Diamondback In The House

[BobSch]

... I'm happy to be a Minneapolean?

Me too. The only dangerous snakes around here are of the two-legged variety and they're easy to spot.

[cabinetman]

Cats are fine, so they apparently know how to handle them. They have also caught lots of little lizards and moles. I can't get them to ferret out the armadillos though.

Our German Shepherds do that. Haven't seen an armadillo in the yard yet, but they do their job with raccoons, possum, squirrels, and birds. Actually anything that moves.

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[Pappy]

Diamondbacks are pretty common around here but they generally don't come too close to the house. That is one of the main reasons I am trying to get the perimeter cleaned up again.

When I had an attached deck one got under the deck and bit one of my huskies on the nose. We got her to the vet and, except for looking funny for a few weeks, she was fine.

The only visitor we have had inside was this little fellow....



He was about (I decided to foego the tape measure for a WAG) 15" long. The wife saw it about 3' inside the back door when she looked to see what the cats were playing with. I introduced him to the head of a claw hammer shortly after his first and only photo op....

[cabinetman]

The only visitor we have had inside was this little fellow....

[ATTACH]17940[/ATTACH]

He was about (I decided to foego the tape measure for a WAG) 15" long. The wife saw it about 3' inside the back door when she looked to see what the cats were playing with. I introduced him to the head of a claw hammer shortly after his first and only photo op....

A great use for the "Gopher". Gotta check out the colors that touch. Red
and yellow "kill a fellow".


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[Pappy]

A great use for the "Gopher". Gotta check out the colors that touch. Red
and yellow "kill a fellow".
.

No doubt it was a coral. The are not as common as the rattlers, but are seen occassionally. I have hit a couple of bigger ones with the lawn tractor.

[sailor55330]

Not to scare you, but typically speaking, the "baby" ones are more dangerous as they don't have the venom control of an adult.

I can remember being in San Antonio and someone getting bit in a Walmart. Yep, reached to the back of the shelf and bang.

[jackellis]

To quote a famous movie character, "I hate snakes". Especially the poisonous ones I can't identify.

[cabinetman]

To quote a famous movie character, "I hate snakes". Especially the poisonous ones I can't identify.

If you get sick and die, it makes it easy.

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[cwsmith]

Diamondbacks are pretty common around here but they generally don't come too close to the house. That is one of the main reasons I am trying to get the perimeter cleaned up again.

When I had an attached deck one got under the deck and bit one of my huskies on the nose. We got her to the vet and, except for looking funny for a few weeks, she was fine.

The only visitor we have had inside was this little fellow....

[ATTACH]17940[/ATTACH]

He was about (I decided to foego the tape measure for a WAG) 15" long. The wife saw it about 3' inside the back door when she looked to see what the cats were playing with. I introduced him to the head of a claw hammer shortly after his first and only photo op....

Rattlers are one thing, but a coral snake is something else! I think the saying is "Red on Black, friend to Jack...Red on Yellow, Kill a Fellow".

And that they will, if I recall my survival school training correctly, a "King Snake" (red on black) might give you an infection at worse, but a "Coral Snake (red on yellow) will give you a very short few hours before you die (If that long!). Rattle Snake venom attacks the tissue mostly, while Corel Snake venom immediately effects the nervous system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_snake

CWS

[cabinetman]

Rattlers are one thing, but a coral snake is something else! I think the saying is "Red on Black, friend to Jack...Red on Yellow, Kill a Fellow".

And that they will, if I recall my survival school training correctly, a "King Snake" (red on black) might give you an infection at worse, but a "Coral Snake (red on yellow) will give you a very short few hours before you die (If that long!). Rattle Snake venom attacks the tissue mostly, while Corel Snake venom immediately effects the nervous system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_snake

CWS

I also got that in survival training, but...way before that in cub scouts/boy scouts.

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[BigguyZ]

Rattlers are one thing, but a coral snake is something else! I think the saying is "Red on Black, friend to Jack...Red on Yellow, Kill a Fellow".

