How big of snake problem does florida have?
 

The family and I are headed down to captiva island in about 6 weeks. I keep seeing reports of these huge snakes swimming to these island and over running them. Is this really that big of a problem?

The bugs and alligators pretty much keep the snake population in check :). It's not the right time of year, but visit that area when the "no see-ums" are swarming (say Oct.), and you'd welcome some big 'ole snakes instead. Seriously, don't worry...

Lived in Fla all my life, I've seen 3 poisonous snakes in the wild. A few more - but not tons - non-poisonous ones.

I may not be a good benchmark though - in over 100 saltwater dives I've not seen a shark in the wild...

Jaws
 

Oh great...now I am going to be humming the theme music from Jaws for the rest of the day. ;)

When I lived down there I only ever saw two really big ones. The rest are little grass snakes and stuff, and they're not even all that common.

You'll see lots of those little brown lizards darting all over the place - they're harmless (I think).

What Ben is referring to is the fact that people who bought Reticulated Pythons to have as pets have been releasing them into the canals and swamp areas when they get too big to keep... for the last decade or so... and they have been thriving... they're coming into residential areas, too... 20-footers have been captured with 15 lb. housecats in their bellies. Some have even made the 6-mile swim over to the first Key.

It's a problem that's not going away. There was a full hour show on it on Discovery or Nat Geo.

Ben, if you're gonna be out in the wild, get yourself a big hunting knife and sheath and keep the blade real sharp... make sure you get one with a serrated/saw edge on the opposite side of the blade. If one grabs you or a member of your family, just saw his head off.

Apparently you've never seen Byron in a speedo.

Edit: That came out gayer than I expected...

Giant Pythons Could Spread Quickly Across South
 

Giant Pythons Invade Florida
AFP

May 16, 2008 -- Giant pythons capable of swallowing a dog and even an alligator are rapidly making south Florida their home, potentially threatening other southeastern states, a study said.

"Pythons are likely to colonize anywhere alligators live, including north Florida, Georgia and Louisiana," said Frank Mazzotti, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor, in his two-year study.

The pythons thriving in Florida are mostly Burmese pythons from Myanmar that were brought over as pets and then turned loose in the wild.

From 2002-2005, 201 of the beasts were caught by state authorities, but in the last two years the number has more than doubled to 418, Mazzotti said in his study published on the university Web site.

The largest python caught so far in Florida measured 16.4 feet and weighed 154 pounds.

Mazzotti said the serpents, despite their awesome size, are not poisonous, but are excellent swimmers and able to cover great distances in little time. Some, trapped and released with radio transmitters, swam 37 miles in a few hours.

Highly adaptable, pythons prey on cats, dogs, hares, foxes, squirrels, raccoons and even alligators, allowing them to thrive in a variety of environments.

After populating the Florida Everglades -- a vast marshland -- where it is estimated they number 30,000, the giant python is now spreading across the rest of the peninsula.

"Females may store sperm, so they can produce fertile clutches for years. And a 100-something pound snake can easily be producing 60, 80 eggs a year," said Mazzotti, adding that the reptile could eventually populate the entire southern United States.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/05/16/giant-python-florida.html

Snake The other white meat. :p

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,easy_snake,FF.html

not even close to an issue in Captiva. Enjoy your time - captiva and sanibel are to of my favorite places. The everglades and south Florida - yeah. Although as cold as it has been here - they may decide this isn't such a great place.

Coffee out the nose on that one - especially after reading your signature line!

angela

saw that same show. even had a story with film of one that ruptered trying to eat a 7 ft alligator....

Stay away from this place.

"average of 22 cottonmouths on every palm tree-covered acre"

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/04/070416-cottonmouth.html

Not that there is anything wrong with that!

Gheeze guys try to keep up.

Me too...last night... got my attention, but even more scary is the huge population of gators.

Nice... I am interested in hearing how your trip goes.

We have a place rented in Sanibel for next December.

Bill

Come to Florida and bring plenty of money to spend.


Just don't drive like an idiot.

That reminds me, we are heading down to St. George Island next week! Anyone have any pompano tips for surf fishing?

There are enough locals already doing that. :D

Ian