Snakes

[bowhunter 51]

As the temperatures warms here in the Southeast, snakes begin to emerge
from hybernation...I caught one up yesterday and decided to use it to
teach alittle class on snake I.D....1st image is a yellow belly watersnake...
Often mistaken as a water moccasin, it's belly muddy yellow and lacking
in skin pattern on the back and head...It has sharp little gripping teeth set
in rows (like tiny peices of sharp glass)...The 2nd image is a water moccasin,
fanged, aggresive if cornered & poisonous, it's will display a white inner mouth,
often refered to as a cottonmouth for that reason..It's belly is blotchy black &
white, will have a enlongated light white stripes each side of the head at the eye.
Always aggresive and should be avoided...Recess!....lets here some  stories..

[Jay Edward (deceased)]

I believe my hero Bugs Bunny just about summed it all up... YIPES!

[Alboy]

I remember once coming home from picking dew berries all day. Mom had set sundown as the dead line and we were in a hurry to make that. About 6-8 of us kids from around 6 years to 12 years old.
 
We were on a dead run for the house and all short cuts were on the itenary. Mean while we had to be careful not to spill our gallon buckets of berries as there were plans for pies and cereals for the coming week.
 
One of the short cuts included crossing a bar ditch. These things are around 50' wide at the top, go about 20' deep and always have some water at the bottum but usually only around 2-3' wide, easy jump. Now they will run full during heavy rain but I digress.
 
We are headed down the slope at full gallup and I as I remember it I was near the back of the pack when some one near the front yells SNAKE!!!!

Now to bare foot kids this is a warning of the first order.

There were kids going in all directions, buckets flying in others, berries making a dotted spray in still more. It seems in only a flash we were standing at the top of the other side looking back at the offending snake which had not moved. Gathering our buckets and what berries we could we headed on in. Arriving home with less than half what we started down that ditch bank with. Mom was not too sure about the snake story as she allowed how we probably ate what we picked versus bringing it home.

[bowhunter 51]

With hot, dry conditions in the early fall here in the South, the best places
to squirrel hunt is near water, creeks & ditches....Look what I come upon
as I was looking for a fox squirrel I'd just knocked out of a cypress tree at
the creeks' edge....Yipe!:eek: .Cottonmouth!...Gotta watch for em...BH51

[12 gauge]

If you ever encounter a snake of any sort in the woods, the best thing to do is to freeze and back away slowly. Any sudden movements could trigger a strike. In certain parts of the country there are a few poisonous snakes, but why take a chance? if you are out in the woods and you find yourself on a snake, just stop and s-l-o-w-l-y walk back, do not run.
 
If you are being followed or chase then high-tail it out of there and zig-zag. If you happened to get bit, wash the bite with water and soap (if you have any on you) and identify the snake. Then contact an emergency hospital. Most bites aren't lethal, but if you are allergic to a certain venom, you may be in excrutiating pain and may pass out.
 
Reguardless try not to mess with snakes.
 
I know most of the time it is inevitable to run upon a snake, especially when hunting/fishing. But if you know how to handle the situation and back away from the snake without any sudden movements, you can avoid getting bit.
 
Also if you are squirrel/deer/bird or etc hunting or fishing, watch also where you step, especially if you live in the south.
 
God bless :angel:
 
PS: If you live in an area with coral or king snakes. Coral snakes are poisonous while king snakes aren't. They have similar body colorations but there's a difference. Just remember if yellow touches black your ok Jack, if Yellow touches red, your dead Fred!

[bowhunter 51]

Here is a perfect example of 12 guage's cliche, if yellow touches black,
your OK Jack....The Eastern Red Milk Snake, not at all striped like the
Coral Snake of the South West, but having the same colors and often
mistaken as one by the fearful....Non-venomous member of the King
Snake family, a constrictor, meaning it squeezes the life out of it's lunch.
Harmless and beautiful, grows to about 3 feet in length...I beleive it
mostly nocturnal....Ain't it pretty?. ..........................................BH51.......

