My thoughts on snakes.......

[Jswiney9]

I have been seeing lots of snake threads come up on this forum and a few others. I am sure that some of you know that i am Pro-snake and usually wont kill one unless I plan on eating it. A lot of the snakes i feel are misunderstood, if it had been a bunny rabbit that gave Eve that fruit im sure they would be hated too. I understand the fear associated with snakes because anything with no legs should not be able to move like that, the tongue flicking, the biting, the rattling, its all pretty creepy. I have done a lot of study on snakes and have grown to respect them for what they are, learn a little bit about these guys before you go out killing every black snake you see "because every snake you see is a copperheadedwaterrattlercottoncobra" A lot of them can be beneficial in keeping out pests, id rather have a 6 foot black snake crawling in my building than a bunch of rats. But, as with all things to each their own. Stay safe this summer and take care. If anyone wants a snake identified ill do my best. just shoot me a pm for contact info. Im not a certified expert by any means but i do know quite a bit about most species in north america.

[yaktamer]

Don't know that I'd call myself "pro-snake," but a couple of weeks ago I came across the biggest snake I've seen sunning itself in the road. At first I thought it was a rattler, but closer inspection (from the safety of my truck) revealed it to be a gopher snake, about 7 feet long. It really was beautiful, though not in a cute, cuddly way.

[cp1969]

I won't kill them unless it's absolutely necessary.

A big garter snake lived in our wood pile. I used to dodge him on the lawn mower almost every time I mowed but one day I didn't see him and that was it. I felt very bad about that.

[PDL]

I don't like things that can kill me. I don't care if they have no legs, 8 legs, 4 legs, 2 legs, or wings. I don't give them a chance to to get close enough to exhibit hostile intentions. And if they do slip by and get too close, I don't wait for them to strike first I live in a green light zone.

[FlYFiShErMaN]

Well, here in FL we have our share. The only one I have killed in 12 years almost hit my dog in the face. It was a Cotton Mouth that was under my tool box, and had she not smelled him out, I might have gotten it in the foot. I relocated (not killed) a 19" Coral Snake out of my pool last summer, and many Scarlet Kings over the years. A week ago, I had a juvi Indigo snake that traversed my entire front porch......he is a keeper. He is why I have seen no Copperheads and Pygmy Rattlers this year (So far).

[ridewv]

I hate mice and rats so I guess I'm pro-snake also. Especially black snakes. They help keep the vermin under control and I've been told a black snake will even eat copper heads. Last year when I was mowing I saw a decent size black snake, about 4', in the yard near my garage and it stayed there. So I got off the tractor, picked it up (it was pretty aggressive for a black snake too), and tossed it in the woods. The next pass around it was back about the same place all coiled up. That was unusual..... but I tossed it back in the woods again. I didn't notice if it came back the third time 'cause I was mowing beyond that area. About 3 weeks later I was happy to see a number of tiny little black snakes slithering through the gravel along the garage. I guess she'd been guarding her eggs?
Just a few weeks ago I was mowing again and observed a snake crawl from under the AC/heat pump compressor beside the house and disappear in the rocks. I knew what that meant. There was "prey" in my heat pump! I took the cover off, what was left of the sound deadening blanket, and there were the stinking mice!

[Terry C]

We have gray rat snakes in the pecan orchard. Not only are they excellent vermin control, but they are beautiful and docile. They make excellent pets for those inclined to catch them and keep them, but I let them do their own thing.

I've been told that the more non-poisonous snakes in your yard, the less likely you are to encounter a poisonous one. My own experiences tend to bear this out.

Don't know why that is, though, since most snakes don't eat other snakes.

[jeepjeepwhat]

The more black snakes I see, the less I have to clean out the mouse traps in the shed. I remember as a kid I would always find ringneck snakes and carry them around for the day and let them go when I had to go inside.

Its a totally different story if I see vipers around, due to small kids, dogs, and family.

[Farmer17]

I've shot snakes for fun in some farm ponds and anything poisonous near the city or my house I would usually kill, but most of the time I will let them live. I'll find baby Bullsnakes in the garage or on the front porch, and occasionally in the house, but if my wife were to ever find a big 6-7 foot one in the house, the "For Sale" sign would be up the next day. They look mean and will coil up and strike at you and they can hiss really loud, they basically can "scare you" about as well as any snake out there.

