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Corn or Rat?

Weebonilass
11-10-2006, 11:11 PM
I know this is not a very good picture, but was wondering if the general consensus was that it was probably a corn or a rat? The picture was taken in So. IL.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/Weebonilass/SnakeInPasture102004-1.jpg
ratsncorns
11-10-2006, 11:12 PM
Looks like a rat snake to me.
Joejr14
11-10-2006, 11:19 PM
Yeah, I'd say either a hatchling black rat or fox snake.
CARattler40
11-10-2006, 11:21 PM
Looks like a young prairie king (http://enature.com/fieldguides/enlarged.asp?imageID=19311) to me, especially looking at the head pattern.
ratsncorns
11-10-2006, 11:25 PM
Looks like a young prairie king (http://enature.com/fieldguides/enlarged.asp?imageID=19311) to me, especially looking at the head pattern.


The nose on the prairie king looks more blunt than this hatchling. :shrugs:
Joejr14
11-10-2006, 11:28 PM
Looks like a young prairie king (http://enature.com/fieldguides/enlarged.asp?imageID=19311) to me, especially looking at the head pattern.

There are a LOT of very similar looking snakes in Illinois, obviously. Between supposed Emoryis, Rat snakes, Fox Snakes, Milk Snakes, etc etc.

Very hard to say, but it's definitely not a corn snake.
CARattler40
11-10-2006, 11:31 PM
The nose on the prairie king looks more blunt than this hatchling. :shrugs:Not necessarily. Looks to have at least the same head shape as this snake:

http://www.kingsnake.com/dfw/checklist/snakes/L.calligaster2.jpg
ratsncorns
11-10-2006, 11:35 PM
Yeah, it does look similar. That head pattern is pretty distintive too, same as that hatchling. I didnt realize there were so many similar looking snakes in IL, herpers nightmare haha.
Weebonilass
11-11-2006, 08:01 AM
Thanks for the edumacated guess guys :) I only saw this little guy the one time. Horse almost stepped on him. Fortunately, I was taking pictures of the horse on that day and coud bug the little guy and snap the pictures of this guy too.

Most of the time at that particular farm the snakes I saw were solid black, no noticeable patterns,even in the hatchlings. Loved them because they helped keep the bird and rodent population down and were not the least bit aggressive, not even with a horse blowing breath on them :)