| Racerbvd |
05-09-2013 03:28 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heel n Toe
(Post 7431603)
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Well, that was local, and still pretty dang big.
Quote:
Huge rattlesnake found near St. Augustine
The 7-footer was taken at a development near St. Augustine.
Posted: October 1, 2009 - 12:40am
JView this story on the All-Access Members site
St. Johns County Sheriff's Office
This rattlesnake was found coiled up at the Tuscany Village townhomes in the area of the Florida 16-Interstate 95 interchange.
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
Size: Average 3 to 6 feet (largest documented is 8 feet) in length; weigh up to 10 pounds.
Colors: Brown, tan or yellow covered by brown diamonds outlined by lighter scales.
Range: Mainly Florida and Georgia, though they are found in the southern parts of the Carolinas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.
Habitat: They spend most of their time coiled in palmetto tickets, concealed by the vegetation and waiting to ambush prey like rabbits, rats and mice; during winter, they spend most of their time in gopher tortoise burrows or tree stump holes.
Threat: They are venomous and can strike from as far away as two-thirds of their length; the state of Florida requires anyone possessing or transporting them to have a venomous reptile permit.
Sources: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Museum of Natural History, and University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.
By Chad Smith
St. Augustine Record
ST. AUGUSTINE - Brandon Booth didn't think a whole lot about the 7-foot, 3-inch rattlesnake.
A resident at Tuscany Village townhomes near Florida 16 and Interstate 95 at St. Augustine called Booth, who owns A-1 Trapper Man, on Sunday to come get the snake from near the entrance to the development.
"Actually, I've killed them bigger than that before," he said. "It's rare, [but] it's not like hitting the lottery or anything. If you look hard enough, you'll find them."
St. Johns County deputies were also called to the scene, and they photographed the snake, an eastern diamondback rattler.
Their photos were published in The Record on Wednesday and made it appear longer than what Booth measured it at.
The largest eastern diamondback recorded was 8 feet long.
Still, Joy Hill, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said it was "a formidable rattlesnake."
Actually, rattlesnakes that size were commonplace, she said.
"It's another victim of development because a lot of people just don't like snakes," Hill said. "They sure don't want a rattlesnake around their house."
Even Booth.
"I was always brought up that the only good poisonous snake is a dead poisonous snake," he said.
Booth took the snake to Jacksonville on Wednesday and gave it to a guy who runs a muffler shop and also makes things from snake skin.
He could have made $700 on it - $100 for each foot. Instead, he traded it for future car repairs.
But there's a price he doesn't want to pay.
"I've been struck at a whole bunch of times," he said. "I've never been bitten - knock on wood, I won't
Read more at Jacksonville.com: Huge rattlesnake found near St. Augustine | jacksonville.com
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Course, that "trapper" is an A-hole....
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