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I seen a lot of snakes this year. I almost stepped on a copperhead.
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Snake pics
- Thread starter Md 25v
- Start date
This is turning out to be a really cool thread. I'm learning a lot and the pics are fantastic!
In my 2nd grade class, my students do what I call an Expert Project. They choose a topic they know about and I'm going to see if one of my students will present about her corn snakes. They're so beautiful and seem to tolerate handling very well. They don't seem to open their poop chutes and let some of that musk go like garter snakes do. If she does decide to do it, I'll grab some pics.
In my 2nd grade class, my students do what I call an Expert Project. They choose a topic they know about and I'm going to see if one of my students will present about her corn snakes. They're so beautiful and seem to tolerate handling very well. They don't seem to open their poop chutes and let some of that musk go like garter snakes do. If she does decide to do it, I'll grab some pics.
- Joined
- Oct 10, 1998
- Messages
- 627
I love garter snakes -- I like taking closeups and they're always very accommodating. Here's a couple of a little guy (gal?) who was just getting ready to shed. Their eyes turn blue, I think as the old eye scale separates from the new one. A day or two later we found the skin right in the same spot.
Click on the thumbnails for much larger pictures:
Click on the thumbnails for much larger pictures:
Got a story with a question.
Years ago I went camping in one of the state parks, hill country area in TX (can't remember the name of the park) Anyway, we saw dozens of these bright green snakes. We saw them everywhere, sometimes see one crossing the trail and on up ahead see 2 or 3 others crossing at the same time. They were all about 3' long, slender, with a triangular (like an arrowhead) head. We figured they were, obviously, a tree snake, but we saw just as many crossing trails as going up trees. What was the weirdest for me was the way they moved on the ground. They didn't do the side to side slither, they did a vertical, up and down "slither". Most of their body was off the ground when they moved. They were also fast when they did that locomotion. Something else about them was they were pretty foul tempered. Get too near them and they would whip around and come after you. That was the first, and only time I've ever seen those type of snakes. I've never been satisfied with what I've found in my books. Do you have any idea what they were?
A few other things:
We have plenty of copper heads around here and I've never known them to be very aggressive. One of the most beautiful snakes you'll ever see is a copper head that has just shed its skin...just as bright and shiny as a new penny.
A couple of years ago I came apon a couple of rattlesnakes doing the nasty. They were both large, about 5 1/2' and 6' long and as big around as my arm. They were doing this twisty, upright cobra looking dance and completely ignoring me standing there 10 feet away. I stood and watched awhile and then realized I could have already run home and been back with a camera. I got back with the camera and my wife and son in tow, took a bunch of great pictures and watched for more than 20 minutes more before my wife made me leave them in peace. I'll have to see if I can find those pictures to post.
And finally, I saw a coach whip last spring. I've never seen one and didn't even know they could be found in central TX. I was going up the driveway on my tractor and saw a snake sunning itself up ahead. It was about 5' long and slender and I thought at first it was a king snake (those are pretty regular on the roads around here). So I stood up to look at it while I got closer. I stopped the tractor with it a few feet in front of me and I realized it wasn't a king. It was a dusty tan color, with big easy to see scales that kind of looked like a braided pattern. I was stepping off the tractor just as it took off, and HOLY MOLY was it fast. As fast as I could run and gone in a heartbeat. Strangely enough, the first name that popped in my head was the coach whip, but I went back to the house and got out the snake books and got a positive ID. Very cool to see.
Ooooh, one last one. Once or twice a year, we'll get a Texas blind snake in our bathroom. I've never figured out where they come in from. Little pink guys, 3" long and looking like a worm made out of glass. If I find them before my cat, I take them out and put them in a pile of mulch.
I've got a bunch of other snake stories, but I'll stop now.
thanks for the good thread!
Years ago I went camping in one of the state parks, hill country area in TX (can't remember the name of the park) Anyway, we saw dozens of these bright green snakes. We saw them everywhere, sometimes see one crossing the trail and on up ahead see 2 or 3 others crossing at the same time. They were all about 3' long, slender, with a triangular (like an arrowhead) head. We figured they were, obviously, a tree snake, but we saw just as many crossing trails as going up trees. What was the weirdest for me was the way they moved on the ground. They didn't do the side to side slither, they did a vertical, up and down "slither". Most of their body was off the ground when they moved. They were also fast when they did that locomotion. Something else about them was they were pretty foul tempered. Get too near them and they would whip around and come after you. That was the first, and only time I've ever seen those type of snakes. I've never been satisfied with what I've found in my books. Do you have any idea what they were?
A few other things:
We have plenty of copper heads around here and I've never known them to be very aggressive. One of the most beautiful snakes you'll ever see is a copper head that has just shed its skin...just as bright and shiny as a new penny.