[RebelliousHuntinGirl]

So...I know nothing about snakes, but I came across this one. What kind is it? Im sure it's common.
 

[bowhunter 51]

Although similar in color to the venomous Copperhead, its' pattern
appears to be a Corn snake.....Little cottonmouth are similar in
color to copperhead also, when there about 8 inches or so....And,
copperheads have sligtly different patterns about them from one
geological area to another.....I really can't be sure about that one..
Hard to call from a photo image like that....To be on the safe side,
I would consider it VENOMOUS!:undecided: .......................................BH51.................

[RebelliousHuntinGirl]

Thanks for the info. I did a search on the 3 snakes you had listed and finally came to the conclusion it was a cottonmouth. :) Here's the one I found and the one I looked up on the internet.
 

[Paul Hoskins]

Big snake............Paul H

[bowhunter 51]

Yep...That's a nice one Paul....Kentucky garter snake, I think.....
And judge by it's belly, it's done swoller'd somethin' big....Them
ole boys got'em tied up to keep him from wigglin' out of the
back of that   pick'm up   truck,  I'd say.......................BH51.............

[RebelliousHuntinGirl]

What did that thing eat???

[Alboy]

Most about anything it wanted to.

[bowhunter 51]

Here is a pic of a large Cotton Mouth, (water moccasin) that my
grandson (age 9) and me (pre-historic) bust a cap on, at todays shooting
practice.....sorry about cutting it's head out of the picture...It was n't that pretty anyway............BH51....

[bowhunter 51]

I ran across this lil' beauty today....about 2 1/2 feet in length,
copper'ish colored, lovely pattern...Can anyone guess what it is?

[Alboy]

I think wgat we call a COPPERHEAD or a SPREADIN-OUTER, can spread a hood similar to  cobra but only slightly venomous.

[Paul Hoskins]

It appears to be a copperhead. Difficult to tell with the pebbles near the head. Another guess is a hog nosed snake. Hog nosed snakes will usually flatten out and play dead if disturbed. They can also smell dead.   ..........Paul H

[Alboy]

Paul H will a hog nose get that long? I have never seen one over a foot.

[Alboy]

Leioheterodon are the largest of the hognose snakes, capable of reaching lengths of 1.8 m
 
Guess they will get that big.

[bowhunter 51]

If you guessed "Copperhead", you get an A+.............................BH51...

[Paul Hoskins]

I suppose no one would believe me if I said I found this in my garden.........Paul H

[Daryl (deceased)]

Paul,
 
I've seen that picture before somewhere.  Can't remember where.
 
Looks like a big dadgum snake, for sure!
 
Daryl

[bowhunter 51]

Ewwwweeeeee!........That's a big'gun, Mr. Paul Hoskins.....Must be sump'n
in the fertilizer....bet Jim Baker the garden pro, has got a remedie for that
little problem........................................................................................BH51.....

[bowhunter 51]

.bet Jim Baker the garden pro[/FONT]

 
Ooo0ps!..........I meant, Jerry Baker.....Sorry Jer', ...you too, Jimbo'.....
You know what they say, "they mind goes first"..........................:smiley: ....BH51...

[Nelsdou]

This time of year in New Mexico snakes are on the move as the temperatures get cooler.  

I noticed last evening an absence of my brown striped lizard friends in the back yard, so on a walk-about I found why.  Had a five foot gopher snake who had  taken up residence in the corner of the yard and was rather plump.  After a bit of a tussle I managed to transfer him to an open area in the neighborhood.

Nels

[babbyc1000]

sometimes living in northern ireland has its benefits - no snakes!!! :)

[davidlt89]

sometimes living in northern ireland has its benefits - no snakes!!! :)

I would say that is a good thing Babby! the one thing I like about Maine is there are no poisonous creatures. God Bless.

[babbyc1000]

the only down side is that it doesnt prepare you for when you go somewhere that has poisionous snakes and spiders and things. my uncle still laughs at me about the time i visited him in australia. i dont see what his problem is, in my opinion a 6' 2",  15 stone guy sprinting up a road, waving his arms above his head and screaming like a girl would be a perfectly acceptable reaction to having a 12" spider jump onto the windscreen of the landcruiser youre sitting in....

