Snakes

[Captain Oates 911]

Went for a walk along the irrigation canal yesterday - well the path anyway - I ain't big J

I saw a Western Diamond back rattle snake in the grass between the path and the canal

Turned round so I didn't have to walk past it

On the way home I though somebody might take their dog for a walk along there - and if the dog sniffed at its tail then pow !

We had a Mountain Lion in a back yard half a mile away and the coyotes kill a lot of cats - it's their main food - so its a pretty dangerous place once it gets dusky - and that's before the undocumented hookers come out.

Should I have reported the snake's presence to someone or is it just normal here in cowboy country and perhaps there were more further on - or a bear or Mexican bandidos or lions

... and so not to worry

Edited October 4, 2011 by Austin Devon

[Golden Gate 530]

I just moved from North Carolina, where there are several poisonous snakes native to the area. I would assume people are aware they need to be careful around such places. There was one such snake in the road by our elementary school, so someone drove over it to kill it. However, I suppose if you just come upon one in nature, unless you had something with you to kill it, it probably will just slither away eventually. If you think it might be a danger to future hikers, you might contact the humane society, but if it is in nature, I am not sure they would do anything.

[Captain Oates 911]

I just moved from North Carolina, where there are several poisonous snakes native to the area. I would assume people are aware they need to be careful around such places. There was one such snake in the road by our elementary school, so someone drove over it to kill it. However, I suppose if you just come upon one in nature, unless you had something with you to kill it, it probably will just slither away eventually. If you think it might be a danger to future hikers, you might contact the humane society, but if it is in nature, I am not sure they would do anything.

Yes it worried me but then I thought that if anyone takes a dog walking where there are rattlesnakes then they probably inoculate the dog once a year (you can) - and that helps

..and the humans probably don't go picking flowers in the long grass either !

It was really scary - hate snakes

[Ban Hammer 13,340]

you could warn a dog owner about the presence of one up the trail if you saw someone going that direction, but i'd say it's pretty normal that there's the presence of snakes in the woods and most should understand that.

[Golden Gate 530]

Yes it worried me but then I thought that if anyone takes a dog walking where there are rattlesnakes then they probably inoculate the dog once a year (you can) - and that helps

..and the humans probably don't go picking flowers in the long grass either !

It was really scary - hate snakes

Yes, they scare me to death also. I am glad we only have garter snakes in Michigan. I remember one teacher telling us that there was one of these dangerous snakes on the top of her door frame, and when she opened the door, it dropped and went into her house. She left the house for several days until it was removed! Yikes!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Yes, they scare me to death also. I am glad we only have garter snakes in Michigan. I remember one teacher telling us that there was one of these dangerous snakes on the top of her door frame, and when she opened the door, it dropped and went into her house. She left the house for several days until it was removed! Yikes!

You do not have only garter snakes in Michigan.

[Captain Oates 911]

You do not have only garter snakes in Michigan.

trouser snakes ?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Yes it worried me but then I thought that if anyone takes a dog walking where there are rattlesnakes then they probably inoculate the dog once a year (you can) - and that helps

..and the humans probably don't go picking flowers in the long grass either !

It was really scary - hate snakes

I grew up in west Texas. Western diamondbacks were a common sight, particularly in the morning when they were frequently along the roads and even our driveway (rural driveway) Somehow we managed to walk to the end of the driveway to catch the school bus. We knew about snakes. So did our dogs. I was never bitten by one (came close a few times) our dogs were never bitten, 8 children two parents, two grandparents, 4 dogs over a period of many years...no one ever bitten. It happened occasionally that someone in the area got bitten and went to the hospital.

We found rattlers in the garage, the woodpile, the barn, on the porch. I do not recall one in the house but lots of garter snakes and rat snakes got in the house along with lizards of various types. Horny toads were my favorite.

anyone living in the area is familiar with snakes.

[Ban Hammer 13,340]

been bit by one. it was an experience...

[Captain Oates 911]

I grew up in west Texas. Western diamondbacks were a common sight, particularly in the morning when they were frequently along the roads and even our driveway (rural driveway) Somehow we managed to walk to the end of the driveway to catch the school bus. We knew about snakes. So did our dogs. I was never bitten by one (came close a few times) our dogs were never bitten, 8 children two parents, two grandparents, 4 dogs over a period of many years...no one ever bitten. It happened occasionally that someone in the area got bitten and went to the hospital.

We found rattlers in the garage, the woodpile, the barn, on the porch. I do not recall one in the house but lots of garter snakes and rat snakes got in the house along with lizards of various types. Horny toads were my favorite.

anyone living in the area is familiar with snakes.

That's reassuring - its the end of my 4th Summer here and I have only seen one before and that was a mini snake - mind you I don't really look for them

I bet they can't run as fast as me - I am certain they cant

The lizards round here are really ugly with big bony heads with ridges on their skulls - so the rattlers probably live off them

[Captain Oates 911]

been bit by one. it was an experience...

jeepers and lived to tell the tale

I bet you were poking it

or tapping it on the nose with a pencil

or it might have been in your socks

My cats put stuff in my socks... and they never throw up without doing it my shoes

When my dad was in Burma he had to check his shoes for scorpions and snakes - 40 years after he got back to England, he still did it

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

That's reassuring - its the end of my 4th Summer here and I have only seen one before and that was a mini snake - mind you I don't really look for them

I bet they can't run as fast as me - I am certain they cant

The lizards round here are really ugly with big bony heads with ridges on their skulls - so the rattlers probably live off them

Take a walk in the desert in the morning before it gets really hot. You will see a lot. Or if you've not the nerve for that, take a drive in the morning in rural areas and look along the side of the road. They lay there where there is warmth from the road. They need a warm surface to properly digest anything they have eaten. They find a shady spot once it gets hot.

