Rattle snakes things to know

[Bigcypresshunter]

1- Pygmy Rattler.
2- same snake, stupid friend.
3- my favorite snake. Can you ID?

 

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[Bigcypresshunter]

Corn?

no. It has red, black, and yellow bands, native to Florida.

 

[peg legged]

The Eastern Diamondback Rattler is the largest poisonous snake in the U.S. and can reach 7+ feet in long and can weight up to 50 pounds. Their fangs can reach 2.5 inches.
The most aggressive snake in Florida is the Cotton Mouth Moccasin. They will come at you and will even drop from tree limbs into your boat.
The most dangerous animal in Florida is the Wild Hog and this includes the Gator. A hog will eat you and all your body parts as well.
Most of my life has been spent in the swamps of Florida.
The most poisonous snake in FL is the Coral Snake. The is another snake that looks like a Coral Snake and that is one that the rings are Red touching Black. The actual Coral snake is has rings that are Red touching Yellow.
Red and Black is a friend of Jack.
Red And Yellow will kill a fellow .
Back to Treasue Hunting.
Peg Leg

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Sounds like you have had some bad experiences with Florida's wild hog. They are decsendants of DeSoto's hogs brought from Spain. They are indeed a tough species. Here are some hogs from a day of my last hunt..

 

[peg legged]

Here is one for the record books.
Last month a Rancher was checking his cattle and he spotted what he thought was a cow stuck in a mud hole. It was not a cow but a WILD HOG.When he got closer the hog came out of the mud and ran him to his truck. He took his pistol and killed the thing. It was so large he had to use a backhoe to lift him up. The hog weighted over 1400 pounds. He had a large cook out and fed the county fire department and the Sheriff Department. He gave the rest to the needy.
It seems that the hog had been eating the grain he was setting out for the cows for about 1.5 years. One ham was over 85 pounds. Just think how this tasted being grain fed for over a year.
Peg Leg

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

It is not unusual for wild hogs to come out from cover at night to eat cattle feed. We used to shoot them at dusk, just like clockwork, in the open pasture.
You may be talking about Hogzilla.
http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/hogzilla.asp

The favorite snake is a Florida Scarlet King. (can be mistaken for a Coral)

These are not my pics of Hogzilla, but I advise look:

 

[jasonbo]

I have a 6 ft snake pole on one end is 4 9 volt batteries runs current to the tip which allows me to touch the snake to paralize it then cut off its head with the machette problem solved.

 

[chong2]

the snake looks like a hognose

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

the snake looks like a hognose

Pygmy Rattlesnake
Pygmy Rattlesnake
Coral look-a-like "Scarlet King snake"

 

[icegator]

i have killed quite a few water moccasons in my day.I can't stand snakes and will shoot on sight.

ice

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

i have killed quite a few water moccasons in my day.I can't stand snakes and will shoot on sight.

ice

I can't stand Moccassins either, but it would be a shame to kill a peaceful Indigo or Scarlet King.

 

[lou423]

When I was a kid I saw a snake in the backyard of our home , I decided to kill
the creature by steping on top of her head. The thing moved so fast that it just was of my way in a fraction of a second.

That day I decided not to mess with them anymore, whenever I see a snake I just go around her, not bothering it at all.

Respect the snakes and you will be ok.

Snakes eat rodents so they perform a service for all of us.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

When I was a kid I saw a snake in the backyard of our home , I decided to kill
the creature by steping on top of her head. The thing moved so fast that it just was of my way in a fraction of a second.

That day I decided not to mess with them anymore, whenever I see a snake I just go around her, not bothering it at all.

Respect the snakes and you will be ok.

Snakes eat rodents so they perform a service for all of us.

Yes, just look where you step. We treasure hunters are always looking down anyway.

 

[Gold_Needle]

Hi,

Saw a large diamond back rattlesnake just a couple weeks ago on the hiking trail in San Mateo County, California. This is a walking trail near a long lake.

The thing must have been at least 4 feet long. The official state wildlife posters explained how it is a "member" of the natural environtment. The thing slunck out from the side of the trail and looked my way. I just stopped and let him continue.

I thought, with the help of those posters, that a snake would just leave you alone and go its way. I am glad I read this posting about how they can come after you.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[cptbil]

I don't know who in the world said that!
I have been in the deserts/forests/swamps for more years than most people are old!

I HAVE YET! TO HAVE A RATTLESNAKE COME AFTER ME !"