[Gunslingergirl]

I'd say that's a reasonable reaction.  I'm not overly fond of big spiders and absolutely loathe snakes.  Don't even like to look at pictures of them.  Put one anywhere near me and I'm gone.

[davidlt89]

waving his arms above his head and screaming like a girl

I have seen this reaction from my Dad when he came across a snake once!!!! he went right to his ruger .22 and loaded two clips into it. I don't think it was 16" long. this happened when I was about 6, was not sure what to make out of it. lets just say I am not to fond of snakes now for some reason! God Bless.

[babbyc1000]

heh heh there was a snake incident on that holiday as well, but it turned out to be a large stick that a magpie was trying to pick up - well it looked like a snake to me as i was running away!!
 
yeah the more i think about it the more i believe i should never be allowed leave northern ireland. that trip had alot of interesting situations -
 
-standing in waist deep sea water (60 yards from shore) with fish guts floating around me (while fishing) only to see a massive sign on the beach fot the local shark hunter saying "come see the great white sharks caught in this area"
 
 
-did the same a week later while standing in a muddy mangrove swamp at a tidal river, found out later it was supposedly frequented by crocs....
 
 
-going for a walk in the bush beside my uncles house, only to be told later that wild dogs were supposed to be living in it and were dangerous...
 
 
-leopard crawling through a dried up dam (pond) to get close to some roo's in the back paddock to take some photo's, not realising that snakes like to sleep under the dead leaves i was crawling through....:angel:
 
 
-running from the "danger" of the large spider on the car windscreen, my idea of safety being to run up the road and into the rain forest - til my uncle found me and told me i was at that moment probably surrounded by dozens of spiders like the one i was running away from, so that became round two of me screaming like a girl but running towards the landcruiser this time...
 
 
-and finally, the best of all, finding a massive ant's nest near my uncles house, being bored and poking it with a stick, just to see what happens. you know i never realised how big a size ant's in oz grew to, nor how fast they could chase you (or how painful theyre bites were...)
 
 
so there you go. as this is the junior forum i hope eveyone is taking valuable lessons from this
 
1) you will never find yourself in one of these situations when you have a gun to shoot the spider with
 
2) no matter what anyone tells you, running at full speed, waving your arms in the air and screaming like a girl IS a perfectly acceptable response to this sort of situation
 
3) and this is the most important one, never, never, NEVER GO TO AUSTRALIA!!!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
lol ok ill be serious for a bit incase any kids are reading this. these situations REALLY did happen to me, no joking, all within a 4 week holiday. it just shows what can happen if youre not familiar with a territory and what dangers you might run into. BE CAREFUL!!

[Hunterbug]

Here's a little garter snake that we cought in our basement.
 

 

[ladysav]

No copper heads here I'm afraid or anything venimous other than the native rare to find now Adder/Viper...
 
Before I moved here to Wales I kept several snakes and "exotics" here's a few photographs of my Zoo :) I have a few more pictures but will have to try & Find them.
 
Angharad
 

 

 

 
Umphlanga
 

 
Reane
 

 

 
Audrey
 

 
Tippy Toes...
 

 
Spike and Twiggy
 

 
Erm... I had a few normal animals as well :undecided:
 
Jeni
***

[gitano]

That snake in the second picture has a very strange tongue. I've seen plenty of forked tongues, but never a hairy forked tongue! :)
 
Paul

[bowhunter 51]

Here'sa pic of a timber rattler I caught with a loop-cord catch stick
back early in the fall...becoming rather rare in these parts..this one
is one of two I've come across this season...venomous, this one had
about a dozen rattles and is about medium length..they get much
bigger....I came across another (no pic) that had about 2 dz rattlers &
was about 5 ft long...I moved this one to a safer place as the roadway
was not a good place for 'em.......................................................BH51.........

[gitano]

Very cool!
 
