I'm more of an Australian blue tongued skink type, but as far as snakes, while I never had one as a pet, when I lived in FL, I found a little cutie in my front yard while raking and preparing a bed for some new flowers. It was about a foot or so long, yellow in color, and I was trying to work around it as best I could. It decided it didn't approve of me raking the soil and curled up like a rattlesnake and started shaking it's tail and striking at the rake. At this point I assumed it was a baby rattler and I admit I had a little fun at the little guys expense because it was so determined to kill the rake. Finally, it took off underneath a copper plant. I finished planting my flowers and later told a neighbor about the cute little snake. He informed me that it was not a baby but a pygmy rattler which are extremely venomous. He was disappointed that I hadn't killed it, but even if I had known what it was, I would not have harmed it. I never saw another one, but if I had, I would have put the rake away and planted flowers another day.