And that they will, if I recall my survival school training correctly, a "King Snake" (red on black) might give you an infection at worse, but a "Coral Snake (red on yellow) will give you a very short few hours before you die (If that long!). Rattle Snake venom attacks the tissue mostly, while Corel Snake venom immediately effects the nervous system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_snake

CWS

I heard it as "If red touches black, you're safe Jack. But if red touches yellow, you're a dead fellow." basically the same thing. Either way, I agree with others in that the toilet would be off limits for me forever... I've heard that snakes can indeed travel up sewer lines and into the house via toilet, so if it starts there in the beginning, whose to say it won't come back?

[tommyt654]

I had the great oppertunity as a kid to work at Ross Allen's reptile museum in Fla one summer and learned all I ever needed about poisionous snakes from him there, I must have milked over 300 snakes tham summer as they at the time were one of the few business's that were routinely selling the poison for antivenom. I will state clearly getting bit by anything poisonous is no fun(I got hit on the ankle by a eastern diamondback while working) and the antivenom shot regimen is as painful as the poison. While my little dabble into Herpetology was very inciteful, I at least learned to keep my distance and have killed a number of snakes in my lifetime before my education at the museum, nowadays unless they threaten me personally I capture and release them as they do serve a purpose with keeping the rodent and rabbit population in check. That Coral snake is by far the most poisonous snake in the USA and antivenom is hard to come by for that species, too bad for him, but since they chew rather than strike in order to inject their venom the are not usually a difficult species to catch and turnover to a milking operation and highly prized for their venom. I know that for now that the collection of venom by most is a very lucrative way to make money tho dangerous unless you know how to properly catch them and milk them. My advice is to leave well enough alone unless they are in an area usually inhabited by humans and pets.

[phrog]

I had the great oppertunity as a kid to work at Ross Allen's reptile museum in Fla one summer and learned all I ever needed about poisionous snakes from him there, I must have milked over 300 snakes tham summer as they at the time were one of the few business's that were routinely selling the poison for antivenom. I will state clearly getting bit by anything poisonous is no fun(I got hit on the ankle by a eastern diamondback while working) and the antivenom shot regimen is as painful as the poison. While my little dabble into Herpetology was very inciteful, I at least learned to keep my distance and have killed a number of snakes in my lifetime before my education at the museum, nowadays unless they threaten me personally I capture and release them as they do serve a purpose with keeping the rodent and rabbit population in check. That Coral snake is by far the most poisonous snake in the USA and antivenom is hard to come by for that species, too bad for him, but since they chew rather than strike in order to inject their venom the are not usually a difficult species to catch and turnover to a milking operation and highly prized for their venom. I know that for now that the collection of venom by most is a very lucrative way to make money tho dangerous unless you know how to properly catch them and milk them. My advice is to leave well enough alone unless they are in an area usually inhabited by humans and pets.

Very interesting, Tommy. Thanks for the info. Having read your posts for some time now, I sorta thought you might be a little crazy; now I guess we all know for sure.
PS: Did the job at the reptile museum pay well? Just curious.

[tommyt654]

No ,It was an internship before college I had gotten as my biology and science teacher had setup jobs for those who thought they might like to work in a field related to the studies. I also worked in the bird show at Busch Gardens in Tampa as I took care of our H.S. mascot a falcon before 1972 the internship at R.A.R.M. in Silver Springs, Fla. was I would drive up on Mon. and come back on Fri., They put up with us and fed us (no pay) ,I would work Sat & Sun. pumping gas at a local Citgo gas station(where I also learned mechanics) for $2.15 an hour. Yes I'm definetely a little crazy, but I don't suffer from Ophidiophobia,Can work on my own cars and know the value of a hard earned buck

[T...K21]

Back to flushing a critter down the toilet...isn't that how scary movies start? Kinda like the gator or croc in the sewers of NY?