 

[sabertooth]

.. Just my 2 cents. I have lived in South Georgia and North Florida most all my life. The things I can tell ya about snakes I base on experience, as are things I can tell yea about the animals that live here. I have read books on the animals, reptiles, bugs, etc etc etc. Someone posted earlier and hit it right on the head. Down here we pretty much have all the fun critters, Rattle Snakes( Eastern Diamonds, Timber Rattlers, Cane Breaks and Pygmies) We also have The Cotton Mouth/Florida Water Moccasin, and the CopperHead. We also have the Coral Snake. The Rattle Snake, Copperhead, and Moccasin are all from the Pit viper Family ( And yes these snakes can be identified by the shape of their heads) also by the small pit in the center of their heads that acts as a type of natures thermal sensor. If Iam not Mistaken the coral snake is a relative of the Cobra..or Sand Asp..cant remember either way they are poison, but have very small teeth and rarely bite if they do bite it is rarely fatal because they ussually do not break the skin. If they do break the skin...well in most cases its all she wrote dear john. From experince I can speak on a Rattle Snake Bite...To sum it up in lamen terms..IT SUCKS THE BIG ONE, ITS NOT GOOD. Got Bit when I was about 10 years old while outside playing with my dog and was running backwards and then BAM I was hit, my dog attacked and killed the snake long story short my summer sucked I was in bed for about 2 months, my dog did not die but had seizures for the rest of his life. My folks took the snake to the Vet after I went to the Dr...the vet said it most likely did not have a full charge of venom due to the fat it had just bitten a large rabbit that was found in the snakes stomach. It still was not a pleasent experince, and was partly my fault for not watching where I put my feet. It did not chase me or my dog, it bit me in defense and bit my dog when my dog was killing it. In many other experinces with rattle snakes I have found them to be non aggressive, I have never been chased by a rattler, but I have tried to make them run, and they have stoud their ground. Now I was also bitten by a copper head when I was 16, I was cleaning hog feeders and felt a sharp pain in my right hand between my index finger and thumb, I though I had cut myself on some loose metal in the feeder, I Looked into the feeder and seen the snake coiled at the bottom, looked at my hand sure enough, two hole about half a dimes width apart. I killed the snake with a hoe, tossed it out then went to get my grand dad, told him..and to the house then to the Dr I went. Found out that copperheads are rarely fatal, but give you symptoms like the mega dose of the flu you never wanted. It sucked for me for about a week maybe 2 after that I was ok, I was back up and on the go from the copperhead 2 days after but had to take it easy would fatigue and, tire out easy. Nver been bit by a moccasin, never want to be These guys are aggresive and will chase you, fall out of trees on you and just basicly are the bad boys of the southern snake world. Copperheads, arent chasers but they will definately stand their ground. When I was 16 I also killed 6 ft cotton mouth. This was the biggest moccasin I have ever seen. Also dont think being up a hill from a snake makes you safe. I have seen all kinds of snake close distance up a hill quicker than even the best of inshape human. Also do not believe the lie "Poisonous/Venimous snakes can not climb trees" Horse hooey, the larger wonts arent as good at it as the smaller ones, but they can do it. Also Rattlers and Copperheads are as at home in water as Moccasins. Also the shape of a snakes head as far as I have read has nothing to do with the prey it eats. The Vipers of North AMerica IE Rattlers, Copperheads, and Moccasins head is shaped like a spade or heart due to their poison glands. But then again so are some of the water snake varieties that are sometimes mistaken for moccasins..why well for the same reason as an anaconda's head or a reticulated python's head is spade shaped. It is due to the large muscles in the jaw area. Not only do these snakes crush the prey with their bodies, they use their strong bite to keep the prey anchored while they mush it to pulp, and suffocate it. But I would say taken a good look at the snakes head is a safe way to tell from a distance if its a"Cold Blooded Killer". Anyway...The best way to stay safe from snakes is "Just be swamp wise" Dont pickem up and play withem. If your gona killem just do it and from a distance if possible. Dont be focused so much on the snake you see to get bit by the one you dont see. I was told at an early age if you see one snake, then 2 prolly see you. Always asume their is more than one snake. For snake killen in the way of ghuns, I say a shotgun or a 22 pistol with snake shot. Overall best snake killer is a garden hoe. Its got a hook for pullen and a blade for cutten ya cant go wrong. Oh and yes a snake can strike 1/2 their body length...oh and moccasins can bite under water...um they eat fish...duh! In a pinch a stick or rock is a good snake killer. But if ya can go around the snake do, its not worth risking a bite when you are out thing alone. ..Anyway I have writen this based on experience..oh and I callem Poisonous Snakes too......
Saber

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Very good post Sabertooth. In the Everglades we have large Moccasins. You are right they can come after you. Usually they hold their ground and open their famous white mouth. One thing I want to add is that, thank god, they are slow and inaccurate strikers. The only things that saved me from being bitten. Now the Eastern Diamondback has a fast and accurate strike. To me, this means more dangerous. Just walk away from them. Yes they can swim, even in salt water, believe it or not.
Yes, you will get bit by the one you didn't see.
Good post.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Have you read this story?

