Lately I have noticed a large increase in the number of snakes I with which I actually get a visual ID.?ÿ Usually I just hear the grass move and catch a glimpse of a scaly tail disappearing.?ÿ But lately I've seen a number of them just lounging in wait to bite my old ass if I'm not careful.?ÿ In a month I've kicked up 3 or 4 copperheads (one might have been a timber rattler), at least two rattlesnakes, and yesterday I threw rocks at a half dozen water moccasins in one of the snakiest ponds I've ever seen.?ÿ And I usually only see 2 or 3 snakes in any given season.
So all you young'ns (anyone not able to draw full social security benefits) watch where you step.?ÿ And don't be foolish enough to use your hand to flip over that old real estate sign that is bugging your pin-finder...you might not care for what's underneath.
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There was a couple of lakes near where I grew up in central OK that were loaded with water moccasins.?ÿ One of my buddies got bit on the hand.?ÿ By the time we got him home his hand looked like an inflated rubber glove.?ÿ He survived but his grandmother fainted and needed an ambulance.
Years later those lakes were getting drained as part of a large development we were surveying.?ÿ I had several crews there and cautioned them about snakes, particularly the cottonmouths.?ÿ One of my crew chiefs had a degree in zoology (of which he reminded us daily..).?ÿ He loudly announced water moccasins were mainly in the SE U.S. and probably weren't any this far north.?ÿ I told him to keep an eye out anyway.?ÿ BTW, this guy kept a nickel plated Ruger .45 cal on his hip.
We all peeled off and went out separate directions.?ÿ About 15 minutes later I hear someone pull off 6 rounds in about 3 seconds.?ÿ He came flying over the hill and his eyes were as big as half-dollars.?ÿ Said he'd never seen that many moccasins in one place.
I calmly told him he must have been mistaken as there weren't any around here as it was too far north... 😕 ?ÿ
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Never been chased by them. Kept reading tales of aggressive mocassins from folks on this board. My experience has been different, they either hold their ground coiled, or skedaddle.
Never seen them by the bunch either. I've seen two giant chingadaddy mocassins, once, in the same spot. That's all.
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edit: Done the realtor sign / copperhead situation too.?ÿ?ÿ ?????ÿ
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I calmly told him he must have been mistaken as there weren't any around here as it was too far north... 😕 ?ÿ
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I agree. Couldn't ha been! Ha ha
I've been chased. Mocosines can get into a bad mood!
Timber rattlers, are pretty calm, and nearly not dangerous.
I've been bit 2x. Once by a rattler, in a soybean field. Caught my bell bottom, and got my lower pant leg all wet with venom. Never hurt me though.
Other time, a copperhead. I was turning over a rock, to set a traverse point. He was maybe 12-14" long. I disturbed him. (Actually, I'm assuming gender, and "him" is generic, from Shakespearian English, from a King James Bible) it caught the tip of my finger, went in, and back out. A little redness, with venom on my hand. Anyhow, I was not hurt. Snakes are just a part of my "office".
N
Florida ?ÿ - ?ÿ palm frond on ground - moccasin/rattlesnake.
Every winter while shoveling snow, I think of these tales to remind myself why I live above 41?ø latitude.
About 20 years ago I noted to the client that we were driving in what appeared to be snake heaven.?ÿ He calmly said, "More copperheads than rattlers, though."?ÿ That really calmed my nerves.?ÿ When we stopped we were looking at a sheet of roofing tin about 30" by 16 feet in length.?ÿ He said the stone marking the center corner was under it.?ÿ I suggested he be the one to move the tin out of the way.?ÿ He did, by using a pitchfork he just happened to have in the pickup truck.?ÿ We both were amazed to find no snakes present in mid-August.
I was with the highway department in 1995 or 1996 and working at the Salt Plains area near Cherokee, OK. The backwoods there are thick with rattlesnakes. Water was up so we had to pack in everything. I was shuffling along a soggy trail and as I brought my left foot forward I thought it had gotten caught on a brier so I kicked. I kicked a rattlesnake about 4' long (just a baby) off my the ankle of my boot. He was so damned quick he got the toe of my boot with his second strike. When he hit the ground he was gone.
I inspected the ankle of my boot and could see the two holes his fangs had left. Thankful my Red Wings had protected my pink flesh we continued on toward the truck. After about a half mile my ankle seemed uncomfortable. I stopped and took off my boot...what do you know? One fang had barely made it through the boot and a thick wool sock. Just about the size of a pinprick.
My ankle and the side of my foot was red and swollen for a week. I didn't seek medical attention because of all the paperwork it would have generated. I had a nasty looking bruise that was sore as hell for a month. I'd hate to think what it would have felt like if he had got me good with both barrels.
During my reckless youth, I accepted a summer position at the Reptile Gardens south of Rapid City. It was an interesting job to say the least. My job consisted of giving tours through a "rain forest" in the middle of an ophidiarium (i.e. some tropical plants and fruit bats surrounded by display cases of dangerous snakes. My compensation was $225 per month plus room, which means I had a mattress on the floor in the storage area of the gift shop. In between the rain forest tours I'd jump into a big sand box and wrestle an alligator and then swing on a rope to a platform in the middle of a pit filled with western diamondback rattlesnakes and show the tourists a rattlesnake up close. (by up close, I mean pick one up and hold the head with my right hand and the body was tucked into my armpit, whilst showing the fangs with a pencil in my left hand. Nasty critters, but the ones I handled were only 3 to 3-1/2 feet in length.
Since I stayed at the tourist trap I'd help the assistant curator feed the snakes at night. At the time (1972) the Reptile Gardens had a rather large water moccasin. I don't know how long he was, but he was as big around as my arm. I'd open the back of the cage and in would go 9 baby chicks. We'd then go around and watch him. His MO was to quickly strike the first 5 or 6 and then stalk, strike and swallow the remaining chicks; then he'd finish his dinner. He was big enough that he didn't look different before and after dinner. I named him Lucifer because of the manner of how he dispatched those chicks. That is as close to a cotton mouth as I ever want to get.
One of the good things about having too many feral hogs is that they eat snakes.
The feral hogs in FL will eat anything; Lighterted pine knots, cypress knees, saplings, hub caps, anything they can catch, and they especially love fresh planted fields. They have been hunted 24/7/365 for years with only an increase in pig population to show for it. The hogs and the pythons have all but eliminated every species that inhabited the Everglades with the remote exception of the Alligator and the saltwater Crocodile. ????
But hogs do eat snakes (python in this)
One of the good things about having too many feral hogs is that they eat snakes.
Gators will hold down the population of snakes too.?ÿ My father had a "pet" alligator in his pond for 10+ years.?ÿ He could call him (her?) up on the bank to be fed.?ÿ When he reached about 10 feet my mother insisted he get rid of him.?ÿ He called the Department of Natural Resources who came out to trap him for relocation.?ÿ He told them they didn't need to trap him, he just called him up on the bank and they taped and tied him.?ÿ A fellow farmer a little further south wanted one to control the snakes in his pond.
Andy
