snake harvest - road kill

[lesken2011]

Yeah, Blackhawk. I go in the shop and stare at it every day for a couple minutes. I'm sure over the next year or two I'll get up enough courage to tackle it...well...maybe sooner!

[PrimitiveTim]

look up gopher snake and compare the two.  Looks a little off for a pine snake and pine snakes spend most of their life underground so they're seldom seen.  I think they're both in the same genus though... or something like that.

[4dog]

Thats two for gopher

[lesken2011]

I finally got it skinned and dried out and put away. I used way too many staples stretching it out since it was my first time, but it turned out great and is much bigger than I thought it would be. Now...which piece of wood to put it on???

[Pappy]

Nice save,beautiful snake.
   Pappy

[Marks]

Looks like our chicken snake here in north Alabama. Also called rat snake by some. They get upwards of 6' long so 5' is within reason.

[Marks]

Here is one from a few years ago. 95% sure that's what it is. Its probably the most common snake found around here and you aren't that far away from me.

[Marks]

I googled chicken snake because I knew it was a general term. It includes several breeds. The corn snake which is more orange or golden in color and definitely not it. I know them well also as corn snake. The Northern Pine looks similar to the next 3 but isn't it. Its pattern looks a little more broken up and the background color is lighter.  The next 3 look extremely similar. The Black rat snake is mostly black with a slight pattern peaking thru. The Grey rat snake and the eastern rat snake are lighter in background color. Both have a grey background with a black to dark grey pattern. I think the eastern can have some slight brown highlights and shading going on but I really can't distinguish the 2 from the internet pics. The last 3 vary from animal to animal on how dark so they are hard to distinguish. Until now I never realized there was a difference. I just thought there were color phases.

Your snake is either a grey or eastern rat snake. Or called a chicken snake out here on the farm. I've always been told they keep poisonous snakes away but that's probly an old wives tale. They are fun to catch and play around with. They love chicken eggs but we never had chickens so I always let em go near our grain bins to keep the mice at bay.

[Josh B]

Good save Kenny!  I was down in the bootheel of Missouri a while back and watched a copperhead get clipped by a car ahead of me.  I got all excited, whoa'd my truck, put the four ways on and ran back to claim my treasure.  I got about five feet away when that dead copperhead righted it self and exhibited some rather bad behavior!  I got the hint real quick!  As I was back peddling for all I was worth, I hollered at the ornery critter, "if your gonna be that way, keep your skin then!"  Lol!  Josh

[lesken2011]

I can just picture that, Josh. I wish I had that on video!!

[Marks]

Good save Kenny!  I was down in the bootheel of Missouri a while back and watched a copperhead get clipped by a car ahead of me.  I got all excited, whoa'd my truck, put the four ways on and ran back to claim my treasure.  I got about five feet away when that dead copperhead righted it self and exhibited some rather bad behavior!  I got the hint real quick!  As I was back peddling for all I was worth, I hollered at the ornery critter, "if your gonna be that way, keep your skin then!"  Lol!  Josh

Its amazing how hard it is to kill a snake. A guy called me the other day to tell me he it a snake. He said he ran over it several times. When I got there the snake was fine. I caught it and put it in a bag, drove it down the road and let it go in the ditch. Coincidentally it was a chicken snake and I don't kill them.