Are snakes with a red ring around their neck poisonous?

Question

theres a snake that lives in my freinds frontyard and we want to know if its poisonous

Answer 1

NO. It's actually called a "ring necked snake". They are common in many parts of North America. Typically they will have a yellow, orange, or red ring around their neck with a matching belly, and a black body. They are absolutely harmless. Don't hurt them. I'll find a link.........

Check these links for your snake:
http://www.oplin.org/snake/fact%20pages/ring_necked_snake/ring_necked_snake.html
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12145_12201-61205--,00.html
http://ohiodnr.com/wildlife/Resources/reptiles/nring.htm
http://frogsandsnakes.homestead.com/ringneck.html

If this isn't what the snakes looks like, you need to offer a better description. Still, the only possibility of a poisonous snake with a ring around it's neck, and continuing across it's entire body is a Coral Snake. They are only found in the southern states, mostly in the southwest, and are very docile (they don't attack). Of course you still wouldn't want to pick one up. They are rear fanged which means they have a very hard time delivering venom to a large animal or human.

http://www.wf.net/~snake/coral.htm

Keep in mind, with only 1 exception (the coral snake) all poisonous snakes native to the US are pit vipers which means they will have a very prominently diamond shaped head. Not all snakes with diamond shaped heads are pit vipers (hog nosed snake for example), but all pits will have the diamond head.

Answer 2

A LOT depends on where you live. if you live in N. America, then Holy Cow's answer is undoubtedly correct. It is probably a ringneck, in the family of the garter snake, and completely harmless. They eat insects and will keep your gardens healthy. By comparison, although there are several venomous snakes in N. America, you are most likely to run into a harmless one. As others have suggested however, if you do not know how to tell the difference, it is best to stay clear of them.

Answer 3

I don't know - did you poison it?

I think you want to know if it is venomous. Where are you located?
I do not know of any venomous native US snakes with a red ring around the neck. But some good high quality photos would help.

Answer 4

It is just has one red ring, then no.

If it has multicolored rings than maybe.

The coral snake is poisonous. It has red, yellow, and black rings along its body. The milk snake is not poisonous. It also has red, yellow, and black rings around its body (its protection is mimic-ing the coral snake). The way you tell them apart is the old rhyme:
"Red to black, friend of Jack. Red to Yellow, kill a fellow."
This means, if the red ring touches the black ring, you are good. If the red ring touches the yellow ring, call Animal Control.

Answer 5

All snakes bite, but most likely not. Look the snake up on the net until you see an exact picture of it. If it is poisonous, get it removed.

Answer 6

There is a saying that goes:

Red meets yellow, kills a fellow.

Try to get a better description of the snake and then do more research online. You can even find out what snakes are indigenous to your area.

Answer 7

Red on black = friend of jack

red on yellow = kill a fellow

If the red ring is touching black rings on either side of it, it is a milk snake and is harmless. If it has yellow rings touching on each side of the red ring, it is poisonous.

Answer 8

If you live in North America, no ,it's a ringneck snake & is completely harmless. They can be picky eaters so I wouldn't try to keep it as a pet, but if they will eat , they are similar to garter snakes with their diets,

Answer 9

You could call the police department and ask.Assume that the snake is poisonous and stay away from it.That's pets and children too!

Answer 10

I'd search on the web for snakes . There is usually a website with pictures, so you can verify.