HELP.....Snake ID?

I don't actually think that rattlesnakes aim for anything. They are just trying to stay alive. Snakes can't actually leap. They have no leapers. :o)

My grandma told of us snakes in Southern Illinois that would roll into a hula hoop form and chase them home from school. They lived out in the country.

She was never bit that I know of, but did not like them whatsoever. haha!

Jeanne

Rattlers spring, and the ones I grew up around were bigger than a mans forearm, and draped in half across a forearm of a 6' man touched nose and tail to ground, the rattlers Do aim for eyes, and if you've ever watched a cottonmouth freeze a baby rabbit, you see em lock eyes, and rattlers ARE grumpy and irritable. Heavens!!! watching the storms tonite hoping my friends across the south will be safe across the southeast. The length of a rattlers spring is half again as long as they are. Check it out. I just read a man died from a rattler strike, but killed the snake too, shiver, dau swears in Florida the rattlers are cross breeding and don't always have rattlers, That would have me kill on sight down there

Yes, rattlers do strike and can strike a distance. They are also quicker to strike than many other snakes. I agree.

If you read much about it you will notice that a fairly high percentage of bites occur when someone is trying to move or kill a snake.

This message was edited Apr 27, 2011 8:11 AM

Yeah, those guys milking them and not paying attention, snakes are drawn to vibrations in the ground, like drawing worms up with a stick, cottonmouths swim toward swimmers, rattlers arent Always tryin to get away, all of em seem to be grumpiest in shedding, or focused when eating, grew up across southern New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and learned from a south Texas cajun boy about the southeast Texas/Louisiana area, spiders are very bad this year too, know 2 people whom have been bit by the brown recluses, both happened to be in the Ga/Al area, know 1 survived, havent tracked down the fellow who got gut bit, had diabetes, lost track of him, so dont know if he survived the trip to the hospital, guys be safe, look carefully!!!

what a fascinating thread! i've been lurking on it since it began. one thing i have to add, if nobody minds, is that a cottonmouth, copperhead and rattlesnake all have live young; they don't lay eggs. snake eggs would be from the good guys or even turtles (also good guys)!

WHAT?????

ooooooooooooo! Shudder! I hope they stay out of my yard!

Correct! and the small ones have the same amt of venom as the grown ones, and are harder to pin down and kill since they are trying not to get eaten by bigger animals, but rough earth snakes also have live young and are not venomous, so go figure... have read where the snake world has fits figuring out what genus, etc snakes are in because apparently there is a great deal of flux in their genes? or their bad habits either, chuckl, and you guys in Baytown? hehehe, we will hope for you, but plan on chance meetings, we already know you guys are taught to stay out of and away from ditches with water in them...

Yes, but I have a small man made pond back in the corner of the yard that needs cleaned out. There is water in it and you cannot see the bottom of it. It will need to be stirred up with a long rake before anyone sticks their hands in there for sure!

I watered today. I didn't see any snakes out there. I was in such a fibro fog that if there had been it probably would have bit me before I even knew it.

My Mom fell a couple of weeks ago. She is 82. Dr said he thought she might have had a mild stroke. Then my sister came home from Mississippi. So I did some cleaning at Mom's in prep for her arrival. She has had two major strokes in the past couple of years and is not in good health. Needless to say it has all caught up with me.

Sure could not battle any snake today! I feel like I could sleep literally for a week! I guess it is the wrong time of year to hibernate (sp?). haha! Espescially with daylillies getting ready to bloom!!!!!!!!!!

Make a list of priorities, and takin care of yourself IS a top priority, or all those other things wont matter much, I know my dad worries me too as old as he is, hope your mom gets better, it takes forever to heal I know, hibernatin is for when its needed

I watched a special years ago about the Hantavirus. They said in times of severe drought rodents and creatures reproduce at alarming rates. I would think that is the reason for seeing more snakes. I know I will be on the look out here as I killed a copperhead 2 yrs ago and my neighbor right across the street kills some water moccasins every year.

I wish we would see a break in this severe drought we are experiencing.

