Snake Id

[BHowe]

Had this one down on the seawall this morning about 3 1/2' long. Cottonmouth or water snake? I didn't shoot it, I thought it to be a water snake. What's do you guys think?

[moguy1973]

Water snake.

[Ham]

Water snake, but you had no legal right or any reason to kill the snake regardless of species.

[crittermo]

lighten up bigeye, if you read his post correctly he said he didn't shoot it.

personally, i would have shot the dung out of it, poisonous or not

[Ham]

So "Chestnut", you want to admit to any other game laws you routinely violate?

I did read his post. He implied he would have shot the snake if it wasn't a watersnake. That attitude is crap. Shooting all snakes is illegal and is a poor behavior driven by fear and ignorance.

[Feathers and Fins]

Nice picture of a watersnake doing what they do.

[MOPanfisher]

Nice looking Northern Water Snake, having a crappy lunch.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Yup It's quite a show watching one swallow something that has a larger diameter than they do. I'm with Ham. I grew up in a rural area and have several times as an adult and there is not a better friend than snakes.

[jdmidwest]

Shot the dung out of it, good one.....

It must be Black Rat mating season, I have seen a crapload of them on the road this week. Probably 10 a day out running my routes.

[HomerSharp]

Missouri's Wildlife Code Protects Snakes

Few Missourians realize that all snakes native to our state are protected. The Wildlife Code of Missouri treats snakes, lizards, and most turtles as nongame. This means that there is no open season on these animals, and it is technically unlawful to kill them. There is a realistic exception, however: when a venomous snake is in close association with people, which could result in someone being bitten. We hope that more people realize that snakes are interesting, valuable, and, for the most part, harmless.