I was once almost bitten. The snake struck and hit me on the top of the boot, didn;t penetrate but the fangs caught in my laces and I had to kick and kick to get him off me! I would have won "Dancing with the Stars" It was an exciting morning.

I broke my arm once when I was rounding a corner on a trail on a mesa. There was a rattler laying on a rock about the level of my horse's eye and the snake made a lunge for the horse's face. The horse didn't like it all, reared up, dumped me and ran. The horse ran home and my dad always got upset when a horse came back "empty". He came out with a truck to find me walking back with a broken arm. Does that count?

I blamed it on the horse.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Snakes don't really worry me, but then we had very few poisonous snakes in Canada - just some rattlers and they were not very common.

Here is a different matter - we have a number of poisonous snakes here with copperheads and water moccasins being quite common. With all of that I have only seen one snake in our yard - one of the feral cats was 'playing' with it - and I was able to identify it as a rat snake - non poisonous. That's good because it seems to have made a den in behind a support wall we built to hold back the hillside from eroding into the house. There are snakes in the area so I will certainly treat any I see with respect. When we were visiting my in-laws in Houston, though, there was a copper head that had gone in under the front door ledge. My brother-in-law used a shovel to pull it out and kill it. I was sad that he did so, but understand his concern. My 84 year old mother-in-law and her little poodle lived in the house and the last thing they needed was to have a copperhead by the door when they had to make outside visits.

What concerns me more, though, are spiders. We have black widows and brown recluses here - and I have lost count of the number of black widows I have killed in the back yard. I hate spiders - always have - and am afraid of them so it takes a lot for me to even take any action around them. I used to have to call someone else to come and attend to them - but spiders come into the house pretty regularly and I have to deal with them in case they are poisonous. A bite from either of those would be fatal for one of the cats as well as very painful and potentially dangerous for one of us.

It''s too bad - I used to love outdoor primitive camping but that was back in Canada and the northern US. There are far too many nasty insects here for me to feel comfortable anymore in a tent. .

We do have a fair bit of wildlife in the area as well. I have seen deer, fox, rabbits, opossum, raccoons, squirrels, rats, a wealth of different birds, several different hawks, vultures, a Great Horned Owl, large snapping turtles and many small lizards. We also have lots of armadillo road kill - haven't seen a live one yet - and there are black bear sightings throughout the City every Spring. Coyotes are definitely a problem for pets as well - they are everywhere now in Georgia. Big wildlife I can handle but keep those insects away from me!

[MyLittlePony 340]

I never came across a snake and i ride well used to ride a lot in the trails on a bike.

[Captain Oates 911]

Snakes don't really worry me, but then we had very few poisonous snakes in Canada - just some rattlers and they were not very common.

Here is a different matter - we have a number of poisonous snakes here with copperheads and water moccasins being quite common. With all of that I have only seen one snake in our yard - one of the feral cats was 'playing' with it - and I was able to identify it as a rat snake - non poisonous. That's good because it seems to have made a den in behind a support wall we built to hold back the hillside from eroding into the house. There are snakes in the area so I will certainly treat any I see with respect. When we were visiting my in-laws in Houston, though, there was a copper head that had gone in under the front door ledge. My brother-in-law used a shovel to pull it out and kill it. I was sad that he did so, but understand his concern. My 84 year old mother-in-law and her little poodle lived in the house and the last thing they needed was to have a copperhead by the door when they had to make outside visits.

What concerns me more, though, are spiders. We have black widows and brown recluses here - and I have lost count of the number of black widows I have killed in the back yard. I hate spiders - always have - and am afraid of them so it takes a lot for me to even take any action around them. I used to have to call someone else to come and attend to them - but spiders come into the house pretty regularly and I have to deal with them in case they are poisonous. A bite from either of those would be fatal for one of the cats as well as very painful and potentially dangerous for one of us.

It''s too bad - I used to love outdoor primitive camping but that was back in Canada and the northern US. There are far too many nasty insects here for me to feel comfortable anymore in a tent. .

We do have a fair bit of wildlife in the area as well. I have seen deer, fox, rabbits, opossum, raccoons, squirrels, rats, a wealth of different birds, several different hawks, vultures, a Great Horned Owl, large snapping turtles and many small lizards. We also have lots of armadillo road kill - haven't seen a live one yet - and there are black bear sightings throughout the City every Spring. Coyotes are definitely a problem for pets as well - they are everywhere now in Georgia. Big wildlife I can handle but keep those insects away from me!

Wow yes spiders are a worry coz they are so small and its hard to see what they are immediately.

Black and white cat got a big sore lump on her bottom lip when they were still housebound. It lasted about 4 days and was really alarming. Spider I reckon.

I once turned over a big flat stone when I was in Cornwall fishing and was looking for worms. There was about 6 full grown adders underneath and I let go of the stone really fast !

Thing about Yorkshire is there are no earthquakes/tornadoes/hurricanes/lions/bears nothing. Safest place in the world. Some adders on the North Yorkshire moors but I have never seen em.

Yanky wife asked me if we had groundhog day in England. Told her we don't have groundhogs then she said " but do you have groundhog day"

We went through all this with chipmunks - non of those either

But when we lived in Lancashire I went out at night and brought her a hedgehog

It got pretty tame and I brought it in a lot. I am a hedgehog whisperer and they just unfurl as soon as I pick them up - I have an affinity (no not the car)