I know even poisonous snakes have their place but it's not in your yard around people and pets. Water Moccasins are foul tempered and dangerous; if cornered or harassed they will come after you. Notice how your snake just stayed in place, coiled and ready for action.
This drought (central Texas) is driving them into areas where they're not normally seen, guess they're looking for better hunting grounds.
Copper Heads are coming close to the house looking for moisture and food. I've had them coil up on plants just waiting for something to snag. If you see a little one there are more around including Mommy.
Time to look carefully before sinking your hand into plant foliage and where you're placing your feet - if you see one stop and more very carefully, no sudden movements, back away slowly. I usually carry a hoe with me to block a charge if necessary.
I don't adhere to "the only good snake is a dead snake"; all non-poisonous snakes get a pass and if found in the chicken coop I relocate them. Wear gloves - even these guys bite.
Invest in a book about Texas snakes or a poster with color pictures and do Google their habits - better safe then sorry.
Buster

wise words, buster, for all of us. we have coral snakes here and i never dig or move stuff around without gloves and also a fair warning time for them to move away.

Buster you are so right. I did see a 3-1/2 foot copperhead in the street in front of my home after dark one night (under the street light). I backed away slowly and went for my shovel. When I returned it was gone. A few weeks later I thought how dumb 4 ft shovel vs. 3-1/2 foot snake....I would have lost no doubt. Won't do that again. If I know the snake is non-poisonous I will leave it alone.

Wow... I keep thinking having this thread on my watch list keeps me squeemish about going out in my garden, and have been tempted to unwatch it several times.

However, every time I come back and read it, I realize how important it is that I keep my head about me, realize these snakes ARE real, DO exist on my property, and I DO need to be ever mindful of their presence and their danger.

I've got a very VERY bad habit of wearing slip on shoes (basically flip flops) as I run out to just water the garden, which I need to stop immediately. And also a bad habit of getting focused on transplanting, that I carry on, digging with my bare hands, even raking leaves and other debris with my bare hands - O M G!!

Frankly, it does give me the heebie jeebies a bit reading

You are so right! I make the mistake of reading this thread about 10:30 PM most nights....which is not conducive to a restful night's sleep! I have appreciated the input, tho. I've raked leaves lately along the fenceline... that last year I would have left as ground cover. I don't want any surprises. My neighbor told me my wall behind the pond has holes big enough for a copperhead to live in. So far, we've never seen copperheads...but with the drought...nothing would surprise me now. we'll be closing those holes up with concrete!

I hear ya! I've been filling in holes as I find them. I've also been raking more, like you, and for the same reason!
I'm also more careful, and watchful. I'd LIKE to say I'll be brave and not actually kill anything when hubby's not home.
We also respect all the good they can do. I don't like the idea of losing my lizards and toads to them, but... they gotta eat too.
If it weren't for the drought, I might not see as many, but I ALWAYS do see them every year regardless.

I'm not quite ready to put up a color poster of all the Texas snakes I could run across *shudder* but know it'd be a good idea to at least invest in a book. There are so many look alikes!!

I actually ran over one with the car the other day. He was long, skinny, pale and since he was right at the bridge over the creek, I'm assuming maybe a water moccasin, or could have even been a non-venomous water snake. I felt bad, until we found he wasn't anywhere to be found when we came back a few hours later.

Dont feel bad about killing the few snakes you will see, there are plenty more, many people have a better knowledge of snakes than some, but, we aren't going to have them on the endangered list- not snakes nor enlightened dabblers. If you ever on TV watched that snake caught on video killing and swallowing a fellow walking at night, you will say your prayers we don't live where that happened. Shudder, that still gives me the creeps. We need to be careful, because I doubt the snake has an empathy to care abt us as anything other than food.

I was recently told a story which was more about the way some people are than a real snake but here it is.

A woman found a very sick snake and took it in and nursed it, bought it clothes, and took great care of it. Months passed and the snake finally regained it's health. One day the snake bit the woman and it was poisonous. As the woman sat getting sicker the snake gathered up all it clothes and suitcase and getting ready to leave. The woman ask the snake After all I have done for you why would you do this to me? The snake answered you knew I was a snake when you brought me into your home. With that said I will use the same shovel on the 2 legged and the no legged snakes.

