came eye to eye with a friendly snake
 

Laying on my stomach and the snake crawled up to the lens.

Yipsters!!!!!

My snake knowledge is near zero. Do you know what type that is?

I would be going in opposite direction rather quickly

That snake is actually a college mascot. Under the NCAA NIL rule (name, image, likeness), you now owe it money. ������

Never happy with these guys - no matter how useful or cute.

How could anyone be afraid of such a cute, curious guy like that? I have no idea what kind he is (maybe a corn snake?), but those big round eyes tell you he's harmless.

All of the wildlife around here is pretty fearless. I attribute it to the bubble. Even when walking my dog, the squirrels practically come up to investigate sometimes, like they think I've got something to eat.

And one time I had a black snake actually chase me. I was holding the lanai door open for my dog, and there was a sudden commotion in the bushes, and a bunch of birds flew out. A couple of seconds later, this big black snake slithered out, looking all cocky. He turned his head and saw me, and instead of running away, he ran TOWARD me! I was so surprised, I jumped back and slammed the door in his face. Weird!

No such thing as a “friendly “ snake, no matter how cute you think they look

Maybe a black racer. There are no friendly nor unfriendly snakes. There are good snakes that eat bad things like rats and mice. Otherwise, if you leave them alone they will leave you alone.

If they leave me alone very happy to leave them alone

Awesome picture, and yes there is friendly snakes...

Fabulous picture.

Glad to hear you got away. Probably a non poisonous. Glad you didn’t find out! Good shot.

He speaks with forked tongue.

Love it!!!

Love it. A cutie.

Face to Face with a Snake
 

That is a beautiful Black Racer, a very beneficial snake. They are inquisitive and like to "periscope" to get better looks at what is around them. My husband saved one from my neighbor's garage. The snake wrapped himself around a piece of equipment that they carried out to the yard and released him. The snake acted like he was going to attack. I suggest if you belong to Facebook that you join WHAT KIND OF SNAKE IS THIS: FLORIDA. Very educational and interesting.

What a fabulous picture! Great work!

Looks like a southern black racer. I am surprised it came back so close to you. Normally they are afraid of anything bigger than him. Not venomous , they eat small rodents, insect, eggs, birds, frogs, lizards and other snakes.

young racer
 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mentalb...etaken-public/

This one and a much larger one were flopping around in the cul-de-sac the other day. Both took off when I came near. This little one was moving a little too fast for my camera settings. Had to do some googling to learn that only the immature racers have such coloration. Much more comfortable photographing sharks than snakes, harmless or otherwise. :-)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mentalb...etaken-public/

i'll try this move, then
 

Excellent photo!
 

What a great pic! Thank you for posting 😀

Black Racer

WOW! Fantastic picture!

Apparently (see blueblaze post above) snakes will chase you down then beat the cr@p out of you (if they catch you). As much as I fear snakes, they do not even come close to my horrid fear of monkeys. Don't show your teeth. Dont let them see your eyes. Don't make any sudden moves. Those things will rip your lips and eyelids off just to be obnoxious little sh15$. One day I plan on going to the park off crystal river to confront my fears.

I don't know about beating me up, but he sure seemed cocky about giving those birds fits. I've never had a snake try to chase me before. But I agree, monkeys and just about everything else in this world is more dangerous than a little snake.

They're usually very shy -- sometimes almost friendly. We used to keep chickens back in Texas and we had a big rat snake that used to hang out in the chicken coop and steal an egg once in a while as payment for keeping the rats away. He got so tame that I could pick him up. If I found him in the nest box, I had to shoo him out to get the eggs. And he had a weird thing going on with the chickens. One evening I came out to close the coop and he was in there probing for something under Edith's wing. I don't know what the heck he was doing, but Edith didn't seem too concerned. Maybe they all got a massage every night at bedtime.

There's just a lot more going on in the animal world than we realize.

Wow!! Just wow!! You are braver than I am. I just showed this picture to my husband and he said it isn't poisonous. I'm sure you knew that when you took the photo, but if it were me I wouldn't have known because I would have been running the other way.

When we first moved to Florida someone told me that they are more afraid of us than we are of them. NOT true. We once lived in a rental that had a small patio off of the living room. One day there were numerous snakes out there basking in the sun. I once walked out onto that patio while they were on the other end of the patio. I thought they would run the other way. They don't. They aren't afraid at all. And some of them, like the one you encountered will chase a person. It's unnerving.

Love Nature
 

We love nature and it is so cool that you could have one so close.

I thought Black Racer also when I saw the picture. Great shot!

I've had a couple of encounters with them, once when walking along an MMP. I heard a commotion in the underbrush next to the trail, and a good sized Black Racer came bolting out. He saw me, slammed on the brakes, turned around and dove back into the brush. They're not called "racer" for nothing. This guy moved quick.

Second one about a month ago, a juvenile maybe 10-12" long inside our house near the guest bathroom. Probably got in through that bathroom as I understand they crawl along the outside of pipes and will enter the house of there is a hole big enough or if the metal sealing ring isn't tight (as in this case) and it doesn't take much of a hole for a little snake like that. I saw it first--good thing as my wife is terrified of them, and cornered it in the bathroom, picking it up and putting it in a box until I could ascertain just what it was. Feisty little bugger though! I doubt he'd even been able to draw blood if he bit me but that didn't keep him from trying. Released him under the hedge.

If a black snake is cornered by a human, it will threaten to attack and as a last resort, it will bite the human - much like a land turtle will bite in some circumstances. And a snapping turtle will bite in all circumstances.

I agree that animals can be unpredictable (also humans).

Not sure about what the round eyes tell, but you can tell that it does NOT have poison FANGS because it does not have a triangular-shaped head, which is the usual way to determine a poisonous snake

snappers
 

And won't let go til it thunders. Known fact.

Venom
 

And next comes the venom vs. poison debate. . . :-)

True, you inject venom and you swallow poison. Nevertheless, we can all be glad it wasn't a monkey. They will throw poop at you.

Can't hit a home run if you don't get up to bat.
 

You put yourself in a position few others do. Your reward was a great shot. I applaud you.

The only poisonous American snake with round eyes is the coral snake. Vipers all have slit pupils, and its a surer way to tell them apart than the triangular head. Many snakes have heads larger than their bodies that are easy to mistake for "triangular".

Just when I think your shots could not possibly be any better, there is another one. Wow! That is absolutely stunning.

But, friendly, you say? Hmmmm, he was probably getting ready to ask for your vote.

Boomer

Great pic. If you stare at it long enough you will be hypnotized!!