The Best Episodes of Snakes on the Brain

The Utah Milksnake is likely the rarest snake I have found at the time of posting this video. Many hours were spent into finding one and it was an honor to have seen my work take effect in the form of one of the most beautiful snakes I've ever seen in the wild. They are protected under state law from being collected without a permit. However their populations are declining still not just from poaching but largely from habitat destruction and declining populations of their underground dwelling prey items. All of these factors on top of their elusive nature makes them a very difficult species to find in Utah. I hope this video can contribute to their conservation somehow as they are a very special animal. Thanks to those of you who watched through the whole thing. Creating this video also took a lot of work compared to most of my previous videos on this channel.

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I found the largest snake in Utah. This is Great Basin Gopher Snake. Despite being the most common snake in Utah, they play a major role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem.

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This is the valley garter snake. This subspecies of the common garter snake is in my opinion, one of the prettiest. And despite its name, you can actually find them in the foothills that line the Wasatch mountains in northern Utah.

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The most bizarre snake in the United States just might be the Northern Rubber Boa: My name Ethan Fineshriber and this is my favorite snake I've seen out in the field as of posting this video because they are bizarre and quite frankly adorable. While the average snake can live upwards of 20-30 years, this snake can live up to 50 years. This is one of the most primitive snakes that can be found in the state of Utah. And if you have a fear of snakes, trust me when I say that this is the friendliest snake you could come across in Utah. If you've seen one out in the wild before, I'd love to hear about it. So comment below telling me your stories of finding these bizarre snakes.

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This is the Western Yellow-Bellied Racer. It is one of the fastest snakes native to Utah. Catching one isn't always easy because of their speed. It's also one of the most common species of snake that I see when out in the field in Utah. I can't count how many times I've been bitten by this snake but thankfully it's completely harmless.

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This is the Coachwhip, the fastest snake not just in Utah, but in the entire United States. After filming this video, I saw a second one that was almost a foot longer than this one and was too fast for me to catch. These snakes can be incredibly variable in appearance and the ones in Utah in my opinion, are rather unique.

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Ethan discusses the Variable Gound Snake.

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The Wandering Garter Snake is the most common species to encounter in northern Utah. Lots of people see them not knowing what they are and fear that they're dangerous however they're completely harmless.

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This is the California Kingsnake. This is Utah's most prolific kingsnake species and like all kings, they indeed eat other snakes including venomous snakes, and other kingsnake's.

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This is the Striped Whipsnake. The fastest species of snake in northern Utah. Despite that it's quite common among Utah's deserts, it took me over a year of constant searching in many different locations until my hard work paid off. This in my opinion is a highly underrated species and unfortunately I had to find 4 individuals that had been hit by cars before seeing my first one alive.

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Welcome to Season 2. Kicking things off with the most common snake down in Louisiana the Broad Banded Water snake. I saw these at just about every trailhead I visited and in big numbers too. In this episode we dive into some of their key differences between them and the snake they're most often confused with, the Cottonmouth. You will see footage of cottonmouths being handled via grabbing behind the head. Please don't attempt to replicate what you see in those shots unless you are a trained professional using these skills for educational purposes.

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This is the Western Ribbon Snake. This was potentially the most abundant snake I found in south Louisiana. They also have a knack for being a bit nippy sometimes. You won't really see much of the snake biting me in this video but you will for about a second near the end so it's not 100% clickbait haha.

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This is the Copperhead. In my opinion, it's one of the most gorgeous vipers in the U.S. Video doesn't do justice to the true beauty of these snakes too. They are way prettier in person. Please don't attempt to handle venomous snakes like you see me do in this video. I was under the supervision of someone who's had years of experience with this which aided in my safety. Also don't be fooled by the calm demeanor of the individual I was handling. After filming, it decided to bite my snake hook and I had to wash off the venom from my hook.

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This is the Speckled Kingsnake and in my opinion, probably the prettiest snake I've ever seen in the wild at the time of posting this video. Seeing one in person is so much more exciting than just on video. Also I was able to feature a second species in this episode that normally is pretty boring, but the individual I found was interesting because not only was it a pregnant female, she was found 4 feet from the ground. I'd never seen this species do that until that moment. Overall, this might be my favorite episode from this season.

