Snake pics

Md 25v said:
Remember, that was my fault. We pulled her out of her safe hole in the rocks, put her in an acrylic tube, and generally pissed her off. Thats the snake equivalent of alien abduction. I have no ill will toward the snake because the whole incident would have been avoided by me choosing the right tube size. I grabbed one that was to big and allowed her to double back as I was putting her head in.
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I understand, but I can't imagine getting bit and feeling it eat away at me from the inside. I have nothing personal against snakes either (never been bit), but I'd rather not run into one in the woods. It probably wouldn't be too hard to just walk around it but a lot of times my curiosity gets the best of me.
 
Md 25v, in your opinion, is it worth it to carry one of those commercial snake venom extractor kits if one hikes in an area with venomous snakes? I had a rattle snake lunge at me once back in college (bluff lunge, I thought, is that likely?) and have been a little paranoid about them ever since. I've seen a few moving away from hiking trails as I neared them, but I wouldn't want to get bit of the off-chance I actually surprise one.
 
pitdog said:
Great pics buddy, thanks for sharing them !

I took this pic last year and guessed it was a Garter snake but I have never seen another with the same coloring before, can you confirm what it is ?

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Pitdog- Thats not one of the guys I'm familiar with but garter snakes are highly variable and melanism as well as other unusual genetic traits are very common. I'm not completely sure what your snake is but my best guess is thats its one of these, even if its an odd specimine.

http://www.naherpetology.org/detail.asp?id=394

http://www.naherpetology.org/detail.asp?id=370

http://www.naherpetology.org/detail.asp?id=359

What state are you in? That would give me a better idea what snake it could be.
 
Md 25v said:
Pitdog- Thats not one of the guys I'm familiar with but garter snakes are highly variable and melanism as well as other unusual genetic traits are very common. I'm not completely sure what your snake is but my best guess is thats its one of these, even if its an odd specimine.

http://www.naherpetology.org/detail.asp?id=394

http://www.naherpetology.org/detail.asp?id=370

http://www.naherpetology.org/detail.asp?id=359

What state are you in? That would give me a better idea what snake it could be.
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Vancouver Island, BC !
 
rksoon said:
Md 25v, in your opinion, is it worth it to carry one of those commercial snake venom extractor kits if one hikes in an area with venomous snakes? I had a rattle snake lunge at me once back in college (bluff lunge, I thought, is that likely?) and have been a little paranoid about them ever since. I've seen a few moving away from hiking trails as I neared them, but I wouldn't want to get bit of the off-chance I actually surprise one.
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I don't carry one because I have not found one that would actually work properly. The fang spread on most snakes excedes the width of the suction cones, not to mention that the amount of suction they provide may only be effective in certain situations since its very hard to get a good vacuum seal on a foot or ankle or shin and those are the most common places to be bitten.
 
GREAT THREAD MD!!!!!!!!!
What wonderful pics you have up there! Those hatchlings are picture perfect~!!!
Nicely done!

aha, and alas!! a fellow microchipped snake bite victim! Nope, copperheads are not as aggresive as people think, but out of all the venomous I've dealt with, I would say they are the most hot headed!

Same thing happened to me when we were bagging a copperhead for implants down in SC


I too am an aspiring herpetologist, its not my main job but definitely a passion. Snakes and knives, does it get any better!! We just got back from FLA down there and caught over 70 snakes, I got my first coral snake on my life list!

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Here he is
Scanner number 910271
or Nippy.

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ciliatusmay9n1020008.jpg
 
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Ah, I hadn't thought about either of those points, thanks :thumbup:

Edited to add: Joezilla! Yours is horrendous looking too!
 
Joezilla said:
aha! out of all the venomous I've dealt with, I would say they are the most hot headed![/IMG]
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I think, in my experience, the more venomous the snake is the more docile. They know how venomous they are. Also, it takes a lot of energy and protein to make venom so they don't want to waste it. Most of the time, venomous snakes give a "dry" or warning bite.
 
Joezilla- congrats on the coral, they are awesome. I've looked for over a week on vacation in the glades but no luck.
 
Hey MD, check out some of the pics that were taken on this last trip. I've been dying to post these up.

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I'll be putting a montage together of all the species we saw, but I finally got to see my first coral snake (insert girlish giggle!)


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DOC- Dead in canal.


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THose snake extractors don't work. Period. I've tried one over 16 times on bee stings and haven't got any results. Hey that might be a good video.

There was a publication a while back addressing the effectiveness of the sawyer extractor. I'll see if I can find it.
 
The sawyer is the yellow one they sell at walmart right? Those are crap. There are a few that a colegue picked up in costa rica that have oval shaped cups that are over 2 1/2 inches wide and had a silicon coating aroud the edge to help with the suction.
 
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Judging by your location and some stories I've heard about color morphs up in that place, it might be some variation of this guy.
http://www.bcreptiles.ca/snakes/nw_garter.htm

That is a wonderful variation though. Probably the coolest I've seen in a while for a gartersnake.
you have any more pics?
 
Great pics and conversation in this thread.

I'm curious about the after pictures of the bitten fingers. I've seen pics of the damage rattlesnake venom has on flesh, but not a copperhead. Did either of you suffer lasting damage?
 
Mine healed up in about six weeks, was stiff feeling for a year and is fine now.
 
See the problem with Herpers and copperhead bites is kind of a conundrum. Most herpers don't get the antivenin, due to the fact that it could have extremely harmful effects if you get bit by something more serious like a rattlesnake. The damn antivenin is basically only good for one go. You can have just as bad of an effect from the antivenin than the bite itself too.

As he said, LD 50 for a copperhead is pretty minimal. I've got a friend who recently became envenomated for the second time, and just went home and had a beer. My arm swelled up like popeye and there was residual tissue damage, but nothing anymore except a scar and a little more swollen where the joint is at, with some residual nerve tingleness if I really search for it. I have full dexterity on my end.

The hospital affair was a night mare. I haven't figured out to make it a post or a book, but basically, get the facts straight before you go there because even they don't know squat. That is a story for another time.
 
Even with my rattler tag, I didn't get the antivenin just in case I needed it later. It actually was not that bad as far as it could have been. I got some heavy pain killers and kept it iced for a week, took that long to stop bleeding.
 
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