This is my nephew and a "little" visitor to his farm yesterday. My nephew is a shade over 6 feet tall so I would estimate the snake at about 6.5 feet. They're moving so keep your eyes open.
Andy
Tastes like chicken...
I kind of wish we had them that big around here, at least they would be easier to see.
That guy would have quite the striking distance.
That's a good snake. The only good snake is a dead snake.
Wow, I would have had to call 911 if I had seen one that big.
Where's the other half?
We're lucky enough not to have those in my area. The few rattlers we have are mostly concentrated in one area. I've only seen a couple of them in my life. But, we have enough moccasins and copperheads to suit me just fine.
Let me load a few up and bring to you.
cottonmouths
> .... But, we have enough moccasins and copperheads to suit me just fine.
Give me a rattlesnake any day...they at least usually have the decency to warn you if you get too close. I've had water moccasins chase the boat after I slapped at them with an oar. One badass snake with a nasty disposition, fer sure.
cottonmouths
Yes, they sure have a bad attitude for sure.
I repeat
The only good snake is a dead snake.
cottonmouths
> Give me a rattlesnake any day...they at least usually have the decency to warn you if you get too close.
The copperheads are bad about not giving you any warning. I've looked down and had a 3-foot copperhead stretched out right between my feet.
I repeat
> The only good snake is a dead snake.
There was one trying to sneak off of our job a couple of weeks ago. My truck made sure that he behaves himself.
A fellow surveyor calls all snakes "cotton-head water rattlers."
"All snakes are poisonous and will fang you to death."
"The only good snake is a dead snake."
Pore ol' snakes.
He saved my bacon once when he yelled, "Harold!!" And chopped the ground about a foot from my leg as I was kneeling while driving a corner. I saw the flashing arc of a shiny bank blade and rolled to one side. He saw a copperhead, cut it in two and picked up half to show me. {[shudder!!]} :-O
He also threatened to beat me senseless when we were walking to the next point and I stepped over a pore little ol' harmless speckled king snake, took two more steps and said, "watch out for that snake." He was behind me, carrying the tripod, and I swear, he turned around in mid-air and took off the other way. He says he did not scream like a little girl.
I have had a pair of black racers rear up and rush toward me, striking! They were harmless and trying to scare me away. I pushed them back with the prism pole, and my buddy still says he did not run away, screaming like a little girl.
I have stepped on a BIG water moccasin, and he just scooted out from under my foot and plopped onto the creek. He could have fanged me, but he didn't. I was in the middle of the Yalobush River headwaters bottomland a half mile from my ATV and a mile further to my truck. I was working solo, and I don't think anyone would have found me for weeks.
I have had garter snakes drop out of trees onto my shoulder. I have never seen a rattlesnake, though there are some around where I live and work. Copperheads are numerous, and so are water moccasins. We are supposed to have coral snakes, but I have never seen one of those either. I had a similarly colored scarlet king snake in a terrarium for a few months for a Boy Scout project when I was about 12. I have been startled when I put my hand on those little green keel snakes while picking blackberries, strawberries and muscadines.
Snakes are fascinating. I generally leave them alone. However, I would like to see them before I get too close.
I agree; ya'll be careful out there.
I repeat
That looks like a (harmless) bull snake.
I repeat
> That looks like a (harmless) bull snake.
He is for sure harmless now. He was southbound and about 400' from the Rio Grande. Being the true red blooded ,pick-up truck driving, American that I am, there was no way I was going to let that bastert sneak into Mexico. I don't care if his passport said bull snake or rattle snake, it got stamped a good snake.
cottonmouths
A high school buddy and his dad, Ken, were fishing along Medicine Creek on Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. Ken stepped right on the head of a cotton mouth which immediately coiled around his leg. The old guy calmly pulls his buck knife off his belt, reaches down through the coils and cuts the head off. Lifts his foot off the head and casually calls back to his son "the head can still hurt you, boy" as he continued down the trail. Ken was a savvy old backwoods man from Arkansas and we never missed an opportunity to go out in the sticks with him.
Out in our parts of West Texas/SE New Mexico, the rattlers ain't rattlin as much as they used to, there are so many ferrule pigs nowadays that love to eat snakes, the snakes quit rattling to avoid detection.