Read how the Burmese Pythons are taking over the everglades because of the 2 legged snakes. It is believed there is 100,000 of them living there. They are eating endangered species and 2 were found with 5 foot long alligators inside of them. This is how invasive plants get started also. If you like pet snakes I don't mean to offend anyone but to own one that gets 20 ft long it ridiculous.

While snakes may not feel empathy, neither do they try to hunt down and hurt anything they can't eat. They simply react to threats or perceived threats.

peony - that actually isn't quite true, there are snakes that go out of their way to kill things they don't eat, you reallly need to understand, they are lean mean eating 'machines' and do their job well and coldly. You really need to watch a bit more u tube on these horrors choosing humans as food over livestock or rats, to think your child was only snake food would be sick.

If they are choosing humans as food then they must be able to eat them.

Don't encounter a lot of snakes where I live now but did hunt in the deserts for a lot of years and with bird dogs and after a lot of close calls finally had my dog snake proofed..which isn't all that complicated but does require a competant trainer..but before that I used some common sence about snakes..Number one rule never put you hand any place that you cannot see into #2 wear gloves #3 always wear some type of boot #4 never handle a dead snake a large share of snake bites come from "dead" snakes ,I recently read what that % was but can't remeber the exact number and finally don't believe any thing you see on U-Tube....

wasn't on u tube, and not in the USA boundaries yet, but! with the snakes I see in the reptile stores in Calif, Is possible to eat a grown man and more, and snakes are known escape artists, so we have them huge enough, been to a zoo recently? seen the snakes it takes 10 people to hold? they are smallish versions. They build a box for them 4'x4' square and these snakes fill the whole floor in coils, you can't reach around their guts. Most people buy them and allow them free in the house with some lame excuse that it will prob die anyway, then wonder why there are no stray animals in yards, cuz they are disappearing, NOT scare stories, living, escaped 'pets', I have no fear of snakes, but I DO believe in controlling their sale, like invasive plants, and destruction of them, ANd I am not stupid enuff to believe they will EVER be a true pet. As far as the poisonous ones, you cannot totally eradicate them, just like gators, the population of these reptiles and their ability to reproduce is next to impossible to control, and far higher in numbers than you would wish to believe. Am off of this one, I don't now or ever have lived inside city limits that build a sense of false security, take care all, just take care, use good sense and eyeball twice, I detest burying friends....

I here you Kittriana I think exotic pets should be outlawed just like some invasive plants. But there are still people selling some of the plants including on here. I don't know why people think they can control things then turn them loose. I heard recently a 2 yr old was killed by a pet snake. I am appalled by some peoples arrogant that they can control a wild tiger or a python.

Course I didn't mention that I grew up in Tensas Parish Louisiana where there is probably 10 snakes for each person so i have likely killed more snakes than most people ever see ..In years of little rain they were everywhere and the cucumber patch was the worst place ,to this day I don't grow my cucumbers except on a fence/trellis. I hated to pick cucumbers back in the day

We're lousy with snakes. We've seen three is spring, one baby copperhead that Dh accidently grabbed along with some leaves...with his bare hands. Not bitten, but quite the surprise for him.lol

I read an interesting article yesterday.
7,000 snake bites reported occur in America each year.
1 in 500 die, 1 to 2 people in Texas die each year.
30 percent of pit viper bites are 'dry strikes', no venom injected.


It went on to explain how to handle a snake bite. Emphisising not to use snake bite kits, or the cut and suck method. Both can cause more damage to nerves then the bite itself. Or venom can be absorbed through a mouth sore.

Tips: Instead of carrying snake bite kit in dangerous area, make sure you have a well charged cell phone. Call ahead to the hospital so they can prepare reconstituting anti-venom.
If bitten, remove jewelry, things like rings that can be painful to remove once swelling begins.
Do not use ice or restriction bands, keeping venom in a localized area is worse for the tissue.
Keep limbs if possible, at heart level. To high can cause the venom to spread more rapidly, to low can cause more swelling.
People react differently , but common reactions are, dizziness, rapid pulse, blurred vision, convulsions, nausea and swelling of the bite.

The article made me feel better, because I'm one of those people that hate the unknown. If I get bitten, I think I'll be a bit calmer now. sort of.

I sure understand the sort of part.