October 05, 2005
PYTHON VS. GATOR EVERGLADES GUTBUSTER DEATH MATCH UPDATE
Because this is such an important story, this blog is providing the following high-resolution photograph by Michael Barron, followed by the full report by Skip Snow of the South Florida Natural Resources Center.



PYTHON MOLURUS BIVITTATUS (Burmese python) FEEDING ON ALLIGATOR MISSIPPIENSIS (American Alligator) IN EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK

FIELD NOTES

Skip Snow, South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades National Park, 40001 State Road 9336, Homestead, Florida 33034, USA

On the morning of 27 September 2005, with the assistance of Everglades National Park contract helicopter pilot Michael Barron, I examined a dead Burmese python which had apparently swallowed an American alligator. I say apparently because the tail and hind limbs of the dead alligator were protruding from a hole in the mid-body of the dead python. These animals were located in a spike rush marsh within Shark Slough, floating in 75 to 85 cm of water, at UTM 17 R 0518860 2819747 (Lat. Long. 25 29.686 80 48.740), about 3 to 4 miles NNW of Pay-hay-okee Overlook in Everglades National Park. The python was first seen and photographed by Barron, on behalf of the park, at this location on the afternoon of 26 September 2005.

Both python and alligator were badly bloated. The bloating and decomposition of the python was similar to that observed in pythons known to have been dead at least 24-48 hours. I determined the python to be a male, the carcass total length measuring 386 cm, or about 12.5’. The python’s tail length measured 47 cm. Although some bones of the jaw were present, the head of the python was missing. Based on necropsies of similar sized pythons, head length would perhaps add another 10 to 13 cm (4 to 5 inches) or so.

As mentioned above, and as the pictures show, the python was found with the hind quarters of a dead American alligator protruding from the snake’s mid-section. The stomach of the python still surrounded the head, shoulders, and forelimbs of the alligator. When extracted from the snake, the alligator was largely intact except for two open wounds, one to the top of the skull behind the eyes and one on the shoulder. In both cases dermal bone was missing, suggesting some kind of trauma. The alligator measured 98 cm snout-vent length (SVL), with a total length (TL) of 194 cm, or about 6.4’

The alligator’s skin, from the carcass both inside and outside the python, was largely missing, sloughed and decomposing. Large wads of alligator skin were found in what remained of the GI tract anterior to (forward of) the gaping hole in the body of the snake. This suggests to me that the alligator was indeed, at one time, entirely within the snake’s gut. No other identifiable prey items were observed in the lower gut of the python. How the body wall of the python was breached is a matter of speculation, as is the python’s cause of death.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Shouldn't you be packing or something? :P

I'm a bad procrastinator.

 

[sabertooth]

Thanks BigCypress, I try to tell people all the time that if an animal can live in The Jungles of Asia South america or Africa, it can most likely live in SOuth Georgia and Florida. Before I was born my Grandma was kind of a local animal guroo, in Wakulla County Fl. The Game Wardens and all would sometimes come get her to look at this animal and that animal and identify what they were or what killed them. Oneday as the story goes the Game Warden came by and asked her to come look at some snakes some fisherman found, well they went to a Location on the St. Marks Game Preserve, over some sandy burms with scrub oaks they located an old palm log just as the fisherman said, in the hollow of the log were 3 snakes between 2 and 4 feet long. Grandma advised the Warden the snakes looked like sand cobras, the snakes were caught and taken to FSU. They were identified as Sand Cobras. Now how they got there , about 3 years before this a circus, traveling show with a snake exhibit came to town. There was a report of several of the shows reptiles being stolen one night , among the animals taken were three Sand Cobras. They speculated that who ever took them got tired of them and dumped them on the preserve. Anyway your picture of the Boa eating the gator just proves that.
Oh, when I was growing up when we would go berry picking and bottle hunting we would always carry a hoe or a stick , as we walked we would ruffle the bushes ahead of us, being sure to wait for a few seconds to give any unwanted critters time to move or rattle and let us know they were there. Also, hehe if ya can dont be at the end of the line, not sure why but it always seems the poor schmuck at the end of the line gets tagged by mr moccarattler. I think this is because the snake is finaly like "Ok bump this I am biten the next SOB that steps over me." The next SOB just happpens to be the fella bringing up the rear. ANYhow HH and in the words of Okeephenokee Joe "Yall be swamp wise"