Snake ID

Can anyone tell me what this snake might be? It was found in the Everglades while digging a trench. (Don't worry, he was rescued. Snapped the picture before putting him in some bushes.) Anyway, extremely aggressive snake (could be because he was getting ready to shed). All the pictures i can find of striped snakes are garter snakes. Well, you can't tell from the picture, but this guy had a very triangular head, and was pretty stocky. Didn't look like any garter snakes i've caught in the past. He was pretty muddy too, so that doesn't help. Anyway, he was about a foot long. Any ideas? We have so many exotic snakes in the Everglades now, you never know what you are going to find. Thanks a lot.

-Kim

Looks like a dirty garter in blue.

I'm having a hard time with the garter snake idea. His head was almost viper-like and his body was really stocky. I wish his eyes would have been clear, i think that would have helped. I've seen so many garters before and this snake just doesn't look like the others. I wish i had taken more pictures, but he had to be released pretty quickly.

Originally Posted by Kimba819

I'm having a hard time with the garter snake idea. His head was almost viper-like and his body was really stocky. I wish his eyes would have been clear, i think that would have helped. I've seen so many garters before and this snake just doesn't look like the others. I wish i had taken more pictures, but he had to be released pretty quickly.

It appears to be a garter to me. They most certainly can flatten out "triangular head," when startled. FYI, Being dug up while in shed would count as being startled.

Just doing a quick search. Here are a couple of sites.
Take a look at some of the Florida Garters.

http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/image...artertongs.jpg

http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/image...garterhold.jpg

http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/image...rterground.jpg

Take a look at the last picture of the eastern.

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herp...sssirtalis.htm

Now that is a sweet looking garter.

Garter it is. I didn't realize that they flatten their heads out like that. Thanks a lot. Glad the little guy was rescued. Since I'm here... what about this guy. In the Everglades again. He was peeking out of a bridge that crossed a canal. There were about 10 of them along side the canal. I wouldn't say they were aggressive, but definately held their ground.

Brown water snake.

Thank you