I live in Belfast,Tennessee and I found a snake it was black with blue stripe.what is it?

Question

Ihave lived in Tennessee all my life and never seen this type before.oh and it struck at my 4-wheeler.

Answer 1

Well the good news is that its not venomous,by the markings you gave,It sounds like a baby Black rat snake,Or it could be a ribbon snake.

But i really don't know i need a pic for a better answer.

Answer 2

While blue striped ribbon snake sounds like a good answer, they are only found in Florida and are not anywhere near Belfast, Tennessee. No ribbon snakes are normally found in Belfast, Tennessee, only in the western part of the state. (I lived in Memphis for a while). Also, striking at your 4 wheeler doesn't sound like ribbon snake behavior, but I've heard of garter snakes acting like this. There is a blue striped garter snake, but just like the blue striped ribbon, they are only found in Florida. So I am inclined to believe it is the only species of garter snake found in the state, the eastern garter snake. They come in a variety of colors, so it possible you saw one with a bluish stripe. A second possibility is a black racer. Although they aren't striped, I have seen some where there is a bluish color on the sides where the dark back meets the light colored belly. Not to mention they are a very aggressive snake.

Answer 3

its a Blue-striped Ribbon Snake.

Ribbon snakes are sleek, boldly striped serpents that are equally at home roosting in shoreside shrubs or gliding swiftly across the water's sur-face. These agile semiaquatic creatures seldom are found far from dense cover, where they retire at the first sign of danger. In Maine they seem to be both elusive and rare. Garter snakes are quite similar in appearance, and this similarity may be part of the reason why so few reports exist for T. sauritus; observers may assume the snake they saw was just another garter snake, Maine's most common snake.

Description: Ribbon snakes are small thin snakes with longitudinally striped bodies. They are best distinguished from their close relative the garter snake by their long thin tails, which are about 1/3 of the total body length. Ribbon snakes also have 3 conspicuous yellow or buffy stripes. Some garter snakes may also have 3 stripes, but they usually contain alternating rows of dark brown or black blotches between the rows of stripes. In ribbon snakes the lateral striping occurs on scale rows 3 and 4 for the entire length of the body (Wright and Wright 1957). Garter snakes usually have stripes on scale rows 2 and 3, and may have stripes on their fourth row of scales, (Conant 1975). Ribbon snakes vary in size from 40 to 90 cm (16-35"), with the tail accounting for 1/3 or more of the total length (Wright and Wright 1957; Gilhen 1984).