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I present to you, the two most common racers in Louisiana. I did visit the area in Louisiana where Buttermilk racers are found but I never found any so unfortunately, I'm only comparing 2 racers instead of 3. Honestly in terms of beauty, racers are HIGHLY underrated. All racers I've seen in my opinion are stunning snakes but, in this video, I'd have to say the Black racer is the prettiest. Which one do you think is the prettiest?

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These are some of my favorite snakes from Louisiana because they're so docile and so beautiful. I had never seen so many in my life until that one night my friends found 12 in a single stretch of bushes lining a swampy trail. It really made me miss finding smooth green snakes back home. I think having one of these as a pet would be delightful if properly cared for. But that's easier said than done.

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I thought I'd feature two more water snake species I got to see in Louisiana. The diamondback water snake definitely holds a special place in my heart because it was my first snake catch. However, the Mississippi Green water snake is still something I have yet to catch myself. But that doesn't mean I can't feature it.

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If you live anywhere in the Eastern U.S., you may have seen one of these, the Eastern Gartersnake. There's some controversy over the fact that they possess a mild venom. What can't be argued however is the very apparent rear fangs they have that supposedly deliver that venom. Toxic or not, they're completely harmless to humans.

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One of my favorite finds of my entire trip to Louisiana was finding a Midland water snake close to my friend's house that I stayed at. This creek just walking distance from his house is filled with cottonmouths and diamondback water snakes, but I never expected to see one of these.

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If a water snake wanted to be anything in its lifetime, it would be a Cottonmouth. Most of the time, identifying one of these apart from a harmless water snake simply can't be done without getting a close look. They're likely the most successful viper in Louisiana as they are easily the most common. I saw them in multiple different habitats at while I visited. My favorite feature is the very noticeable ridge that makes up their snout. (This is characteristic of basically any moccasin). Like a water snake, they're very flighty and will do anything they can to get out of your way but when cornered, they show you what gives them that iconic name.

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This is the Canebrake Rattlesnake. Though I consider this the most dangerous snake in the state, that's merely just a comparison to the other snake's native to Louisiana. The truth is, there's no such thing as a dangerous snake when they're left alone. Like any rattlesnake, they do everything they can to avoid an interaction with humans. I went out looking for this species multiple times when I visited and never had any luck. So, seeing this was something I'll never forget. I never expected that I'd see a rattlesnake so big either.

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This is one of Louisiana's most common snakes! The Texas Ratsnake! It took a few trips down there to see one of these for some reason but eventually we got an amazing episode out of it and with a big individual too! These snakes can reach lengths of 7 feet and yet still spend a lot of their time high above the ground to either bask or hunt for birds! Sorry for the delayed upload. I've recently made a huge change in my work life balance while also starting college. But now that the spring semester is over, I'll be able to crank out a lot of videos for the next couple months! And I have many good ones from Florida and Utah lined up to edit and upload so stay tuned.

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Welcome to season 3 snakes of Florida. I'm sorry to say it but this season is going to be quite short compared to my other seasons. I simply just didn't get see very much while I was in Florida because it was so dry. I saw most of the common species that occur throughout the state but certainly none of the less common ones. Hopefully we can change that in the future. Anyway, the brown water snake is one of Florida's most common water snakes and I was really hoping to see one while I was here, and they were prolific down here in the everglades.

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Here it is. A wild corn snake. Very few of the snakes I catch and feature on this channel actually make good pets but the corn snake certainly does. That said, don't take one from the wild to keep as a pet. Make sure it's captive bred and good at eating frozen thawed rodents and it'll make a great beginner snake.

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Here we go again, another water snake. But it a good one. This is the Florida banded water snake. Though I only saw a few, they're probably the most common water snake in Florida. And they turned out to be so much prettier than I expected. I also talk a little bit about how you can tell the difference between this and a cottonmouth.

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