Copperhead or Northern Water Snake?

wyobrooke · 04-25-20, 03:19 PM

Hi All,

This snake was on my property today in the Catskills in Upstate NY. I figured it was a copperhead, but then I look around on the web and thought it might be a Northern Water snake. Unfortunately, I don't have any info about the shape of the head. It was about 2.5 feet long and fairly thin. If any of you have any insight, it would be greatly appreciated!

chairman · 04-25-20, 07:35 PM

Definitely not a copperhead. It isn't pretty enough. A water snake is a good guess.

toddnbecka · 04-25-20, 11:05 PM

Eastern milk snake.

Veronica · 04-26-20, 11:04 AM

Yup eastern milk snake

ReptiWorldWide · 04-27-20, 01:56 AM

To me it looks like a corn or some kind of rat snake, but honestly i am not the best with American species, but it is definitely not anything dangerous like a copperhead. Also, copperheads, while still not being thick bodied snakes, would not be so thin and long, if you search a picture online you can see that they have much shorter bodies, similar to a hognose snake (though quite not as extreme). Northern water snake was a great guess, and i can see why you would say that.

Herpin' Man · 04-27-20, 11:49 AM

Those who ID'd it as an Eastern milk snake are correct.

Bandit · 04-28-20, 07:18 AM

100% eastern milk snake.