Readers Write In: Can You Help Them Figure Out The Identities of These Snakes?

Here are some recent snake identification requests. Can you help these folks out?

Hello,

My neighbor's cat brought this into her garage today. She killed it because she was afraid it was going to get her cat. The vet said it was an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. After doing some googling, I found your site and hoax page. We are located about 45 miles north of Little Rock in Greenbrier, Arkansas. So, is the vet wrong or are we the lucky first ones to find one of these in Arkansas? 

I really appreciate your help. Your site is very interesting (even for a snake hater) :)

Thank you very much for your time.

Hope J.
Greenbrier, Arkansas

Good morning ….I came across your blog while looking up some questions concerning rattlesnakes….I’ve included a few shots I took recently of a rattlesnake I startled at about 10am in the morning on a cool sunny morning in the Sonoran Desert recently….Sat., November 8th I believe…..anyway….my leashed dog startled the snake on the edge of a mesa at Arcosanti AZ….this area is rocky, but also rather prairie like and brushy…..this is my first rattlesnake sighting and I am 61….I was excited to see such a wonder of nature and grateful the snake was not aggressive….after its initial alarm it no longer rattled and remained posed for the shots I took…..I wonder if you can identify the type of rattlesnake this is?

Jeff H.
Arcosanti, Arizona

Hello,

I saw this snake (first picture) in the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge this week while hiking. Two of us nearly stepped on it and the third hiker with us pointed it out after we passed by it. It was coiled up and stayed still while I took a quick photo of it. Being from Maine I had no idea what type snake it was. Saw this one (second picture) beside the road in the Everglades in 2011. Is it an Eastern Diamondback Rattler? Even from 10 feet he was in a bad mood, but I was in an auto so I felt fairly safe.

Thanks,

Seth
Maine

Readers: What Are These Snakes?

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Snake Identification Post Ground Rules

-Guesses are welcome and encouraged. Don't worry if you're not an expert, wrong guesses allow us to talk about how to distinguish between the various species and that's why I run these posts.

-If you can't explain why you think a snake is a particular species, go ahead and just say what you think it is. But otherwise please do let us all know how you identified the animal. If you're wrong, we can explain why. If you're right, this helps everyone learn how to identify snakes, which is the goal of these posts.

-You can safely assume that I know what kind of snake is in the picture, I run these posts because they are outreach opportunities. Please don't send me private e-mails with your guesses, include them below.

-Remember, the person that sent me the picture is probably reading your comments. Although it is frustrating to know that many of these snakes have been killed, these people do want to learn more about them. More snake knowledge will lead to fewer snakes being killed.