any other herpetologist out there

[FusionFarmer]

And no it has nothing to do with Herpes, Over the years I have become pretty well educated about the snakes that frequent my area, and there are quite a few, I've removed and relocated a few from our house and more so from my neighbors places, 95 percent of the time they are harmless, when they are venomous. I don't fuck around, those I do in ASAP, I used to get a kick out of Steve Irwin when he would find a small harmless snake and pick em up and fondly hold em and genuinely be compassionate to a friggin snake, but over the years I have learned that these litlle guys can actually be pretty cool, with their own personalities and moods. and they are quite benificial at keeping the rodent population in check in my outbuilding. rats can cause a lot of damage, snakes almost none, anyways heres this years rescues a small gray rat snake also known as an oak snake and a 3 foot red rat snake also known as a corn snake

[RacerX]

Those are pretty!

[guitarsjb]

Snakes are pretty cool. I've done a few rescues over the years..poor guys.

[lerxstcat]

I can intellectually appreciate the purpose they serve in the ecosystem, but they just creep me out in a phobic way. Never been bit, but came close with a water moccasin once. Those things are mean!

The two you pictured are really pretty though. Are they really docile enough to just pick them up and hold them like that or do they bite from time to time?

[HoWheels]

I used to keep geckoes for a few years ... but I just don't have time for them any more...



-a

[FusionFarmer]

They are both very gentle, neither has ever tried to bite me, the red (corn) snake is the more docile species, even at a couple years old it is completly at ease with being handled, the gray was a baby so it has really never known different, although I rescued a 5 foot gray a couple months ago and while it squeezed the hell out my arm when I picked him up it never tried to bite, I turned him loose in my barn, still see him from time to time,

[dg]

Here are a few pics of one I rescued from a trench at a construction site last Fall. I released him in the back yard & he hung out for a while, then we lost track of him. This Spring, he reappeared & would sun himself for a couple hours each morning on this bush by the koi pond. We named him Plissken, after Snake Plissken from "Escape From NY."







We haven't seen him in a couple of months. Hopefully, he just went off looking for love & didn't get the shovel treatment from one of the neighbors. People are too quick to kill snakes around here!

[Jason1212]

I have a hog isle boa and a bearded dragon. I have also kept blood and ball ptyhons at different times. In regards to biting, reptiles like any other animal with teeth can bite. That said I have been bit more times by dogs and cats than by any of my snakes or lizards. Given that I don't mess with snakes in the wild unless I know beyond any doubt they are non venemous.

[mm2002]

Cool snakes! My wife and I used to raise Boas and Pythons. At one time we had a whole room devoted to just that, and have raised countless snakes. We turned all of ours over to Captn. Rags (a herp in Rockaway beach, MO) a couple of years ago because we were concerned about the kids. We had a particular female reticulated python we had raised from a baby, and she developed a bad attitude when she was about 5 years old and over 10 feet long (she weighed about 70 lbs.). The only person who could handle her was me, she liked me I guess. One night she pinned my wife down and it took everything I had to get her off. That really made us think about the kids, so no more snake raising for us. I miss them though. I think I still have a pic of one of our albino burmese females. I'll post it in a few if I can find t. She was a very cool animal.

Found it...

[FusionFarmer]

There are plenty of nasty little non venomous snakes out there too. Your basic black snake has a foul temper and won't hesitate to bite, banded water snakes are pretty nasty too, with big teeth,welding gloves are the key when dealing with them, Identifying venonous snakes is not that hard once you've seen a few, we have eastern diamond backs, cottonmouths (water moccasins) copperheads and coral snakes here, all are easy to identify at a glance,
cool snake DG, he just proabably went looking for more food,
nice python also, I may move up to the big guys one day, like you mentioned not a good idea with kids around

[JACKSONFREAK]

I havnt had any snakes of my own but ihave worked in pet stores and took care of them there. I have had Chameleons (Jackson and a Veiled), Armodillo lizards, Anoles, Toads newts, frogs, etc... Mostly the insectivours. I used to raise mice and have had Hamsters and rabbits and such rodentia that I cant bring myself to own a snake that has too eventually eat large rodents like Guinea pigs and Rabbits. But thats just me. I can appreciate them tho I have a friend with a ball python and "she's" pretty docile.
Gil

[lerxstcat]

My viewpoint about trying to face my fears is: dont! Basically I figure that I have an involuntary fear/adrenaline response to the sight of a snake in proximity to me. I also think that the snake is going to sense that, and they probably can't distinguish between the fear response and the attack response which would also release adrenaline. If the snake thinks I'M going to attack it's going to try and beat me to the punch, so it's better that I leave them alone.

Although I don't know why, but I went and saw Snakes On a Plane the other day at the matinee! It wasn't too bad though, I think they were all CG snakes, but if I were on a plane full of snakes I'm sure I'd have a heart attack before one even bit me!

[TommyD]

any other herpetologist out there

> I can tell you a shitload about snakes,but have NO interest in handling them,or even being out where they have the advantage. I've never seen a rattler out in the wild,and I plan to keep it that way. That way,I don't panic and get myself bitten,or get snuck up on. I've seen cottonmouths in the water looking down off a bridge,in mating season,and want no part of them either. The only copperheads I've ever seen were also in a body of water seen from above. On the other hand,any time I go to a zoo,the reptile house is the first place I go. The one in Memphis has a good one,complete with one of the only Albino King Cobras in existence,an 18 footer with a human kill to his credit. They also have a Saw-Scaled Viper,a little-bitty bastard that is said to be the most prolific human killer of all snakes,despite not being the most poisonous. Tommy D.

[lerxstcat]

A king cobra escaped into the woods near Sylacauga, AL a few years ago and was never recovered. I can't imagine what would hurt or kill one out there, or how long it could live in the wild either. Can different snake species crossbreed? I'd hate to see a cobra/eastern diamondback blend populating the Southern forests!

[Jason1212]

Snakes can cross but it would have to be boa to boa, python to python, viper to viper. A cobra could survive given the temp in the area is close to it natural enviroment. Look at the glades in FL. Burmese pythons that have either escaped or were released by careless owners have started colonize down there. Those snakes are big predators and will most likely have an adverse affect on the ecosystem there. A similar thing happened in Guam where a foriegn species made its way into the ecosystem and totally wiped out several species of birds.