Close call

[fyrffytr1]

I was out in our garden this evening changing out a water timer. I had an old plastic flower pot upside down over the faucet. I removed the pot and started loosening the hose. Then I saw it move! My hand was less than 4 inches from this guy and it never offered to strike at me. I removed him from the flower bed and turned him loose in the woods.

 

[tamrock]

Yikes!

 

[fyrffytr1]

Yikes!

That's kind of what I said! The little guy was only about 8-10 inches long.

 

[DizzyDigger]

What kind of snake? Python?

 

[fyrffytr1]

What kind of snake? Python?

Young Copperhead. Poisonous!

 

[DizzyDigger]

Young Copperhead. Poisonous!

Luckily for him he found a kind soul. Good onya for letting it live.

 

[old digger]

Glad that you did not get bit!

 

[Chops]

Today is your winning day. Now go play the lottery you lucky dog.

 

[newnan man]

Thanks for not killing it.

 

[smokeythecat]

You may keep it permanently. Thanks in advance!

 

[Peyton Manning]

Copperheads are not aggressive
You have to rile them

 

[fyrffytr1]

I don't kill any snake. I have had several water moccasins in the drainage ditch that runs across the back of my property. They are only looking for food they can eat and I am a little too big for them. The last picture shows why they are also called cotton mouths.

 

[BLK HOLE]

Wow that will wake you up better than a strong cup of java! I'm glad you set him on his way rather than killing it. I know a lot of people don't like snakes (especially the venomous ones) but those copperheads are a pretty snake IMHO

 

[fyrffytr1]

We used to have a 6 foot long black snake that we nicknamed Sam. We had a burn pile in the back corner of out property and we would sit out there in the late afternoon while the yard debris burned down, Sam would crawl up between us and watch the fire. I don't know what happened to Sam but we haven't seen him/her in several years.

 

[rginn]

Yeah those copperheads are sneaky rascals. They're cousins to those moccasins, and they like to be close to water. One thing, you will definitely have more than one. Most bites happen due to stepping on them. If you're in reasonably good health you won't die. I've seen a couple of people who were bitten by them, and heard of others, and it wasn't pretty. Don't receive immediate medical help, and the worst I've seen is that could result in amputation. I haven't heard of these rascals being known for giving a 'dry' bite, either.

 

[fyrffytr1]

Yeah those copperheads are sneaky rascals. They're cousins to those moccasins, and they like to be close to water. One thing, you will definitely have more than one. Most bites happen due to stepping on them. If you're in reasonably good health you won't die. I've seen a couple of people who were bitten by them, and heard of others, and it wasn't pretty. Don't receive immediate medical help, and the worst I've seen is that could result in amputation. I haven't heard of these rascals being known for giving a 'dry' bite, either.

If you were 10 inches long and weighed less than a pound and a 200 pound animal stepped on you, I doubt you would give a dry bite either. This is the second time I have come in close contact with a copperhead and both times they remained still even after I saw them and moved back. When I picked them up with a long handled reacher neither one even squirmed until I put them down in the woods next to my property. Then they laid still until I prodded them to move on.

 

[rginn]

My grandma told me when Mom was about 5 years old she was walkin around with a bucket, they went and looked and there was a copperhead in it. She was just kinda carryin it around. Also, I've shared some of your posts with my son, family premier herpetologist and researcher, and he's impressed with your attitude and handling of snakes. Take that for what it's worth, as he is a guy who was wading around in swamp water up to his chest in Texas tracking water moccassins, haha!

 

[rginn]

fyrffytr1 my son says good pic, a pretty snake. He cautions against relocating snakes too far from where you find them. I think you're ok. Right now he is busy lecturing all of us on how the Grand Coulee Dam has impacted salmon. Hey, I wouldn't have a clue, but the boy usually does know what he's talkin about, haha!

 

[fyrffytr1]

fyrffytr1 my son says good pic, a pretty snake. He cautions against relocating snakes too far from where you find them. I think you're ok. Right now he is busy lecturing all of us on how the Grand Coulee Dam has impacted salmon. Hey, I wouldn't have a clue, but the boy usually does know what he's talkin about, haha!

I moved it less than 100 feet. It probably came from the woods I moved it to.

 

[devldog]

Young Copperhead. Poisonous!

one of the worst in the no-shoulders line. You are a much nicer feller than I would have been under the same set of circumstances.