#snake id

[nohiketoosmall]

I was at brookfield the other day and their “Chicago garter snake” looks a whole lot like a plains garter snake. Can other reptile people corroborate?

When i see wild garters they usually have the chicago garter pattern (bars on the neck)

Plains garter snakes do live in illinois but chicago garter snakes are a subspecies of common garter snakes. They have slightly different faces and higher lateral lines, i think.

Plains: thamnophis radix

Common: thamnophis sirtalis

Snake enthusiasts please weigh in

[wandering-bard-from-the-id]

Snake expert Tumbler, I need your help. What kinda noodle is this? It's sunbathing in my backyard at the moment. I live in the South Eastern region of Virginia.

[itsallwearecalledtodo]

My uncle is convinced this is a cottonmouth despite my insistence that cottonmouths do not occur north of SE VA. Neither him nor I are herpers. This photo was taken in Lehigh Valley PA.

[oliviawhen]

My holiday cards for this year! ✿‧₊˚.

[z0mbiefrank]

[legov7]

Luckily (or sadly?) I only have to be able to correctly identify two snakes: The Kreuzotter (common European adder) - very cute, venomous and the Ringelnatter (Grass snake) - also very cute, totally harmless

Snake Myths: Venomous Snake Identification Myths

For this series on snake myths, I'll be going through the results of this poll in order (and please feel free to suggest other topics!).

The myth: there are a lot of various myths around the world about how to tell venomous and non-venomous snakes apart. One of the most common ones I hear is that slit pupils mean a snake is venomous, and round pupils mean they're non-venomous. You'll also hear about triangle-shaped heads meaning a snake is venomous, and tail length, simple color pattern rhymes, and even tongue color are used as methods to "identify" venomous snakes!

The origins: these myths get started because they are true...for very localized snake populations. In some areas, it is true that all snakes with slit pupils will be venomous! The problem with these myths is twofold.

Problem one: they're not universal. Every single myth about how to identify venomous snakes has many, many exceptions.

Problem two: they can lead to people incorrectly assuming a snake is venomous when it's not and hurting the animal, or assuming a snake is non-venomous when it's not and getting bitten.

The reality: there is no easy, foolproof way to identify venomous snakes 100% of the time.

It's true that some venomous snakes have slit pupils...

But so do harmless pythons and boas.

And elapids like cobras have round pupils!

Simple rhymes like "red on yellow, kill a fellow" are only true in a very local capacity - that one only works for two coral snake species in the US...

And doesn't even flag the Arizona coral snake, the US' third coral snake species!

Even trying to identify a snake based on head shape can easily go awry if that's the only method you're using, because while it's true venomous vipers have triangle-shaped heads...

Harmless watersnakes will flatten their heads out when they feel scared...

And venomous elapids have short, round-shaped heads!

My advice is to always be skeptical of any catch-all advice for identifying venomous snakes. The best thing you can do is learn how to identify the snakes local to your area, then you'll actually be able to know for sure which ones are venomous and which ones aren't!

And remember to never pick up or bother a wild snake, especially if you can't 100% identify it as non-venomous.

[hinamie]

i lied actually i'm not in the mood to finish this anymore orz

[snakemanaustralia]

Need to know what kind of snake this is? The visit http://www.whatsnakeisthat.com.au/snake-identification-papers.htm and get it right the first time. This site is only run by the world’s best snake experts. And when they tell you this is an adult male Red-bellied Black Snake, you KNOW this ID is correct.

[starry-bi-sky]

a half-ghost--? no- no wait, that's a changeling. that's even worse.

so i'd like to preface this by saying this stems from me going entirely off the rails thinking about tales of the passerine-- which is frankly quite on brand for me to think of one au, and then develop it so far left ways that it makes another au entirely.

bUT. Context! Danny's ancestors sometime before they immigrated to America had a fae marry into the family. This had its Side Effects. Naturally. The Fentonnightengale responsible for this charmed a fae thanks to their swagless nature and awkward demeanor, so instead of getting eaten the fae thought it was cute instead. The fae marrying into the family had an affinity for music, but that kinda repressed itself by accident -- blame the salem witch trials.

By the time Danny is born, the fae blood has become so latent that it really doesn't show up anymore other than the Fentons Eccentricity and obsession with the supernatural (a latent desire to return home to the fae realm - aka infinite realms). There's an unnatural charm surrounding the fenton that really only creeps almost every human within a visual radius, and Danny is no exception.

hoWEVEr. the accident that turned danny into a halfa in one timeline did no such thing in this one -- it just reactivated his latent fae blood, and reactivated it with a fervor. Effectively turning Danny from a human into a changeling.

Danny just thinks at first that he's a half-ghost -- only to realize later on from Clockwork that he's not one at all. He's very much fae -- which is a wild discovery for Danny to make. It also means his rogues are quite a bit more intimidated by him. Fae are above ghosts in the Infinite Realm Creature Hierarchy, no matter how powerful they are. A fae can still Steal the name of a ghost, so Danny's rogues are rather skittish/unsure around Danny until they realize he doesn't know he's a changeling -- after that, many of them vow to try and keep it secret amongst themselves.

Danny's 'ghost' form is rather birdlike, and in human form his appearance warps to match his comfortability. When he's alone with his friends he starts taking on unnatural features. -- his blue-green eyes brighten and his pupils elongate, his teeth sharpen, and his ears grow longer and animal-like. His hair softens to be more feathery, his nails sharpen. In general he takes on more 'bird-ish' features. At school, around his parents, and when he's stressed, tense, or scared, he looks completely human -- an instinctual survival mechanism.

As a ghost, he has large, pretty wings that gradient from black to dark purple-blue, with a shimmer across the feathers that resembles the aurora borealis. His limbs elongate, his legs becoming bird-like and his talons grow on both his feet and nails. His ears vaguely resemble a rabbit's, although they don't flop down like one. All his teeth sharpen. Razor sharp chompers, capable of biting through bone. His eyes take on a greenish-hue, but otherwise remain the same color, albeit his sclera becomes blue-ish and his pupils become diamond-shaped and white. Rings of seafoam blue circle around his iris, creating a reflective sheen. He makes chirping, creaking noises, and when he speaks there's a faint overlap that is very enchanting.

Overall he's rather beautiful in a terrifyingly inhuman way, its hard to take your eyes off him. He has a lot of feathers. He's very drawn to singing and music in general, and gets into music sometime after his accident. He likes flutes/ocarinas/woodwinds the most, followed shortly after by strings, and then piano. He also slowly loses the ability to lie -- which is really annoying and also terrifying until he learns how to reword himself and become a better wordsmith.

SInce this stemmed from an older brother dpdc au, its gonna stay an older brother dpdc au alsfh. i'll just get to the dpxdc part in another post since i wanted to get this off my chest first

[flame-shadow]

I can finally share this wooooooo!

My piece for the massive telephone game that @bowelfly valiantly organized. I'm the 28th entry out of 72!! See all of the pieces in the 2024 Gigaphone here!

[snav1d]

hi

they were gonna kiss but nvm

[anukfilli]

has anyone done this yet. i had a vision.

[asterwild]

you have my adoration 💚

[vlasdygoth]

kiss me out of desire, baby, not consolation

[wormsical]

tiresias no

[herpsandbirds]

Saw this in Utö-island, Finland.

Paxon:

Ohhhhh, Grass Snake aka Water Snake (Natrix natrix), family Colubridae, EAT A TASTY FISH!!!