Definitely not one of our Florida poisonous snakes. Young florida brown snake (see below)? If so, having one around is a gift. It will keep your yard and garden free of palmetto bugs and small rodents.

I've seen baby red rats that shade. It's really hard to tell without a close up.
Lori

Hahahahahaha! LOL! LOL! You need to go take a CLOSE-UP! Ya'll, that is tooooo funny!

No, really, non-poisonous snakes usually just hang onto your finger a few minutes, then drop off when they bite. It's also the surest way to figure out if it's definitely non-poisonous. Get in there real, real close for that shot.

Gary

lol, maybe use the camera zoom if not person zoom?
Lori

I took it with the camera in my cell. By the time I went inside and got the camera with zoom, it was gone!!

And... yes I tried to get closer (not too much) and it attacked me... or at least pretended to do it. So let me tell you .. this one was not friendly at all...

Thanks for your feedback...

It must be a baby....it looks like it's the size of a blade of grass in your pictures.

Other possibilities...

Eastern Coachwhip - juvenile
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herpetology/fl-guide/masticophisfflagellum.htm

Central Florida Crowned Snake
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herpetology/fl-guide/Tantillarneilli.htm

Resource...
Layman's Key to Snakes of Florida
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herpetology/fl-guide/snakekey.htm

And, yes, non poisonous snakes will rear up, and beat with their tails and throw a dozen other bluffs at you if they feel threatened. It's actually funny to watch them shake their booty as if they were rattlers...

I agree with Billbrandi. Definitely not one of our few venomous snakes. Totally harmless, and I think Bill's guess of Florida brown snake is correct. They only reach a length of about 10" when fully grown, and are valuable assets to your garden. Don't worry about this one, even if he does try to bluff you by acting like he's dangerous.

Marcia

I think it's a yellow rat snake.

Its a Red-bellied Snake [or possibly a Brown Snake] (both species are closely related and completely harmless). The adult Red-bellied snakes are only about 8 inches long (and Brown Snakes are only a little bigger) so it could possibly even be an adult. The picture quality is plenty good enough for diagnostics. You don't need a close-up. The diagnostics (dark head, appearance of partial ring around neck, body color and striping) are all there to indicate the Storeria family which is what Red-Bellied and Brown Snakes are in.

Man, it is time for me to get some new glasses!!