch them sometimes.

Black Racer

This is the black racer. You ever wonder what kind of snake it was when you where hikin through the woods and something just shoots off the trail into the underbrush. Well if it was shiny and black most likely it was one of these guys. A remarkebly fast species with a bad temper. Although its not venomous the black racer will often bite vigorously when captured. This fully grown adult was seen here in a bush on the side of a dried up ditch. When I tried to capture him he took off through the woods. It was a long chase. I was within inches of grabbing him a couple of times, but I had no luck. First, he shot up a small oak covered in thorns. Then he hit the ground running through poison ivy and briar. I stayed with him for a while until I lost him in a large thorn bush. Sorry yall I tried my best but theres gonna be no exact measurements for this guy. I would have to guess he was right at 2, 2 1/2ft. If you encounter one of these snakes or aren't quite sure if its a racer or not, some noticeable features are the dark irisis, also when fully grown they'll be a shiny black coloration, when juvenile they will have a slight pattern, another characteristic is at first they will usually retreat into a tree, and most likely if caught it will bite. Well good luck and check soon for the newest capture!

"Today's Catch" Yellow-bellied water snake

This little guy was feisty. At about 1 3/4ft he wasn't getting caught easy. I was out in the field today on my own so sorry about the poor videoing my camera's actually sitting on the back of my bike seat. Anyways hope you enjoy!

Catch of the day baby ribbon snake!

For more videos of me check out youtube.com just type in snake capture and you'll find me under the swampmaster.

Rough Green Snake

This specimen is a rough green snake. Often found in gardens, climbing through bushes, or lying motionless in leaf cover. A medium size snake reaching lengths of around 3 1/2 ft. This particular snake was right at 2ft. Caught by my little brother basking on the side of the road right near a line of bushes. If you are on the search for a rough green snake keep your eyes peeled its a tough one to find blending in perfectly with its green scales to all types of shrubs. Once you've spotted and identified this beuty be quick to grab because its a swift little snake crawling under leafy debre and evading fast. As for tempermant I personally haven't had one bite me yet, but all snakes have a different attitude. If treated gently you should be in the clear plus its teeth are so tiny it probably wouldn't even break the skin.