[Jswiney9]

Originally Posted by Terry C

We have gray rat snakes in the pecan orchard. Not only are they excellent vermin control, but they are beautiful and docile. They make excellent pets for those inclined to catch them and keep them, but I let them do their own thing.

I've been told that the more non-poisonous snakes in your yard, the less likely you are to encounter a poisonous one. My own experiences tend to bear this out.

Don't know why that is, though, since most snakes don't eat other snakes.

more competition for food, if you are going to eat once a week or less you are going to go where you dont have to fight for your meals.

[LVSteve]

Originally Posted by Terry C

We have gray rat snakes in the pecan orchard. Not only are they excellent vermin control, but they are beautiful and docile. They make excellent pets for those inclined to catch them and keep them, but I let them do their own thing.

I've been told that the more non-poisonous snakes in your yard, the less likely you are to encounter a poisonous one. My own experiences tend to bear this out.

Don't know why that is, though, since most snakes don't eat other snakes.

Snakes have been found to be quite territorial. The presence of a Gopher Snake is usually a good indication of no rattlers. A good sized California Kingsnake has probably eaten his fill of baby rattlers, with any luck.

[scoutsdad]

I love reptiles of all types, but my favorite is the turtle. I have done radio telemetry studies on Maryland's Bog turtle and Arizona's Desert tortoise. Both studies with the Game and Fish Dept. Here comes the but, I have studied rattlesnakes where I live in The Chiricahau Mountains. Studies on the Black-tailed rattlesnake shows a real homing instinct. Move them and they come right back, or they die because they don't know where to find food and shelter. Diamondback rattlers are getting smarter, if they rattle at you they may be harmed, if they don't you may not notice them. So who survives to reproduce. I have relocated or killed over 100 rattlesnakes in or around my home. I have had a dog bitten 10 feet from my front door. The vet bill with 2 anti venom $1500. I use to relocate the yearlings, but after several studies suggested a high mortality rate they are killed humanly.


To me rattlesnake are just like landmines on your property. One day you will be careless, and boom.

[Last of the Mohicans]

Most people here in Ontario consider us blessed to have relatively few snakes...fewer of the venomous kind still. Officially, we have two pit vipers here: the Massassauga (a pygmy rattlesnake), and the timber rattlesnake. Although, there hasn't been a confirmed sighting of the latter for something like 60 years.

Nevertheless, people here are herpetophobic and will often kill snakes on sight. When I was working in outdoor ed. centres and provincial parks as a student, I would regularly have people ask me to identify the snakes that they killed at their homes and cottages. They were invariably milk snakes, fox snakes and water snakes, and the odd hognose. In fact, it became so boringly predictable, that one day, some people insisted that they had caught a rattlesnake on their dock and what should they do? It was in a bait bucket and I had them bring it to me at the wildlife centre. They carried it in like it was a live nuke. I took the bucket, and they backed away as I took off the lid while speaking to them and without even looking put my hand inside. Surprise! This time it was a Massassauga. I pulled my hand out right quick once I caught the warning buzz. Anyway, we kept Camilla, as we named her, as a live display animal for many years after that, until she died a few years ago.

Nevertheless, despite the fact that only a handful of people have ever been bitten by Massassaugas and then only due to their carelessness (they are very shy and retiring), people are still unduly frightened and will accuse every snake of being a rattlesnake up in what is locally known as "cottage country".

[Texas Star]

Originally Posted by Last of the Mohicans

Most people here in Ontario consider us blessed to have relatively few snakes...fewer of the venomous kind still. Officially, we have two pit vipers here: the Massassauga (a pygmy rattlesnake), and the timber rattlesnake. Although, there hasn't been a confirmed sighting of the latter for something like 60 years.

