[Taltarzac725]

...but was talking about a black racer snake I saw at Lynnhaven Postal Center yesterday afternoon with another dog walker. He mentioned that there was a snake with diamonds on one of those utility lids near the Lynnhaven Postal Center last weekend.

There is only one snake as far as I know in Central Florida that has a diamond pattern:

Eastern Diamond-backed Rattlesnake

These are supposedly found on golf courses but have never seen nor heard one the 17 years or so I have lived in Central Florida.

[samhass]

Tal, maybe it was a juvenile Rat Snake.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by samhass

Tal, maybe it was a juvenile Rat Snake.

Could have been. Not sure why an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake would hang out on a utility lid. Sunning itself?

Eastern Ratsnake

[asianthree]

uck its still a snake but hope its not a rattler

[samhass]

Ratsnakes are wonderful snakes. Please, never harm any snake.

[paulandjean]

Originally Posted by samhass

Ratsnakes are wonderful snakes. Please, never harm any snake.

Only if they harm me first.

[Trish Crocker]

Species Profile: Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta) | SREL Herpetology

Check out this site. I'm not afraid of snakes neccessarily but I would really like to be able to tell the good from the bad. Do all poisonous snakes have rattles?

[CaptJohn]

Originally Posted by Trish Crocker

Do all poisonous snakes have rattles?

Just the rattlesnakes, hence the name.

[babbs455]

could be an eastern cornsnake..non venomous
they are known to slither into my greenhouse..

[bike42]

Originally Posted by babbs455

could be an eastern cornsnake..non venomous
they are known to slither into my greenhouse..

Yes! -- both corn snakes and rat snakes have diamond-like patterns when they are young. They are common, harmless and helpful (controlling rodents). If you get one in your garage or lanai, just open the door and gently direct them out with a broom or anything else with a long handle. They want to get away from you as quickly as possible.

[chuckinca]

And if they start rattling run like h*ll !

.

[Taltarzac725]

The man I was talking to at the Lynnhaven Postal Center was a fellow dog walker. I warned him about a small black racer I had just encountered. These are not much to worry about unless you corner it. Then the racer will get aggressive. He did not seem at all worried about black racers.

He mentioned that there had been a snake with a diamond pattern on a utility lid.

He told me that the only diamonds he likes seeing are those that show up in a row on a slot machine.

I assume he is the person who saw the snake on the utility lid. He seemed very reluctant to go anywhere he could not see ahead of him on the ground for 20 feet or so.

If I see a snake with any kind of diamond pattern, I think I'll keep about 20 feet away from it too no matter what it actually is.

[chuckinca]

I'll be ten feet behind you.

.

[happy employee]

We do, In fact have eastern diamondbacks in the area. You will sometimes see them in the early evening stretched out across a road gathering the heat from the blacktop. The adult eastern diamondback is usually very thick in the middle. sometimes as thick as a man's arm and can also be identified by the rattles. Sometimes the rattles can get broken off so NEVER ASSUME what kind of snake it is. If you don't know, LEAVE IT ALONE!!!!!

[CaptJohn]

Originally Posted by chuckinca

And if they start rattling run like h*ll !

.

As much as I'd like to have a cute retort, it's better not to make any sudden movements. Just back away slowly in the same path you came on. I've come upon many of them in the woods (not in TV!). I've suffered more from chigger bites!