Snakes..

[rginn]

Since you brought up the rubber Wellington boots...there's an old story that even I heard from my great-grandmother. A man got bit by a rattler and died. Later on his son died mysteriously. And on to the grandson or however far. It turned out they had all inherited the same pair of boots and the rattlesnake fang was still embedded in the boots. When they put them on, the fang penetrated and they died. An old folk tale and completely untrue. But I guess if you get bit while wearing your Wellingtons, don't bequeath them to the kids!

 

[Mental Granny]

Well I gave you my experince with a WM now for my one and only one with copperhead out the wild ha! I was with a family friends and my daughter (she was 2) we were at the rodeo grounds checking things out while they were plowing to get ready for the events. My friends an elderly couple were up in the stands so they could see out at an angle they yelled at me and I looked, shimmmery waves in the sunshine headed towards me, my little girl and the couples cichauhah that was standing by me. I had on boots I just had time to swoop up my daughter in one arm the dog with the other and watch one on my left side one on my right side and the other go right between my legs! All babies but still deadly but after getting plowed up they had no time for us YEA! and just kept going quickly!


I know I spelled the dog wrong but when I click spell ck it doesn't do anything so sorry!

 

[rwsnc]

They fascinate me, but I generally give them a pretty wide berth.

 

[*Molly*]

how big was that copperhead? It looked huge, & they don't grow to great lengths. cottonmouths- - don't let babies fool you, their venom is supposed to be as potent as adults. and cottonmouths are easy to upset & strike with less provocation than most snakes. snake boots are good, but some snakes just love to hang out in trees.

Mb, the copperhead was about 4ft. After seeing that baby Cottonmouth in the tree, I an very alert now when anywhere near creeks n such.

That mangrove snake could easier be mistaken for a venonous snake by the markings.

Gotta love those old folks tales..lol.

MG, you were very lucky, thankgoodness you spotted them in time. I now wouldn't even risk coming close to any baby snakes, you just know their momma's lurking..

I am so glad I made this Thread, I am off to Florida soon. I have read there are 50 different types. After reading all ya'lls stories, its made me even more wary. Especially with me hunting for arrows in the woods/creeks.

Thankyou friends for the stories & kind words also, the fabulous pics.

Molly.

 

[rginn]

Well, it just bothered me about how long that copperhead looked, so I called up the family herpetologist, Walter D. W. Ginn. Southern Copperheads only get about 2 feet long. Northern Copperheads get up to 3 feet or more. At birth, they are very similar in appearance to cottonmouths, and have a yellowish-green tail tip they use as a lure for prey. Copperheads are bad about giving a warning bite if you're too close, and may not inject venom. He currently has two at his house and one recently had babies. (When he was growing up, it was a rule that the door to his room ALWAYS stayed closed. Real tight.) If you're walking with a group in rattlesnake country, remember this. The first guy gets their attention, the second guy makes them mad, and the third guy gets bit. Interesting post, Molly.

 

[Mental Granny]

That day at the rodeo grounds I was wearing boots but the dog would have been dead and my little one was in sandals and sun dress not good for snakes! I was scared for the 2 of them. Guess I wasn't as scared for me since I could see they were babies and my boots were heavy cowboy boots and knee high.
We use to have a specialist from a university tell people there re not any Cotton Mouths here, someone shut him up by taking him to the place where we were chased alot of people had been chased there. They finally had a snake shoot, it was really bad there!

 

[pgill]

This is one of the deadly snakes we have in South Africa called the Black Mamba... very nasty indeed, there is also a green Mamba.
Snakes that we normally look out for are the Puff Adders, Rhinkals.... these are not funny to get into contact with. The Rhinkal comes from the cobra family. The Puff Adder if it bites you will cause you to swell up and lose limbs very fast.




God bless
Peter

 

[Mental Granny]

Tell me please if I'm wrong but, isn't the Black Mamba the deadlest snake in your area?



And the deadliest in the world ..... is it the one in Viet Nam that they said tunnel rats feared you would die 2 seconds after its bite?

 

[WilliamBoyd]

We have little green snakes out here in California:

 

[*Molly*]

Well Rginn, I am usually in the lead Thanks for posting.

MG, Your reactions were very fast that day. I'm just so glad ya'll never gor bit. Thanks for posting.

Hi Peter, I have seen those Mambas & Adders on the survival program(TV). Not snakes you want to even be 10 ft from.
I guess looking at snakes, they have to have some sort of defence, shame its lethal to humans.
Thanks for posting

Nice pic Willie, thats another i shall look up. Thanks for posting.