Nevertheless, people here are herpetophobic and will often kill snakes on sight. When I was working in outdoor ed. centres and provincial parks as a student, I would regularly have people ask me to identify the snakes that they killed at their homes and cottages. They were invariably milk snakes, fox snakes and water snakes, and the odd hognose. In fact, it became so boringly predictable, that one day, some people insisted that they had caught a rattlesnake on their dock and what should they do? It was in a bait bucket and I had them bring it to me at the wildlife centre. They carried it in like it was a live nuke. I took the bucket, and they backed away as I took off the lid while speaking to them and without even looking put my hand inside. Surprise! This time it was a Massassauga. I pulled my hand out right quick once I caught the warning buzz. Anyway, we kept Camilla, as we named her, as a live display animal for many years after that, until she died a few years ago.

Nevertheless, despite the fact that only a handful of people have ever been bitten by Massassaugas and then only due to their carelessness (they are very shy and retiring), people are still unduly frightened and will accuse every snake of being a rattlesnake up in what is locally known as "cottage country".

I've read a bit about massasagua bites, and they're much more likely to do real damage than some think. Same for the true pgymy rattler. They're much more potent than their size suggests.

If memory serves, these are of the genus Sistrurus, not the Crotalus of the larger rattlers. But you don't want to get tagged by one!

I have a friend from another board who lives in Toronto, and she thinks that you don't have snakes up there!

BTW, the Canebrake is a subspecies of the Timber rattler, Crotalus horridus. It (Timber) is the snake pictured on early US flags. ("Don't Tread On Me!")

I think that most snakebite fatalities in the US are from bites from the Western Diamondback, which has copious amounts of venom and an irritable disposition, with wide distribution. The Eastern one is potentially worse, venom-wise, but seems to bite fewer pople. The Mojave is probably the worst, drop-for-drop, and an envenomation by one is a very grave matter. It also has usually got a high proportion of neurotoxins in its bite, like the Tropical rattler, Crotalus durissus. Part of its danger is that it's very easy to mistake one for a Western Diamondback. That will affect how the doctor treats the bite.

But I've watched Dr. Sean Bush ("Animal Planet") treat bites from the Southern Pacific rattler, Crotalus helleri, and some of those patients were in serious trouble. Some would surely have died, had they not been hospitalized. Even then, it was sometimes touch and go for a long time.

ALL rattlesnakes are bad news if one bites you. Some are just worse than others.

T-Star

[Last of the Mohicans]

Originally Posted by Texas Star

I've read a bit about massasagua bites, and they're much more likely to do real damage than some think. Same for the true pgymy rattler. They're much more potent than their size suggests.

Correct, my friend! Their venom, drop for drop is very potent.

If memory serves, these are of the genus Sistrurus, not the Crotalus of the larger rattlers. But you don't want to get tagged by one!

Correct again

I have a friend from another board who lives in Toronto, and she thinks that you don't have snakes up there!

Now that is funny! Tell her to take a trip to Georgian Bay and spend the weekend near Honey Harbour...she'll see snakes.

BTW, the Canebrake is a subspecies of the Timber rattler, Crotalus horridus. It (Timber) is the snake pictured on early US flags. ("Don't Tread On Me!")

Interesting, I was not aware of the flag connection being a Timber.

I think that most snakebite fatalities in the US are from bites from the Western Diamondback, which has copious amounts of venom and an irritable disposition, with wide distribution. The Eastern one is potentially worse, venom-wise, but seems to bite fewer pople. The Mojave is probably the worst, drop-for-drop, and an envenomation by one is a very grave matter. It also has usually got a high proportion of neurotoxins in its bite, like the Tropical rattler, Crotalus durissus. Part of its danger is that it's very easy to mistake one for a Western Diamondback. That will affect how the doctor treats the bite.

But I've watched Dr. Sean Bush ("Animal Planet") treat bites from the Southern Pacific rattler, Crotalus helleri, and some of those patients were in serious trouble. Some would surely have died, had they not been hospitalized. Even then, it was sometimes touch and go for a long time.

ALL rattlesnakes are bad news if one bites you. Some are just worse than others.

T-Star

Amen to that...I certainly didn't want to get zapped by Camilla, I can tell you that.

[Skeeziks]

I'm very pro-snake, as well. Have only killed 1 snake in the past 45-yrs.
We have a deal: I allow them to stay on my property as long as they earn their keep by keeping the vermin population in check.

