What kind of snake is this

[DCP]

Ok, the wife is scared to death.

I am the hero. (That wont last for long)

I think it is a Prairie King snake ( I am going to tell her its a Copper Head)

Oh boy I am going to get lucky tonight.

[OS OK]

Attachment 169229Attachment 169230
No copper head, they are quite different in shades of brown, very light to reddish brown and tan. I'm not aware of where you live but it looks at first glance like a mean spirited Water Moccasin.

[MarkP]

Good Luck!

[Riverpigusmc]

head doesn't look triangular enough for a cottonmouth (water moccasin)

[Duckiller]

It should be a dead one. Your wife has the right attitude.

[Taylor]

I think a cotton mouth or water snake,then we don't know your location.Look at it's eye's,(if it's dead).

[rl69]

Rat / chicken snake

[OS OK]

Rat / chicken snake

Dang good guess…I suppose what will tell us all is, "What color is inside it's mouth?"
Rat/Chicken snake---dark mouth interior
Cottonmouth/Water Moccasin---snow white inside

Alright…go kill that bugger and look in his mouth!

[OS OK]

Attachment 169235

I loged out just now and headed for the bathroom thinking about that dang snake and when I came through the hall door and caught this in my peripheral…well…I almost didn't need the bathroom anymore!

Hate snakes!

It's the belt off the wife's rain coat!

[bubba.50]

I believe ILLinois was the last state to allow concealed carry? anyway, I'll cast my vote with the rat snake group. just be glad it wasn't the extremely deadly & dangerous Snow Snake. they're not poisinous but, they catch ya when yer sleepin', crawl up yer butt & freeze ya to death .

[Hogtamer]

Got a bird nest on top of one of the columns on that porch? If so he had eggs or bird for supper last night, a good ole rat snake.

[DCP]

Well it is not Cottonmouth it was climbing up a 2ft high block next to the house and then down its crack sideways.
I am in Illinois

[BK7saum]

Black rat snake aka chicken snake. We have a bunch of them here in Oklahoma.

[458mag]

That looks like one of them long slithery kinds. What else is there?

[DLCTEX]

Yes, agree rat or chicken snake. Good rodent catcher and will climb to raid bird nests, which they locate by the droppings under the nest.

[Thumbcocker]

had a similar one here this spring. He did his best to convince us he was a rattler by whipping his tail in the grass. Harmless and eat lots of mice. Snakes are welcome at our place as long as they are non-venomous.

[williamwaco]

+1 on rat snake.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_rat_snake

[farmerjim]

Not poisonous. Head is not triangular, and it is not a coral snake. All non venomous snakes are good.

[Blackwater]

Yep. Chicken snake or rat snake, depending on where you are. Terminology varys by region. Don't remember genus and species, but there are local variations. They'll get lighter in light colored surroundings, and darker in darker surroundings. Yours seems to have been in some dark places. Under the house maybe, if it's built up on blocks? Is there a pond or low land nearby?

They're very harmless. Their tiny teeth won't hurt even if it bit you, but CAN cause infection because of what all they'll eat - rats and eggs are high on their menu. They're really your friend, if you have poisonous snakes like rattlers around. If they keep the mice eaten up well, you'll have many fewer rattlers intruding in your own little Eden. They're VERY efficient mousers! Better than any cat, by FAR! For one thing, they can get into places cats never will or can. And they're like the Eveready bunny, they just keep going and going until they track the scurrying little boogers down, and then, it's curtains. They also eat a lot of eggs, in season. I'm not sure what all they'll eat, but I doubt they turn much away.

He's really your friend. You can almost always tell the poisonous ones, except for the coral snake here in America, because the poisonous ones are all pit vipers, and have a slender neck with an outsized head that's roughly like a triangle with the point blunted severely. That big head houses the poison sacs where the poison is stored that they scrunch out through their fangs when they bite. Any snake that skinny and with that small a head, unless it's an escapee from a zoo or something, is non-poisonous, unless it's a coral snake, and you can tell those by their bright, banded coloration and black head.

I caught one of them once, while out squirrel hunting while Mom visited my eldest aunt, who was like the grandma to me that I never knew. I brought it back to the house wrapped around my arm with its head in my fist firmly, and you would NOT believe how those women reacted when I tried to show them my prize! I thought Mom was going to kill me with a broom handle but every time I raised the snake up, she'd back off! I narrowly escaped with my life! I think it took 3 weeks for Mom to forgive me for that one!

[BNE]

Guys! Did you read his post? This is the poor guys chance to look like a hero to his wife!

DCP - That is he MEANEST, SCARRIEST Snake I have EVER seen!! I bet its venom could kill the entire town. It is absolutely amazing that you were able to kill it in time.

Let me know if that helped you out....