A couple of years ago I came apon a couple of rattlesnakes doing the nasty. They were both large, about 5 1/2' and 6' long and as big around as my arm. They were doing this twisty, upright cobra looking dance and completely ignoring me standing there 10 feet away. I stood and watched awhile and then realized I could have already run home and been back with a camera. I got back with the camera and my wife and son in tow, took a bunch of great pictures and watched for more than 20 minutes more before my wife made me leave them in peace. I'll have to see if I can find those pictures to post.
And finally, I saw a coach whip last spring. I've never seen one and didn't even know they could be found in central TX. I was going up the driveway on my tractor and saw a snake sunning itself up ahead. It was about 5' long and slender and I thought at first it was a king snake (those are pretty regular on the roads around here). So I stood up to look at it while I got closer. I stopped the tractor with it a few feet in front of me and I realized it wasn't a king. It was a dusty tan color, with big easy to see scales that kind of looked like a braided pattern. I was stepping off the tractor just as it took off, and HOLY MOLY was it fast. As fast as I could run and gone in a heartbeat. Strangely enough, the first name that popped in my head was the coach whip, but I went back to the house and got out the snake books and got a positive ID. Very cool to see.
Ooooh, one last one. Once or twice a year, we'll get a Texas blind snake in our bathroom. I've never figured out where they come in from. Little pink guys, 3" long and looking like a worm made out of glass. If I find them before my cat, I take them out and put them in a pile of mulch.
I've got a bunch of other snake stories, but I'll stop now.
thanks for the good thread!
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- Jul 22, 2005
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Just for clarification:
He's talking about subspecies ya'll. Its a timber rattler, but different regions have different phases. For instance, here in the south you may have heard of a canebrake rattlesnake. It is a timber rattlesnake but a lighter version more common in the coastal areas of the south.
He's talking about subspecies ya'll. Its a timber rattler, but different regions have different phases. For instance, here in the south you may have heard of a canebrake rattlesnake. It is a timber rattlesnake but a lighter version more common in the coastal areas of the south.
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Sorry bout that. I should have clarified that better. The timbers up here have a grey plate color and black chevrons. I'm just jealous of how beautiful the southern ones are. I looked for them for a week last year and found just about everything else, gonna go back this year.
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I lost my buddy about a year ago to a nasty parasite. He showed no signs and then one day he was barely moving and looked like his body was already rigging up. Luckily we have a python expert doctor near my area. Unluckily, it was too late and he died the next day. The snake doctor said he must have gotten the parasite from a feeder rat. No other way. I like snakes, but I don't want another one anytime soon. It's funny how you can get attached to those things just like they're a dog or something. Most people just think of them as a decoration pet.
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- Jul 22, 2005
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totally. My jalisco mtn kingsnake "mr. rogers" hangs out on my neck when I write. Snakes are by far the easiest critter to take care of, just feed 'em once a week and clean. Heck they can go a long time without food if they have to. I'm sorry to hear about your loss dyl, it really is odd how they can develop personalities. .
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They are pretty bad. right under a rattle snake
LD50 Scores for various snakes
http://www.seanthomas.net/oldsite/ld50tot.html
The LD50 is almost the same, the problem is that a cottonmouth's venom load (amount injected) is quite a bit larger
Believe it or not, the black widow has one of the worst venoms in the US, but deals in such a small amount that it isn't as big of a deal.
LD50 Scores for various snakes
http://www.seanthomas.net/oldsite/ld50tot.html
The LD50 is almost the same, the problem is that a cottonmouth's venom load (amount injected) is quite a bit larger
Believe it or not, the black widow has one of the worst venoms in the US, but deals in such a small amount that it isn't as big of a deal.
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- Nov 2, 2007
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I worked as a fisheries biologist and with hydrology for a while. Winter was the reason why I no longer am at that job. I would rather collect the data and let somebody else analyze it. 
Joezilla,
Thanks for the info. I know a guy who took a hit from a Mojave Green right between the thumb and forefinger. Even with good treatment, the venom destroyed most of the tissue that was there. He has learned a lot about rattlers and has given a couple lectures on the subject. He's one of the reasons I have two pair of snake-resistant boots and a set of full-length chaps. When I'm hunting in snake country, looking for game sometimes takes my eyes away from snake scanning so I like having the extra protection.
DancesWithKnives
Thanks for the info. I know a guy who took a hit from a Mojave Green right between the thumb and forefinger. Even with good treatment, the venom destroyed most of the tissue that was there. He has learned a lot about rattlers and has given a couple lectures on the subject. He's one of the reasons I have two pair of snake-resistant boots and a set of full-length chaps. When I'm hunting in snake country, looking for game sometimes takes my eyes away from snake scanning so I like having the extra protection.
DancesWithKnives
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- Sep 4, 2002
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- 2,177