name that snake

**Cannibal** · 03-30-2009, 09:07

"name that snake"
I think we should call them Fred and Clyde.

**bukkit** · 03-30-2009, 09:59

Since I'm a transplant to Louisville from the great white north (Chicago), I'm only now having to get to know venemous snakes. I'm happy to say I knew this one on sight. I grew up in Michigan, where we didn't have to worry about it and I chased snakes for fun. True, there is one rattlesnake, but not anywhere near where I was raised.

Anyway, it's been a new experience for me hiking in these woods ... and having to share them with copperheads and cottonmouths. Fortunately, those are the only snakes we have to worry about locally. : )

In my 'what happens if I get bit?' research this thread caused, I found this quote:

Originally Posted by ncsu.edu

So far, the dozens of cottonmouths Dr. Gibbons stood beside have made threat displays but have not bitten the researcher's boot. The exciting news (at least for the researchers) is that the copperhead is different from the others. Most copperheads tested have struck out immediately when they felt threatened.

Gee, how comforting! All the more reason to check over logs with your trekking pole/walking stick first!

:edit:

http://www.venomousreptiles.org/articles/373
(copperhead bite experience blog post)

Stupidity! O.O

:/edit:

**MacEntyre** · 03-30-2009, 10:00

Water snakes do an excellent job of looking like both copperheads and moccasins, but usually they copy the darker patterns. That picture shows a classic copperhead (or two) of the desert tan coloring. Copperheads usually live in dry places. However, the last time I saw a copperhead, it was right next to a lake, in the debris and logs that collect along the shore.

**Ramblinrev** · 03-30-2009, 10:18

According to a herpetologist local to us (PA) the danger of fatal snake bites is somewhat overrated. His statement was the vast majority of bites seen in hospital settings are dry. His reasoning is the snake is not about to waste venom on something that it can not eat. Having said that.. he goes on to say that all snake bites should be taken seriously and checked out by medical people, but the horror stories of rapidly fatal snake bites are often overblown. IOW, expedited medical care is in order. Panic is not.

This information is probably dependent on the species of snake as well. He was referring to the copperhead and timber rattler in particular.

Trekking poles make good crevice/log poles and I use them that way frequently.

**Cannibal** · 03-30-2009, 10:25

First bite is usually a warning bite if you are not considered prey. I've been bit (twice) by rattlers; even stepped on one at dusk on the AT outside Waynesboro, didn't strike but I dang sure jumped! I'm still here and no scars other than a small one on my foot. Got treated with the antivenin both times; got really sick once.

On the upside, they taste really good!

**headchange4u** · 03-30-2009, 10:59

I've always been a reptile lover, but unfortunately my parents, former roommates, and wife are not. I've always wanted a pet snake. I worked at a pet store where they had a 13 foot albino Burmese Python and a 10 foot regular Burmese Python. They were a breeding pair named Marlyn & Monroe.

When I was visiting my brothers in California they caught a very small rattle snake who had been injured at their job site. It's tail had been run over. I kept it as a pet for about a month. You could hold a paper plate in front of it and get venom splatter on the plate when the snake would strike. It was awesome.

**bukkit** · 03-30-2009, 11:05

Don't get me wrong; I do love snakes!

We had a boa as a pet when I was quite young, but had to sell him when my littlest sister was born - he was outgrowing his cage and started escaping. At one point, he was loose in the neighborhood for a couple hours. Imagine finding an 8 foot snake on your front lawn in the 'burbs! O.O