ID help needed: unknown snake shed in Massachusetts

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Kyle from Carolina
Posts: 221
Joined: May 3rd, 2012, 8:12 pm
Location: western MA and NC

ID help needed: unknown snake shed in Massachusetts

Post by Kyle from Carolina »

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Kyle from Carolina
Posts: 221
Joined: May 3rd, 2012, 8:12 pm
Location: western MA and NC

Re: ID help needed: unknown snake shed in Massachusetts

Post by Kyle from Carolina »

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NewYorkHerper16
Posts: 140
Joined: August 13th, 2014, 7:50 am

Re: ID help needed: unknown snake shed in Massachusetts

Post by NewYorkHerper16 »

Definitely could be a timber! I've seen timber rattler sheds that look exactly life that before. I don't think it's Nerodia because the scales look very large and spread apart. Nerodia tend to have smaller scales that are almost overlapping, while timbers tend to have larger scales. I'm no expert on IDing sheds, but if i were to make an educated guess I'd go with Crotalus horridus.
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Kyle from Carolina
Posts: 221
Joined: May 3rd, 2012, 8:12 pm
Location: western MA and NC

Re: ID help needed: unknown snake shed in Massachusetts

Post by Kyle from Carolina »

Thanks for the input newyorkherper. I wanted to guess timber too based on the locality and habitat but I really couldn't tell based on the photos. Here's to hoping.
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ZantiMissKnit
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Joined: September 14th, 2012, 9:43 am
Location: Boston area, MA

Re: ID help needed: unknown snake shed in Massachusetts

Post by ZantiMissKnit »

I'm no good with this. Based upon the description of the habitat, timber rattlesnake or copperhead would be likely, but I can't even see a pattern on that shed.
semasko
Posts: 27
Joined: June 18th, 2014, 6:30 am
Location: Latrobe, Pennsylvania

Re: ID help needed: unknown snake shed in Massachusetts

Post by semasko »

It's hard to tell from the picture as there's no discernible pattern. There's really only four choices with rattlesnake, copperhead, water snake, and hognose. If the tail is intact in the shed and you can see if the anal plate is single or divided, that will cut your choices in half. To narrow it down more you'd have to do a scale count.
Jeff Colwell
Posts: 3
Joined: February 9th, 2014, 9:31 pm

Re: ID help needed: unknown snake shed in Massachusetts

Post by Jeff Colwell »

Not a hog
Not a CH
Probably not a cottonmouth
Almost certainly a TR.
Mystery solved.
Joshmartini941
Posts: 11
Joined: August 16th, 2015, 7:22 pm

Re: ID help needed: unknown snake shed in Massachusetts

Post by Joshmartini941 »

I've been up in the blue hills in mass, and I can tell you it looks exactly like a timber rattlesnake skin. Be careful.
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