A Reminder

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i kept copperheads. immediately let babies go. also let one psycho adult snake go. actually, probably eventually let all of them go, since i don't have them and don't remember what i did with them. they must have eaten well, though, or i wouldn't have kept them.

[KevinG]

It may have been a kingsnake trying to cross the road (To get to the other side perhaps?) I knew it didn't have a chance of making it in the "round" so we got a stick and threw it back into the bushes. It did not say thank you.

How this happened I can not even imagine.

I came out of my bathroom and almost stepped on a 6" brown/red guy. This puppy had to have crawled really far to make it into that part of my house. It did not say thank you either.

I may give up saving ungrateful snakes.

I wish I could have an Indigo but the cats would not be happy.

[CreekCrawler]

I wish I could have an Indigo but the cats would not be happy.

Speaking of Indigo's a member on here "Eddie" has one named Jack.He obtained all the permits and I'm sure it was a lengthy process. Very cool snakes.

We have some down in South Texas.

[CreekCrawler]

So my three foot copperhead as a pet, is not a good idea?

I think it's perfectly fine as long as it's legal in your city and you are responsible and knowledgeable about keeping hot's.I can't keep hot's here where I live.I have in the past,but it made me feel nervous about keeping them. If you have to take a hit from a venomous snake a copperhead bite is rarely fatal to humans.I was bitten when I was 16 and there was swelling at the bite site as far as symptoms go.I did receive one vial of antivenin at the hospital as a cautionary measure. However if you happen to be allergic to the venom or the antivenin things could go bad fast.

[Frank Menser]

I worked with many kinds of "Hots" in the Zoo and at home. I have allways held to three rules. The first is; Never let yourself get within striking range (what tongs and hooks are for). Second, the day I feel comfortable is the day I stop keeping, because then I've lost my edge. You can't afford to be careless.

The third is I do not keep Cobras, Mambas and other fast moving or hard to control highly toxic species at home.

My personal opinion is that the average person shouldn't keep venemous snakes without serious training and a good look at why they would want to in the first place. Too many keep because of the ego rush and that can get you hurt fast.

The payback for caution and the work is not some snake saying thank you. They don't owe us a thank you for once doing the right thing by not trashing them on sight and demolishing what habitat they have left. I spent most my life doing animal rescue just because it mean't that there might still be something left in this world besides condos, strip malls and videos.

[KevinG]

I don't know if the "thank you" was for me but it was a joke. I have tossed numerous snakes into the places where they don't get squashed and I do feral cat rescue.

[Frank Menser]

I don't know if the "thank you" was for me but it was a joke. I have tossed numerous snakes into the places where they don't get squashed and I do feral cat rescue.

Good for you!

[barefootgirl]

I used to have a chicken snake for a pet when I was young. I would go everywhere with him around my neck. Drove my Mom crazy! I caught one last year in my chicken pens, actually I catch chicken snakes in my hen house all the time but this one last year was huge and very aggressive. It took me about 30 minutes to finally wrestle her out of the lumber she had crawled into. I measured her and she was 6ft long. I brought her home to my house here in town and let her go in my back yard. I just saw her yesterday, she was eating some starling eggs.

[Frank Menser]

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.

Sharky,

With all due respect, part of the reason why here in the east - Timber, Canebreak and EDB's are becoming extinct in large portions of their natural range is that people are destroying their habitat at an alarming rate. I have never seen a rattler go out of its way to attack people, I have seen plenty of cases where the exact opposite happens and the snake still gets blamed. I grew up on the edge of the Everglades, so as a child running into venemous snakes was not an unusual event. We were taught proper precausions to take in the woods and as a consequence, none of us got bitten.

I have only one bite scar. it is from a Moccasin that struck me as I was removing it from a bag. My carelesness. Unlike Copperheads who are more defensive, I have yet to have seen any in the dozens of Mocs I have caught actually attack. Usually when you press someone on the subject it turns out the Moc just happened to move in their direction or mistook their boat for a log.

I qualify what I am saying here because in the western US there are species that have a more aggressive nature.

I did not claim super powers for a Diamondback. The striking range is actully closer to two thirds the body length. What I was trying to establish was a zone of safety for someone in close proximity. I have had small vipers strike at me with enough force to literally propel them into a hop of more than their body length. Beware of truisms and absolutes. Nature can get around them .

As far as dumping rattlers and mocs on my property...the hairless apes just put a new developement across the street and those fools kill on sight. Snakes that are dropped of to me are welcome and taken usually to a wildlife refuge to be released. Safer for them. When I was younger and more spry I used to go to people's property and remove their guests.

[Auspex]

...What I was trying to establish was a zone of safety for someone in close proximity...

I was thinking it was a good safety zone for the snake.

I've never been in the position to choose between my family's safety and the life of another vertebrate creature, and I'm glad of that.

[Frank Menser]

Looking back at my posts above I see where some might think me a bit of a fanatic. If I am a bit zealous in my defence it is because working for a Zoo you run into countless amounts of people with their horror stories about the terrible danger serpents presented to them at one time or another. I have had countless garters, Bull snakes, Rat Snakes presented to me battered and mutilated because they were, "poisonous snakes-killed to protect my family." Not too long ago on this very forum someone posted a pic of a bullsnake mislabeled as a rattler.

It's not a matter of choosing the safety of your family or friends - unless the animal is in an unextractable location and no one qualified is in range or you have made the slip of getting too close. I have been forced to kill a couple of times for those reasons.

This is a reason why I support Zoos. What people do not know about is often percieved in nature as a threat when a bit of knowledge can turn fear into respect - if not admiration. Like fossils, ignorance translates to lack of understanding and appreciation of their value.

[iamsharky]

As far as dumping rattlers and mocs on my property...the hairless apes just put a new developement across the street and those fools kill on sight.

Frank: That's funny. I respect your view and understand where you are coming from but just have a different opinion on poisionous snakes near my home. If I tried to capture one, I probaly would get bitten. God bless you bro! Happy fossiling and snaking!