The snake over the door

[EQGuy]

About 25 years ago I was checking an earthquake recorder in an old mine shaft outside of Mina Nevada. The mine had been taken over by UNR and it housed numerous scientific instruments. This time I had a companion and he was running the calibration while I was filling out the field notes. Our recorder was only about 10 feet into the mine. The entrance had been framed for a door and there was chicken wire placed over the inside of the frame to hold fiberglass insulation. As we were finishing up I happened to look over the top of the door and there was a gap in the fiberglass insulation. Inside this gap was a section of a large snake body. I would estimate it was the size of a man's arm. I pointed it out to my companion and the race was on to see who could get out the door first. We did manage to take all of our tools with us and we were able to complete our work. If I had noticed the snake any earlier that might have not been the case. I did not try to identify what species of snake it was as the head was behind the chicken wire obscured by the fiberglass. Oh and I am deathly afraid of snakes. I still have an occasional nightmare about this.

 

[Salty RI]

Did you leave foot prints on his back.

 

[rburg]

A good snake is a dead snake. We have posters here who don't subscribe to that. I'm one of those jerks who even swerves to run over them on the road. Same for possums. You do as you please, so will I. Others do the same.

About 20 years ago my dog and I were hiking down a mountain road. There in the roadway was a whole passel of copperheads. Little ones, all nicely squished. Someone else did the work for me.

 

[ralph7]

I can understand letting a non poisonous snake live, even though they will still bite you if you piss one off.
Any poisonous snake dies, especially those nasty water moccasins. Those *******s will actually chase you, I hate 'em!

 

[Drm50]

Unless it was some escaped exotic species, it sounds like you
walked under a Rattle Snake, I think only one in those parts
with that kind of girth.

 

[Leslie Sapp]

My mother had a similar experience many years ago. The smokehouse was used as a garden shed in the summer, and as she entered, the snake lying along the top of the door fell and draped himself around her neck.

The poor fellow tried to explain that he was simply a harmless black racer and that it was all just an unfortunate accident, but it didn't save him from the hoe she was carrying.

 

[Tom S.]

The portion that you saw may also have been that size from a recent meal. Snakes swallow their prey whole, as they have no hands for knives and forks.

 

[kozmic]

Meanwhile, I've spent the past week or so putting our male snakes in with our females to breed. The boys seem more perturbed when I take them out of the female enclosures than when I put them in, but I've never been bit! Ain't love grand!!!

 

[arjay]

Bush whacking through the tall grass a few years ago, I almost stepped on a 5 footer that was as big around as my wrist.Im pretty sure my heart stopped for a second until it dawned on me that it was just a bull snake lol.Looked like he had just swallowed three chipmunks,he was huge!

 

[EQGuy]

Unless it was some escaped exotic species, it sounds like you
walked under a Rattle Snake, I think only one in those parts
with that kind of girth.

Actually I ran under that snake. It was behind the chicken wire so I was in no immediate danger. That mine was full of rodents so that is what the snake was there for. The thought has occurred to me that some grad student from UNR might have placed a constrictor in there to keep the rodents in check. I had to go back at a later date by myself and saw no sign of the snake but I did not linger any longer that necessary to finish the job.

 

[Comrad]

Just make sure you always go with someone who runs just a little slower then you.