Snakes; Be careful out there

[bayjoe]

Sent this little dude to the happy hunting ground this evening

[echo154]

I try to just let them be or I use my snake tongs. Relocate to a rubbermaid and then take them out in the stick.......Australia was over run with rats or mice a few decades back.....not enough natural predators...had to air drop poison bait to finally gain the upper hand. Now if they get in the house or near a loved one or be-loved pet.....45 acp CCI Speer shot load is alway chambered up front....they actually cycle in a full size Government.....loud too but it kills squirrels at 15 feet.....just beware, lead filling are possible if you don't clean em good. When I was a Wee Lad our Boxer got into a nest of Pygmy Rattlers....she came back with one jaw locked on her. Trip to the vet and a cash bill later she recovered. But she was a swollen mess....after that she stuck to chewing on pig ears.....still on live pigs

[ryanmattes]

Texas panhandle natives might correct me, but I think this little fellow who visited me at antelope camp is a baby prairie rattler.

That one looks like either a corn snake or a rat snake. We have several of them in Texas that mimic rattlers, so they're hard to tell apart, but the head shape and pattern say definitely a harmless colubrid, not a pit viper.

Ryan

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[kbstenberg]

I am very pleased that the most dangerous snake we have is a snow snake.
I cringe everytime i think of my kids living in Georgia & Florida.

[TyGuy]

That one looks like either a corn snake or a rat snake. We have several of them in Texas that mimic rattlers, so they're hard to tell apart, but the head shape and pattern say definitely a harmless colubrid, not a pit viper.

Ryan

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I tend to agree. I know the baby western rat snakes (“black rat snake”) we get around here have the dark stripe over the eyes and face like that one. They are great to have around. Very laid back and gobble up pests like a Hoover.

Missouri only has pit vipers as far as venomous nope-ropes. They have an extra hole between the nostril and eye. Some folks prefer not to get close enough identify for sure. I prefer the innocent until proven venomous and proceed with due caution.

[gwpercle]

Don't tell me some of our members suffer from Ophidiophobia ?

Why we all know snakes are our friends ! While my daughter was in high school and college and living at home ... she had a very exotic pet ... kept in a cage ... most of the time ...
An Adult Ball Python , 5 feet long ... best guard animal we ever had ... unwanted vistitor , answer the door with a full grown python in your arms ... they don't stay long at all !
Remember , Snakes are our friends so be kind to them !
Gary

[358429]

This spiders eyes shone like diamonds when I was hiking around fishing at night, with a headlamp.
I am glad that stepping on snakes in the dark, is not a problem I have ever had.



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[robertbank]

Jeez guys I hope this is a bi-annual thread, hopefully meaning once every two years or longer. We have ratllers south of us in the Desert country of BC, Southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. I have never seen a rattler or any other poisonous snake. Just the way I like it. We do have garter snakes here. They are a welcome addition to any garden. I was crossing one of our pistol pits when one of the beggers wiggled between my legs and was on his way. Thanks nut no thanks. Damn near had a heart attack.

Take Care
Bob

[Mr_Sheesh]

On a search I was hiking/climbing up a ridge to get up high and glass an area over, looking for sign of lost folks. Pretty steep and in old crumbly sedimentary rocks, had to pay attention to my footing and handholds.

Came over a lip and there was a BIG garter? snake about 8 feet away, which I wasn't expecting. We sorta alarmed each other I guess, it watched me a minute then slithered off. I guess they only grow to ~54 inches but you could have convinced me that thing was larger, it was not thin either, looked well enough fed.

It wasn't a GigantoSnakeusSearcherEatemupus, but it sure got my adrenaline level up LOL

We have rattlesnakes in WA's east side, not had too many close meet & greets with them but sure seen a number.

[BJK]

The only poisonous snake I ever saw was 60 years ago in Harriman State Park in NYS. We were at a hike in lake (Pine Meadow) and the area is littered with these covered "wells" I always though if I was a snake that's where I'd live. I had my tackle box near one and I went back to pick it up and there was this HUGE rattlesnake on it sunning itself. I left to get my brother and by the time we got back it was gone. I approached the tackle box very gingerly.

