Frank Menser Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 A reminder for those of you who are out hunting (particularly in the Eastern USA). Spring means snakes are becoming active and this Kingsnake - who turned up by my swiming pool - is one of the GOOD GUYS. Since they will eat Copperheads and Rattlers and are harmless to people, please give them the respect they deserve. Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy1971 Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Yep...time to be extra careful turning over rocks and walking through creeks and rivers. thanks for the reminder frank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Found a small 10" garden snake under a rock I turned over two weeks ago. Lucky for me the day was cool and it wasn't a poisonous snake. Dave -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmorefossil Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Found a small 10" garden snake under a rock I turned over two weeks ago. Lucky for me the day was cool and it wasn't a poisonous snake. Dave i love snakes! i ran into a few down by the river back in feb. i think, they were usually about 3 feet long and all black. i got about 5 inches away from him and he shown no signs of attacking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Menser Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 i love snakes! i ran into a few down by the river back in feb. i think, they were usually about 3 feet long and all black. i got about 5 inches away from him and he shown no signs of attacking Depending on where you are it sounds like Racers, another snake eating species that will attack small venemous types. I have a pic of one swallowing a Coral snake on a friends doorstep (not staged). I like garters too! Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebo Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 This is not a snake but I prefer to be careful when this kind of arthropod approach with the good season too. "Captured" (but not killed obviously) in the Nopah Range of Inyo County California. ********************* Enrico Bonino https://www.facebook.com/BackToThePastMuseum/ http://www.backtothepast.com.mx/ebonino Trilobite viewer: https://arcg.is/0iWWvL ********************* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bierk Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Fantastic looking kingsnake! Honestly it seems like a fair number of of fossilers like or actively keep reptiles. I've got a few snakes myself. One of them was a rescue of a 5' corn snake I found in a parking lot next to where I lived in this rental condo down here. I know every single neighbor would've killed that snake as quickly as possible and it would've made me angry. The cornsnake has turned into a great pet and I'm glad to have him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRS MICROPTERUS101 Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 i think that is why i love Washington state so much only gardener snakes and they frighten the heck out of me lol good luck hunting!!!!! :gator: :gator: :gator: i came saw drooled and collected Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreekCrawler Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Ran across this little guy soaking up some rays Monday in North East Texas,probably Nerodia rhombifera or Diamond Back Water snake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Menser Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 Nice Scorpion! Good pics of the watersnake. That is Nerodia erythrogaster, likely flavigaster (from the location) the Yellow Belly Watersnake. Juveniles are patterned and practically indistinguishable from the blotched watersnake, N. e. transversa which is found further west. Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn835 Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I use to have 4 Blacksnakes, garden snake named spot, and a ribbon snake named natily. I love snakes. Ribbons are nice, because they eat gold fish. My wife didnt like it when she got out of her cage though. With rocks in my head, and fossils in my heart.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traviscounty Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 This post was just a ruse to get all the snake people to slither out and have their monthly conference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Menser Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss! Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamsharky Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Me and my daughter were out in the woods a week ago and came across a 4 foot cane break rattlesnake (timber rattler). With it being in close proximity to my home I had to kill it, with a stick. I noticed a lump in it's stomach and was concerned about baby snakes. I mashed it's stomach until a squirell came out of it's mouth...... When my daughter spotted it, it layed straight and never got defensive until i broke the hoe handle on him, then he got real aggressive and at one point tried to get away. Rattlesnakes are not aggresive generally but if you step on one, it will bite you and could be deadly. Miocene/Eocene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traviscounty Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 I found this shedding on a creek yesterday. Would this be recent, or what time of year do most snakes shed? Remember, there are no dumb questions on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 They shed all year round, but the usually shed soon after they leave brumation. The females shed again just before egg laying and then again about a week afterwards. The rate of shedding depends on the rate of growth. If you believe everything you read, perhaps it's time for you to stop reading... