Snakes are back!

[trekkor]

I like that diagram on 'how to tell'.

Thanks


KT

[aigel]

I have it from this website - good info:

http://www.californiaherps.com/identification/snakesid/snakes.id.html

George

[ben parrish]

My little sister told me the trick about the pupils...round is safe...slits are not. She is some sort of snake wisperer.
All snakes are dangerous to me because I will kill myself trying to get away from them if I happen upon one suddenly. If I see it at a distance, I am ok with it and will pick it up but a sudden suprise can really freak me out.

[widebody911]

A co-worker was recently bitten by a rattlesnake near Folsom Lake. He spent 3 days in the hospital, and is still on a walker.

[willtel]

We have the bad kind in my yard. This one bit my dog and cost me $800 in vet bills.

[Rick Lee]

Yeah, Copperheads are to be treated a little differently.

[red-beard]

We had a "black" ratsnake in on the porch last week. The wife went ballistic and wanted me to kill it. I told her it was the good kind of snake. She insisted there are no good snakes.

About 2 years ago, a baby black (maybe 1 foot long) snake got in the house. I expect the cat brought it in. I grabbed it with a towel (for its protection, not mine) and asked the wife to open the back door for me. I looked around and saw that she was standing on the kitchen counter.

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by ben parrish

All snakes are dangerous to me because I will kill myself trying to get away from them if I happen upon one suddenly. If I see it at a distance, I am ok with it and will pick it up but a sudden suprise can really freak me out.

+1 except for the picking up part.

Regarding the chart - if I need to get that close to a snake to determine if it is poisonous or not, THAT'S TOO CLOSE!

The only thing I hate more than snkaes are snakes. Spiders are a close second...

I'm freakin' out here man - I work in an office, but I got the heebie jeebies now....
-Z

[T77911S]

Originally Posted by milt

The pattern on the gopher snake is too close to the rattler for me.

yea, but the dangerous end (the head) is much different.

i had a next of copper heads somewhere in my yard. i killed 7 the first year in my house. i still get about one or 2 a year.

i had a pet python in the military, woke up one night and he was on my chest. if one crawled on me while working on my car i think i would crap my draws.

[T77911S]

Originally Posted by willtel

We have the bad kind in my yard. This one bit my dog and cost me $800 in vet bills.

thats a copper head. one killed my neighbors little dog and made the big dog sick, but he lived.
the copper head patterns are the same, the colors may be different shades between snakes.

[T77911S]

red and yella (yellow), kill a fellow, red and black, safe jack.

the head (and fangs) will also give it away. if the body goes straight into the head, most likely safe, if the head is more triangle shaped it is dangerous. also, the poisonous ones tend to have a more narly or ugly head, not that a snake head is pretty. no expert by any means.
look how the head in the original post goes straight into the body. there are only a few poisonous ones that are like that, the coral snake is one i believe.

[Zeke]

You're out of line Mr. R Lee. I didn't mention killing anything. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna take the time to analyze some freakin' snake's pupils before I just avoid the thing altogether.

You can post your apology here or send it by PM.

Besides that, I'll compare the amount of living creatures I've killed with a gun, bow, shovel or whatever with anyone on this forum. I don't hunt, I don't kill. I transport spiders out of the house. I save bees that get in my sunroom. I kill flies, ants and crickets in the house.

[Rikao4]

found a 5 ft cottonmouth in my swampy water fountain..
just about to reach in to get those leaves..
when little Nessie shows..
like Z..about pissed me-self..
chop,whack and more whacks..

love a fire..wife goes for some wood,
I hear aieeeeeeee..
Tarzan responds...to find a small rattler..
only to hear..don't kill it..
naw..it's toast...
lot's of crawlies in my hood..I'm real close to the woods,
I do worry about my dogs getting to curious..
trained not to go close, but when running of leash ..
they could step on one...

Rika

[Drdogface]

Originally Posted by T77911S

red and yella (yellow), kill a fellow, red and black, safe jack.

.

That actually refers to Coral Snakes. Since they are not pit vipers the head shape is no clue...it's tapered like the non-toxic snakes. The stripes go around the body. If red is next to yellow it's a Coral...If red is next to black it's safe.... Personally I'd leave them both alone

Another way to quickly tell a gopher snake from a buzz tail is that the rattlers seem to have more dull or dusty skin. Gophers always look shiny to me.

[Tishabet]

I was backpacking on the AT in PA around 10 years ago and managed to step directly over a copperhead that was crossing the trail... I thought he was a stick until I was literally striding over him with a foot on each side. Lucky for me he was fully stretched out and somewhat lethargic (it was a cold morning with heavy dew) but I still managed to jump pretty far, pack and all.

[Rick Lee]

I took this one myself in Zion Nat. Park a few years ago.

[T77911S]

THATS a big one! nice of him to pose like that for you. thats gotta be close to 6ft.

copper heads get the 9mm. too many kids and animals running around, and at night too.
i killed a nice big one and curled him up in the corner of the foundation of a new build, thought they might get a kick out of it, i know i did.

i have only seen one water moch at my house, mostly copper heads. caught a black snake but let him go.

[Heel n Toe]

Yeah, you wanna know what a Coral Snake looks like. Their venom is a neurotoxin... same as cobras. Fortunately, Coral Snakes aren't out in the open as much as pit vipers. They prefer to stay in out-of-the-way places like under rotting logs, etc. looking for earthworms.

Here's an Eastern Coral Snake... showing the red-next-to-yellow thing:



Here's where Coral Snakes live in the U.S.:



Here's a Scarlet King Snake... the black bands between the red and yellow let you know it's not venomous:

[aigel]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I took this one myself in Zion Nat. Park a few years ago.

How did you cook it? Or did you mean "taking the picture"? That's a whopper - must have 8+ ridges on the rattler.

George

[Heel n Toe]

Hmmm... didn't know this... very interesting. From Wiki:
____________________________________________
The sole manufacturer of Eastern and Texas Coral Snake Antivenom, Wyeth, has ceased production of this product and it is estimated that all remaining in-date stocks of Coral Snake Antivenom in the United States will be exhausted between October and December, 2008. Unless the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves a new or foreign (Mexican) antivenom currently being tested at the Natural Toxins Research Center (Texas A&M University-Kingsville) then U.S. victims of Eastern and Texas Coral Snake envenomation will no longer be able to be treated by antivenom. The consequences of this radically changes the way Coral Snake envenomation is treated. Existing stocks, if any have received an extension for expiration until October 31, 2009. See the following notice from the FDA and associated links at: http://www.fda.gov/cber/safety/wyecor102808.htm

Victims of Eastern and Texas Coral snakebite should be transported as soon as possible to a tertiary level hospital which can provide constant monitoring of neurological and respiratory symptoms for 24 hours or more and if these symptoms occur be ready and able to sedate, endotracheally intubate and mechanically ventilate such patients for up to a week or until neurological and respiratory paralysis resolves. To the list of neurological symptoms patients must also be evaluated by serial (and frequent) testing of NIF (Negative Inspiratory Force) and arterial blood gases. The most dangerous sequelae of Texan or Eastern Coral Snakebite is bulbar respiratory paralysis. Fortunately, this does not occur for anywhere from several hours to as long as 24 hours after being bitten, which provides sufficient time to transport and evaluate such patients. However, the fact that the worst effects of this snakebite take so long to occur means that such patients must be kept under conditions involving continuous eyes-on monitoring of ECG, blood pressure, as well as respiratory evaluation for at least two days after being bitten. Some centers may want to consider the elective sedation, intubation and mechanical ventilation of such cases as acting on the side of caution.