[Texas by God]

I stopped and swept a copperhead off the driveway just a few minutes ago with my .410 broom.

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[a.squibload]

You guys think YOU're brave, look what I fished out of my window well the other night.




Little fella couldn't get out, was scratchin on the screen.

[gwpercle]

You guys think YOU're brave, look what I fished out of my window well the other night.




Little fella couldn't get out, was scratchin on the screen.

This is the only guard animal that beats a 5 foot python ...
Was he kind enough to let you help him out the box without a sprayment !
I'm a lot more respectful of skunks than any weenie snake .
Gary

[Rapier]

We have three families of indigo snakes on the farm, saw two today, a small one about 4’ in the grass while mowing with the tractor, they stand up in the grass so I just stop and let them go on about their snake catching business and after about a year, of not seeing a male, saw the big male, about 8-9’ long in the edge of the pines. They live under things or in gopher (land tortoise) holes.
We did have copperheads and rattlers, but now it has been quite some time since I have seen either one of those.
Last rattler I saw, did not rattle at all (10 +button), they say wild hogs cause that, if they rattle, the hogs eat them, so I dispatched it, no poisonous snakes that do not warn are allowed on the place. Got 8 grand kids and am not going to allow the bad actors to populate the farm.

[lksmith]

Last rattler I saw, did not rattle at all (10 +button), they say wild hogs cause that, if they rattle, the hogs eat them, so I dispatched it, no poisonous snakes that do not warn are allowed on the place. Got 8 grand kids and am not going to allow the bad actors to populate the farm.

Hogs will eat snakes and will cut up a dog (or person)! My rottie got sideways with a hog last night, gave him a good cut on his side. Bothered me more than it my dog, he was running around smiling afterwards. He was a bit grouchy after he got home from the vet and I tried to put a shirt on him to keep the stitches clean

[ryanmattes]

Last rattler I saw, did not rattle at all (10 +button), they say wild hogs cause that, if they rattle, the hogs eat them, so I dispatched it, no poisonous snakes that do not warn are allowed on the place. Got 8 grand kids and am not going to allow the bad actors to populate the farm.

Rattlesnake roundups did that in west Texas. The ones that warned got caught, the quiet ones survived to have quiet baby rattlers.

Here it's mostly kings, I've only seen indigos in this area a few times in my life. But the kings eat venomous snakes around here, which is why I actively encourage them, while actively discouraging the copperheads and water moccasins.we don't really see rattlers around here either

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[jim147]

I've seen more and more speckled kings here and less and less venomous snakes. Still a lot of cottonmouth so need to watch when fishing.

[Streetwalker]

I grew up in southwestern Wisconsin along the Mississippi river and we had a few people who hunted timber rattlers for the bounty in those days. I would ride the dirt roads on my bike and pick up fresh road kills and promptly turn them over to the local Postmaster who was authorized to pay a five dollar bounty for each snake. That was a lot of money for a teenage kid in the early 1960's. Now, I'm told they are an endangered species and must be protected. My, times have changed.

[a.squibload]

This is the only guard animal that beats a 5 foot python ...
Was he kind enough to let you help him out the box without a sprayment !
I'm a lot more respectful of skunks than any weenie snake .
Gary

Yep he was very young & well behaved. After all I did him a favor.

Sorry for skunk post in snake thread but it seemed right at the time!

PS: I caught a "hog nose rattler" when I was a kid, sold to a pet store
for $5 as I recall, that bought a lot of BBs, etc.

[sniper]

When I worked for my state as a claims adjuster, We insured the State Universities. Locally, they have a botanical garden which hosts concerts during the warm months. One night at a concert a woman picked up a "cute" snake, which being a little rattler, bit her. She sued the State claiming (or at least her chickenthief lawyer did) for having dangerous animals in the area. Politicians and Higher education administrators being the cowardly individuals they are, our boss was advised by our attorneys ( another cowardly species)to pay for her stupidity.