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 recent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Menser Posted April 22, 2009 Author Share Posted April 22, 2009 Me and my daughter were out in the woods a week ago and came across a 4 foot cane break rattlesnake (timber rattler). With it being in close proximity to my home I had to kill it, with a stick. I noticed a lump in it's stomach and was concerned about baby snakes. I mashed it's stomach until a squirell came out of it's mouth......When my daughter spotted it, it layed straight and never got defensive until i broke the hoe handle on him, then he got real aggressive and at one point tried to get away. Rattlesnakes are not aggresive generally but if you step on one, it will bite you and could be deadly. As Rattlers go, Canebreaks are one of the least aggresive. As you saw, they are usually more inclined to run than fight. The pity of this is you did not have to kill it. You actually put yourself at greater risk by what you did, as many snakebites occur when someone tries to kill the snake and underestimates its capacity to strike. If that had been a Diamondback, or a western species you probably would have written this from a hospital bed. It prowled those woods for years offending nobody. They actually have a range of over ten square miles so odds were you would not have seen it again. As far as proximity goes, people get bit on their own doorsteps without entering the snakes natural habitat, which you did. I see too many snakes killed needlesly for the excuse of being a possible threat. With our increasing developement making their ranges smaller and smaller, where are they supposed to go to be "safe" for us? Like fossils, snakes depend on our understanding that they are a limited resource. They do a lot of good when they don't run afoul of us. Hawkeye, Snakes shed year round -except when they sleep over winter. It can be as frequent as every two weeks to once or twice a year. The good news on that shed is that it came from a smooth scaled non venemous species, possibly a Kingsnake! Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traviscounty Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Any tips for not getting bitten when walking in snake country ? (besides keeping your eyes peeled) I would hate to see any snakebite posts on here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Wear snake boots/gaiters; step on, not over, logs; don't put your hands where you can't see. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Menser Posted April 22, 2009 Author Share Posted April 22, 2009 Wear snake boots/gaiters; step on, not over, logs; don't put your hands where you can't see. Good advice. Remember that snakes are deaf...but they are very good at picking up the kind of vibrations feet make when walking. The rattle evolved as a warning device so ancient animals would know not to step on the snake in the grass. So it is a beter idea to walk heavily so they can sense you in time to move away or warn you. Generally it is the person with a lighter step that gets nailed. NEVER try to kill a snake in the wild. As I wrote above, it is a sure way to up your chances of being bitten as they are faster than you. Figure a safe zone of twice the snakes length. One step backwards works much better. If you are too close, if at all possible hold still till it leaves or relaxes, then move away slowly. Snakes use their venom for prey. it is an important part of the digestive process so they really don't want to waste it on you - unless you frighten them. One way that I used when hunting rattlers for the Zoo was to take my dog. I had allowed him (as a puppy) to be bitten by a harmless snake a few times (the snake, a racer was released unharmed). From that day on he avoided all snakes, so all I had to do was watch and see what he steered clear of (Keep in mind though that I have over 30 years experience working with venemous snakes and I am not recommending this). Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn835 Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 So my three foot copperhead as a pet, is not a good idea? With rocks in my head, and fossils in my heart.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamsharky Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 As Rattlers go, Canebreaks are one of the least aggresive. As you saw, they are usually more inclined to run than fight. The pity of this is you did not have to kill it. You actually put yourself at greater risk by what you did, as many snakebites occur when someone tries to kill the snake and underestimates its capacity to strike. If that had been a Diamondback, or a western species you probably would have written this from a hospital bed.It prowled those woods for years offending nobody. They actually have a range of over ten square miles so odds were you would not have seen it again. As far as proximity goes, people get bit on their own doorsteps without entering the snakes natural habitat, which you did. I see too many snakes killed needlesly for the excuse of being a possible threat. With our increasing developement making their ranges smaller and smaller, where are they supposed to go to be "safe" for us? Like fossils, snakes depend on our understanding that they are a limited resource. They do a lot of good when they don't run afoul of us. Hawkeye, Snakes shed year round -except when they sleep over winter. It can be as frequent as every two weeks to once or twice a year. The good news on that shed is that it came from a smooth scaled non venemous species, possibly a Kingsnake! We have a difference of opinion on this matter. If you lived some where nearby, I would be happy to load up every rattlesnake and mocassin I could and unload them behind your house. As far as a diamond back being some sort of super snake, I disagree as well. Snakes can generally strike half their body length. I have killed too many rattlesnakes or cotton mouths to count with a 4-5 foot stick. Do I take joy in killing a snake? no, but I can not take a chance with having poisenous snakes anywhere near my home. I will not kill a snake unless it is poisenous. Most of the time when someone is bitten, there is provocation and alcohol involved. Usually someone is trying to catch a snake with their bare hands. I have alot more respect for a viper than that. Miocene/Eocene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Menser Posted April 23, 2009 Author Share Posted April 23, 2009 LOL...Never found Copperheads to be good captives. All too frequently they are problem feeders. Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreekCrawler Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 LOL...Never found Copperheads to be good captives. All too frequently they are problem feeders. Hey Frank, I've kept a few Copperheads in my day and I haven't had any problems with the adults that I have caught accepting frozen/thawed mice.However I had a gravid female that popped out 8 babies and I gave up trying to feed them.I tried everything that I knew of. Scenting pinkies with frogs,anoles,med -geckos to no avail.I released the neonates back where the mother was caught.My favorite copperhead that I kept was an A c. pictigaster from the Trans Pecos area. The ventral scales were so red and cryptic. I'm sure you have kept a few,,,,, how do you like the scent they give off? I didn't mind keeping them due to their low toxicity as compared to the other hots in my home state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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