That is indeed a "timber" rattler (Crotalus horridus). Glad to hear you just moved it instead of killing it, as they are getting pretty scarce.
 
In most parts of the world, after reaching $exual maturity, rattlers put on 2 or 3 buttons per year. Prior to $exual maturity it's usually 3 or 4 per year. For those that aren't familiar with rattlers, a "button" is added to the rattle every time the snake sheds it's skin. They do break off after the rattle gets long. Personally, the longest one I've seen was 15. One with "about 2 dozen" would be cool, and might be a 10-year-old snake. (Considering four/year for each of the first two years of life leaves 16. Then divide the remaining 16 by two for 2/year thereafter yields an age of about 10 years. Of course it could be a couple of years either way, and if some of them had broken off it could be even older.)
 
Paul

[Paul Hoskins]

This is a picture of some garbage someone sent to me. Supposedly it is an "89 pound" rattlesnake. Obviously it doesn't weigh 89 pounds as the email claimed. Regardless, it is a decent timber rattler. I've encountered several that would come close to seven feet long. Some would come close to 10 pounds. This snake was supposedly caught on the Cherokee reservation in Oklahoma. .......Paul H

[gitano]

I could be mistaken, but I think that's an eastern diamondback (Crotalus adamanteus), not a timber rattler (C. horridus). The differences are subtle, but if you look at the pattern on the back of the one BH51 posted and this one, you can see the differences. The pattern on BH51's is classic timber rattler - more of a bar than a diamond. This one definitely has 'diamonds'. Also, notice the tails. C. horridus has a black tail, C. adamanteus has a striped tail. Some of the differences can be attributed to age and gender, but both of them are pretty archtypical for their repective species.
 
For most regular every-day considerations, these differences are sort of splitting hairs. However, calling an eastern diamondback rattler a timber rattler would be akin to saying a scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) is the 'same thing' as a California valley quail (C. californica). I'm not trying to be a 'know-it-all', but wild animals have been "my life" for as long as I can remember, and the focus of my professional life too.
 
Oh yeah... An "89 lb" rattlesnake is absurd. I seriously doubt that one is even 15. In fact, given that he has it 'poked at' the camera, it could be a lot smaller than it appears. (It is bending his snake-stick though. )
 
Paul

[Paul Hoskins]

You're right Paul. I wasn't paying a lot of attention. It defnitely has the markings of an eastern. Almost all the timber rattlers I've seen have black tails with stripes on some but most are just black. .....The article didn't say what species it was. Just rattlesnake & that was close enough for me. ......I'm familiar with the timber rattlers mostly anyway. Glad you pointed that out. Thanks pal.  ........Paul H

[Nelsdou]

I'll relate my one and hopefully only experience with timber rattlers.

One day bowhunting deer in southeast Kansas, almost mid day, in fact, coming out of the timber I came upon a sunny spot, and I was really tired.  Despite the cold morning it warmed up considerably for a late October day making me really drousy so I got horizontal to the sun's rays and leaned back against a deadfall log, pulling my hat down over my face.   I don't think I was actually asleep that long when a subtle noise woke my consciousness, kind of like the noise you learn to recognize that isn't made naturally by wind blowing the autumn leaves.

Not opening my eyes or moving I tried to discern the  what the sound was as it was slowly moving my way, just a faint rustle of leaves now and then.  In my mind I dismissed it as any thing "large" and was forming the picture of a covey of quail feeding their way toward me.  As these "quail" were now starting to get very close to me, no more than a few feet distance, I slowly shifted my hat and cracked an eye open to a slit to see how many "quail" there were.  Didn't want to scare them into a mad flush.

There were none.  Zero.  I could hear the leaves rustling next to me but could see nothing.  I was staring at a ghost.

And there he was, a big timber rattler moving slowing through the leaves in perfect camoflauge, somewhere between 4 to 5 feet in length.  Black bands on a brown and green body, black tail.  Really didn't give him much mind until I saw those rattles on that black tail!

I didn't feel much like napping after that.

Nels