I don't like mice & rats near my house.

[keith44spl]

Hey, you kids leave that snake alone !


I don’t like or dislike snakes, never killed a rodent eatin’ snake for fun or profit.
Don’t let it be said that I’m aholdin' a grudge because of that high plains prairie rattler incident…
But, if’n one strikes or slithers to near, sorry for his luck.

That’s just were I stand on it…

Su Amigo,
Dave

[Rangerpat]

My motto is: "Give a snake a break". Last week I captured a coral snake in my driveway, put him in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid on it and released him out in the woods a few miles from my house. A few days before that, while walking my dog in the neighborhood a Eastern diamondback rattlesnake tapped my dog in the chest without biting her with it's fangs... very lucky dog!!! I went back home to get my snake stick and bucket but the rattler was gone when I returned. Most of the time we see black racers and rat snakes around here, I consider them valuable to the environment.

[wbraswell]

When I was a boy, I was fascinated by snakes. I read all about the different kinds, and knew what was poisonous. I had no problem with catching and handling them. I will dispatch venomous kinds. I like snakes much more than I like rodents. I have never come across a non-native species in the wild, but If I did, I would kill it, regardless.

[pluspea]

When I was in high school we would search around minnow ponds at my friends house killing the big ones near the bank. Afterwards we would hook a fishing hook and line to one and drag it across the road, the cars would always hit the brakes trying to kill the snake.

[old bear]

Sorry to be this way but I see a snake, I'm going to kill it. Not cool but that is the way it is

[bobf]

This series of pictures have been going around for a while. I don't know if they are real.
Bob

This is why you should never kill a black snake

[wheelgun1958]

If it's poisonous, I'll kill it. Otherwise it gets relocated.

[Skeeziks]

Originally Posted by wheelgun1958

If it's poisonous, I'll kill it. Otherwise it gets relocated.

This doesn't make any sense to me. I understand the killing part...but why would you relocate a non-venomous snake? They won't hurt you and they keep the rodent population in check.
When the lawn guy shows up, I don't tell him to put the fertilizer on my neighbor's lawn.

[Krull]

Whatever one thinks of snakes I say this:they try to bite me=dead snake.

And it just happened,I was out walking before dark on the road leading up to the gas wells when I saw something moving fast by my left foot and felt and heard something banging into my left ankle-friggin' copperhead,and he just tried the 'ol bite routine! but I wear snake boots all the time so all he did was earn some fast fired .223 out of my C93 HK clone.

Be surprised what that does to a snake at five feet.

[ChuckS1]

I have black snakes and copperheads on my place...Sorry, but to paraphrase Phil Sheridan, the only good copperhead is a dead copperhead.

[cp1969]

From an email I got:

A Jack Daniels Fishing Story

I went fishing this morning but after a short time I ran out of worms. Then
I saw a cottonmouth with a frog in his mouth. Frogs are good bass bait.

Knowing the snake couldn't bite me with the frog in his mouth I grabbed him
right behind the head, took the frog, and put it in my bait bucket.

Now the dilemma was how to release the snake without getting bit. So, I
grabbed my bottle of Jack Daniels and poured a little whiskey in its mouth.
His eyes rolled back, he went limp. I released him into the lake without
incident and carried on fishing using the frog.

A little later, I felt a nudge on my foot. There was that same snake with
two frogs in his mouth.

Life is good in the South.

[fat tom]

Put me on the "I kill 'em" list.



f.t.

[Texas Star]

Originally Posted by fat tom

Put me on the "I kill 'em" list.



f.t.

Tom-

Is that a canebrake rattler, and how did you kill it? What gun, if you used one?

Hope no venomous snake catches you walking too close to it in those sandals!

T-Star

[fat tom]

Yep. Canebrake,or Timber if you prefer. I used that red-handled shovel in the back of the truck. We've got too damn many of these things down here. And don't be callin' my flops sandals!
f.t.

[pownal55]

I like snakes, always have and never understood the automatic hatred some people have for them. I can see why a run-in with a poisonous species would be a very bad experience. Respect for this type of animal makes more sense than hating them.

