Some native Florida fauna.... - Page 2

Z06 Rocket · 10-09-2006, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich Z

Yeah, we see pigmys around here every once in a while, but not so commonly as the EDBs. There was a kid locally who mistook one for a hognose snake and got bit when he reached down to pick it up. They are VERY similar looking....

NO NO NO NO NO,, I don't even pick them up if I think it's non-venomous. I get the non-venomous ones in my pool and the closest I get is the pole skimmer to toss them out of the pool into the yard.

DWALK'00 · 10-10-2006, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Z06 Rocket

NO NO NO NO NO,, I don't even pick them up if I think it's non-venomous. I get the non-venomous ones in my pool and the closest I get is the pole skimmer to toss them out of the pool into the yard.

There is nothing wrong with picking them up if you are careful and know what you are doing. I have caught just about every kind of snake we have in Fl. ecept a diamondback (sill have not found one) and have only been bitten by a baby corn snake once.

Shadow · 10-10-2006, 09:26 AM

Don't like snakes...period!

As a kid growing up in Florida, we had Rattle Snakes and Mosccasins in our yard on a regtular basis. Had on Diamondback wrapped around a water fawcett as I reached to turn it on

Scared the living **** outta me!!!!!

I respect them and people that safely handle them, but...don't come near me with one unless you're ready to die (ask one of my former zone partners)

Over the years I've mellowed a bit toward them, but still don't like them.

Found a small rattler in my pool a couple of years ago

Was right along the tile line and blended right in

Had I not stirred up the water while cleaning, I (or my kids) would have had a swim buddy

85vette · 04-01-2007, 09:53 PM

Yea, that's a baby,Rich. I saw one that was 8 or 9 feet long over on Lower Bridge Road between the landfill and Crawfordville. It crawled off the road and I drove off the side of the road to get a better look. It raised it's head up by my window.....it's head was bigger than my fist!

98 softtail · 04-01-2007, 10:15 PM

Rich, I used to have a skin mounted of a Diamond Back I ran over on my Harley a few years back. It was 6'4" from nose to rattle and 15" across. I had it out on the lanai and someone walked off with it. I guess it is a belt or purse now.

Joe B.

**Rich Z** · 04-02-2007, 01:00 AM

Yeah, there actually is quite a bit of land around here that very large diamondbacks can live on without being disturbed. Take a ride along route 98 between Perry and Newport. NOTHING at all there for miles. The Loch Ness monster could be back in there and no one would be the wiser.

But the absolute BEST thing you can do concerning a venomous snake is to just leave it alone, if at all possible. Many people get bitten in the endeavor of trying to kill it and just get too close. A large diamondback has a pretty impressive strike range. That's one miscalculation you DON'T want to make. Even if you don't die from the bite, there will be days afterwards that you likely will be wishing you would die. Fortunately I have never been bitten by a venomous snake, but have had my share of close calls. But those people I do know who have been bitten are unanimous about the pain being like nothing you have ever experienced before.

BTW, here's a couple of pics of a BIG adult that Connie found alongside the path several years ago....

2Vettes · 04-02-2007, 08:35 PM

Trying to kill a poisonous snake is not one of the mistakes I would make in my life

Mekanic · 04-02-2007, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2Vettes

Trying to kill a poisonous snake is not one of the mistakes I would make in my life

meh, I live on a Cypress Swamp, every year without fail I have to go kill a few dozen moccasins in the back yard, and occasionally a Coral snake.

Also I just found up there is a pigmy rattler nest somewhere, saw one when moving one of the cars... looks like I have a new hunt.

**Rich Z** · 04-03-2007, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mekanic

meh, I live on a Cypress Swamp, every year without fail I have to go kill a few dozen moccasins in the back yard, and occasionally a Coral snake.

Also I just found up there is a pigmy rattler nest somewhere, saw one when moving one of the cars... looks like I have a new hunt.

Just be careful of the one you DON'T see.......

I remember when a friend of mine and I went to South Carolina on a snake hunting trip. The "catching" kind, not the "killing" kind. We found an area that was apparently an old abandoned farm site and off in the woods was an area of about an eighth of an acre with sheet tin panels all spread out over the ground. We (Tim and I) walked through and for some reason started flipping tin (we had long handled snake sticks - actually modified golf clubs - for this so we didn't have to stick our fingers underneath stuff), and pretty quickly uncovered about a half dozen or so copperheads. Well it dawned on us that that area was literally CRAWLING with copperheads, and our sneakers would not protect our feed one bit from a bite from one of these guys. We could HEAR snakes moving underneath the tin all around us! So we just ran out of there as fast as we could. Actually jumping as much as we could to clear as much distance as possible without our feet touching the ground. Probably looked damned funny if someone had been watching us.

No, I am not into capturing or handling venomous snakes. I will take photos of them, but that is about it. Copperheads generally will not kill a healthy adult unless a fang hits a vein, but still, a bite from one will likely be one of the more unpleasant memories in your lifetime.

Anyway, just be careful anytime you purposely put yourself in close proximity with a venomous snake. There may be another that your focus on the OTHER snake may lead you to being bitten. This is breeding season for snakes, so there is a very strong likelihood that there may be a PAIR of them when you only see one. So just watch your step. If you step on one you probably WILL get bitten.

Fastcat3 · 04-03-2007, 07:27 PM

Down in Pinellas County I lived in a subdivision that was typical, not woodsy, but they did open a county park between me and the bay. One day while dead heading the butterfly garden I reached in some plants that were clumped together and I was within 2 inches of a large, coiled, sleeping diamondback. I called the police and animal control which was of no use. Finally I got a licensed wildlife trapper to come get it. It was five feet long, he put it in a sack and tossed it in the trunk of his Lincoln. Close call!