Thanks friends, although not sure I did a good thing by posting snakes, got me all paranoid now. I have decided to study them. Its always best to know what you are up against..
Have a great weekend everyone..

Molly.

 

[pgill]

Mental Granny, if I remember correctly, yes it is the most poisenous snake in South Africa, but we do have many that are poisenous all of the cobras are deadly, and the puffadder is probably the most horrible when it comes to maiming a person and causing loss of limbs.

God bless
Peter

 

[rginn]

Hey Molly, here's one more. This is a Western Massasauga, also known as a swamp rattler, that my son is studying. He captured it in Comanche Co., OK, and will release it back there. These may get up to 3 feet long and seem to be a little slow compared to other rattlers. I thought the coloration was remarkable on this one. Thank goodness for zoom lenses, too.

 

[mamabear]

That day at the rodeo grounds I was wearing boots but the dog would have been dead and my little one was in sandals and sun dress not good for snakes! I was scared for the 2 of them. Guess I wasn't as scared for me since I could see they were babies and my boots were heavy cowboy boots and knee high.
We use to have a specialist from a university tell people there re not any Cotton Mouths here, someone shut him up by taking him to the place where we were chased alot of people had been chased there. They finally had a snake shoot, it was really bad there!

The MO. conservation dept. has told us there are no cottonmouths here also, they should go across the road from my house, they would say other wise. When they open their mouth, there is no mistaking them. (if they open your mouth & you are close enuf to see the "cotton", it is time to run!!) No matter what the officials say, it is best to ere on the side of caution, & believe what you see, not what they say.

 

[*Molly*]

Rginn, thats a pretty snake, I find these critters amazing. Although venomous, some are very pretty. Still, not my favourite of gods creation.

I kinda lost track, so I will thank everyone, so I don't miss anyone out ( that would bother me)

Thankyou Packerbacker,Judie,Spawn,Rginn,Fossis,Granny hop hop,Takoda,Stoney,Mamabear,El conquistador,rwsnc,Stefen,
Pgill & Willie. Without you good ppl, this thread wouldn't have been so interesting.

Feel free to post more pics.

Molly.

 

[blindpig]

Here you go Miss Molly ,










Blindpig and his "pigglets" and a Coachwhip snake last Easter , The pigglets realy enjoy the desert, and so do I , we will propably head out there next week for a bit,...a chas'n the lizards and snakes ,. and wee bit of gold, maybe ??

I've enjoyed this thread ., Blindpig

 

[Born2Dtect]

Here in MD the mating season for snakes is coming about middle to end of March. I saw a 6 foot black snake chase a young man (one of my Boy Scouts) about 400 feet before the boy lost track of him and started fishing again. The snake wrapped around his ankle and bit his boot before the boy got away, with a new respect for snakes. Especially in May? Be carefull all animals can hurt you if they want to. Get between their sex, food or babies and your asking for it. All primal instincts.

Ed D.

 

[pgill]

Hi Guys, this is a great topic.... lets keep this going.

Check out these pictures, can anyone identify these?





God bless
Peter

 

[*Molly*]

Blindpig, your girls are much braver than I am. Those sure are great pics. Can't beat quality time with your family. Thanks for taking the time to post.

BorntoDtect, Thankyou for the warning, not everyone is aware of the dangers out there.. I have had it drummed into me about the wildlife & dangers. I find it difficult to hunt arrowheads & look over my shoulder at the same time. So I try to take someone with me..preferably with a gun.

Peter, I tried to look up that snake, to find out there are 2,500 different spieces of snakes & over 120 of those are in South Africa.
Please tell us what it is..

This Thread is turning into a very educational post. Thanks everyone.

Molly.

 

[blindpig]

G'day Peter , I'd have to say that snake has the same head [mean eye's !!] as the venomous snakes we had in Australia , they where related to the cobra's ,even had hoods , just not as wide as a cobra's . I vote "Cobra"
Joel

*** OPPS,... Molly you just poped up here ,... True and thanks ,... Joel

 

[pgill]

Joel, you are totaly correct if you look at the picture of the head, you can actually see that it is starting to flatten out. Cannot remember if this is a rhinkal or not.... we have so many different types of cobras here. Molly you are 100% right, I think Africa has the most amount of different types of snakes than anywhere in the world.
Blindpig, I just love the second picture of the girls eyes while holding that snake..... a classic photo

God bless
Peter