[Texas Star]

Originally Posted by pownal55

I like snakes, always have and never understood the automatic hatred some people have for them. I can see why a run-in with a poisonous species would be a very bad experience. Respect for this type of animal makes more sense than hating them.

Other primates seem to sense the danger from snakes, and don't like them, either. It may be an ingrained instinct.

Doubtless, the Christian (and I suppose, Jewish) concept of the Garden of Eden also discriminates against serpents.

T-Star

[ChuckS1]

Originally Posted by Texas Star

Doubtless, the Christian (and I suppose, Jewish) concept of the Garden of Eden also discriminates against serpents.

The concept of protecting my kids and dog also discriminates against them...

[Grayfox]

I normally leave snakes alone. I like them and understand their importance in the eco-system. They don't bother me at all.
But..............
Any poisionous snake found near the house or in areas that family or pets normally use is dead. That's just the way it is.

[scoutsdad]

I had a small 3 ft Diamondback the other day. About 20 birds were sitting on the fence about 5 feet from it. The birds were sassing and yapping up a storm. I knew when I saw them it was either a snake or an owl. Birds like to pester them both, they seem to believe if they can see it it can't get them.

[model70hunter]

I believe snakes do help control smaller vermin, but. Our farm house was between the bluffs overlooking the river and the farms around us. There had to be a major copperhead winter den in a cave on the bluff. In the spring you had to watch every step and where you put your hands. Dogs and cats would come home with swollen heads. My sister while running in front of me stepped in the middle of a huge copperheads back. It struck but just missed her leg. I didn't miss him. Around the house and out buildings all poisonious were terminated. After dad started raising hogs on the land between us and the river snake sightings became rare. I did have a hissing contest with a huge rattler on a WY mule deer hunt. He however was deathly allergic to lead. P.S. Rattlers when properly cooked are tasty.

[Texas Star]

Originally Posted by model70hunter

I believe snakes do help control smaller vermin, but. Our farm house was between the bluffs overlooking the river and the farms around us. There had to be a major copperhead winter den in a cave on the bluff. In the spring you had to watch every step and where you put your hands. Dogs and cats would come home with swollen heads. My sister while running in front of me stepped in the middle of a huge copperheads back. It struck but just missed her leg. I didn't miss him. Around the house and out buildings all poisonious were terminated. After dad started raising hogs on the land between us and the river snake sightings became rare. I did have a hissing contest with a huge rattler on a WY mule deer hunt. He however was deathly allergic to lead. P.S. Rattlers when properly cooked are tasty.

How do you cook them?

T-Star

[windjammer]

Originally Posted by Texas Star

How do you cook them?

T-Star

I don't mean to butt in on a question to someone else, but all I've ate were deep fried, just like fish.

BTW....I've wondered if all snakes taste the same. I've never ate any other kind. Seems to me like one would be just as good as another.

[DeadAye]

BTW....I've wondered if all snakes taste the same.

Short answer: No.
Depends on their diet. Cotton Mouths taste more fishy than Rattle Snakes, for example.

[Cyrano]

A bunch of us were camped out near a huge rock outcropping. Someone killed a pretty large rattler. They came around and asked if we'd like a piece for dinner. My wife was rather pale around the gills but she took a piece. When she put it in the pan and it began to make snake motions as the heat hit it, she freaked. I finished cooking it (and eating it, had a mild taste as I remember).

[Nimble, Jack B.]

I taught my kids the difference between good and bad snakes and told them if I ever caught one them harming a good one they might feel just as bad as the snake they harmed. To this day, none of them are freaked out about snakes.

I agree, I'd rather see 4 King Snakes on my property than 1 rat or 1 Copperhead (King Snakes eat Copperheads).

[pluspea]

If snakes are good for eating, wonder how many this one would feed?

[cp1969]

Think a snake shot load would take care of that thing? <shudder.

[Krull]

Originally Posted by cp1969

Think a snake shot load would take care of that thing? <shudder.

Um.....no,a 12ga with buckshot? yea at the least!

[Texas Star]

Is that a green phase anaconda? Where was it taken? How long?

T-Star