What is a black snake with white diamonds on its back?

Black rat snakes
Black Rat Snake Black rat snakes have skin showing around their scales which makes a small white diamond pattern. The egg-laying, nonvenomous snake hibernates and often enters homes because it is good at climbing. Rodents are their main food source, which explains their name. Rat snakes also eat frogs, birds and eggs.

What kind of snake has diamonds on his back?

Copperheads, cottonmouth, coral snakes and rattlesnakes are the venomous snakes that exist around the nation. Pit vipers, including rattlesnakes, copperhead and cottonmouths (also called water moccasins), all have a diamond shaped heads; however, many of the mimics also cause their head to form the diamond shape.

Are Diamond back water snakes dangerous?

The diamondback water snake is non-venomous but extremely aggressive, and often misidentified as poisonous cottonmouths. They release musk and fecal mater when defensive (Missouri Department of Conservation).

What kind of snake is black with black diamonds?

Black diamond rattlesnake may refer to: Crotalus o. oreganus, also known as the Pacific rattlesnake, a venomous pitviper subspecies found from British Columbia, Canada, south through the United States into California.

How do you tell if it’s a rattlesnake?

An adult rattlesnake will usually have a nice-sized rattle, so that’s easy, but a young rattlesnake may only have a single button. Look instead for rings at the base of a stubby tail (rattlesnake), or a long tapered tail which ends in a point (gopher snake).

Will a diamondback water snake bite you?

Like most other water snakes, the diamondback watersnake has an irritable temperament and will bite repeatedly if harassed or handled. They are non-venomous so a bite from one is quite harmless, other than a few scratches or lacerations and a possible infection.

How can you tell the difference between a water snake and a water moccasin?

The most noticeable difference is the shape of the head. A water snake’s head will be slender and flow smoothly into the neck, while the head of a water moccasin is far more blocky, and the neck much more narrow as it meets the head.

How do I identify a gopher snake?

Gopher snakes are nonvenomous and have splotchy dark markings on their backs and yellow or brownish coloration with large heads. These snakes are known to hiss loudly, vibrate their tails and flatten their heads when threatened. A common physical trait to easily identify a gopher snake is by the shape of its tail.

What does a black rat snake look like?

Eastern rat snakes, formerly known as black rat snakes, are large non-venomous snakes between 3.5 and 7 feet (one and two meters) long. They have shiny black scales on their back and a light colored belly, and their throat and chin are white.

Where can I find a diamond back snake in Missouri?

The Diamond-back is light brown with dark brown diamond-shaped markings on its sides and back and a yellow belly. They grow between 30 and 48 inches in length. This snake is found in southeastern, northern, and western Missouri, but is not found in the Ozarks.

What kind of snakes are found in Missouri?

Like several other species of water snakes in Missouri, this snake is found only in Southeastern Missouri. The Western Mud Snake has a shiny black back but it’s belly is brightly colored red and reddish-pink. Western Mud Snakes are semi-aquatic and feed primarily on a specific species of salamander called the Three-toed Amphiuma.

Is there a yellow bellied water snake in Missouri?

Also known as the Plain-bellied Water Snake, the Yellow-bellied Water Snake is common in Southeastern Missouri and Western Missouri. Though the Blotched Water Snake, a subspecies of the Plain-bellied Water Snake, is found in the western parts of the state.

What kind of snake is the eastern diamondback rattlesnake?

Crotalus adamanteus, commonly called the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, among other names, is a species of venomous pit viper in the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to the southeastern United States.