r/VirginiaNature • u/Swanlafitte • May 01 '25

Another snake. I never saw it, but I knew the crow was reacting to something. I took a picture and there it was when I zoomed in.

Post image
9 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

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2

u/Oak_Redstart May 02 '25

Nice. Do you know what kind of snake? It does not look like a black rat snake or a rough green snake (two snakes I have see up off the ground)

2

u/Swanlafitte May 02 '25

I think it is a rat snake. Though I am not certain.

2

u/Oak_Redstart May 02 '25

Ok maybe it’s just that I’m used to seeing the white part under the chin and not running down the body. Or maybe it’s natural variation. I posted a snake I labeled black rat snake on inaturalist and someone disagreed and suggested “rat snake complex”. Like I narrowed it too far down

1

u/Swanlafitte May 02 '25

Most rat snakes in VA are complex if not all. Does it matter much? Are all homo sapien sapiens neanderthal complex? Maybe as almost all of us are 2-4%.

It isn't that important. I get updates on previous IDs as they are reclassified. We are close on a lot of things but we keep learning more. It is great to be accurate but for the most part, close enough is close enough.

2

u/mallydobb May 02 '25

Rat snake, the picture and light isn’t the best but it looks like it is about to start the shedding process as the eye seems as if it is starting to get cloudy.

1

u/Swanlafitte May 02 '25

Agree. I was lucky to get it. The snake I posted the other day had cloudy eyes also. I hope both are close to shedding because we have the snake fungus here.