Here's something you don't want to find

[Don Farr]

I almost stepped on this little Cottonmouth this morning while cutting grass. I got his big brother last year.

[markus shaffer]

yikes!!!!!!!!!

[Brad Schafer]

yowza - that's a mean-lookin' sucker. and the snake don't look too friendly, neither. :D

[Don Farr]

yowza - that's a mean-looking' sucker. and the snake don't look too friendly, neither. :D
I am not one of those folks that thinks a dead snake is a good snake. I have a lot of different snakes on my property. But I don't care for the ones that can hurt me or my grandchildren. In fact I was hoping that if I was wrong in the idenification that someone would correct me.
The book that I use seems to be pertty clear that this is a BAD Boy.

[Jim Becker]

Boy, the worms are big down there in the south! :D

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

CRIPES! If that is a "little" Cottonmouth, I'd hate to run across a "Big 'un"! (For those of you who enjoy the humorous Outdoor Writing of Pat McManus, you are familiar with the term "Cripes"!) It applies to this situation quite well.

[Jason Roehl]

Maybe some of our more reptile-enlightened folks can confirm this, but long ago, I remember learning that a snake with a triangular head such that its jaws jut out from its neck is indeed a poisonous snake--so I believe that little rascal you are holding falls into that category. I've had a couple close encounters, but nothing real dangerous. The one that intrigued me the most was that a couple weeks before we moved to Brazil, a 10m+ python or boa (can't remember which) was killed about a mile from where we were to live. I would've loved to see that thing. :D Oh, yeah, a friend of mine stopped me from inadvertently stepping on a copperhead once in southern Indiana. :eek:

[Richard McComas]

One of my most favorite things I like about Alaska is the absences of SNAKES. :p

BTW, you don't kill it if you can't eat it, right? :confused:

[Mike Schwing]

Yee ha! Nothing poisionous here in Central Maryland but there are a few species out in the western portion of the state. Timber rattlers and copperheads. May we call you Don, the Croc Hunter of SMC?

I snapped a pic of this thing that I nearly walked on in Rangiroa. Sent it to a marine biologist friend of mine when I got home. His response "good thing you didn't pick it up, it was undoubtedly the most venomous animal you've ever seen, even in the zoo. A coral sea snake. They are found on the shoreline occasionally, sunning themselves."

http://home.earthlink.net/~schwalden/fp/fritz.JPG

[Don Farr]

CRIPES! If that is a "little" Cottonmouth, I'd hate to run across a "Big 'un"! (For those of you who enjoy the humorous Outdoor Writing of Pat McManus, you are familiar with the term "Cripes"!) It applies to this situation quite well.

Kevin, You should have seen the one I killed last year about this time.
It was the same species but larger. I couldn't hold it up high enough to get it's head off the ground. Of all things it was living in my Bluebird house. I had wondered what happened to my family of Bluebirds and man did I get a surprise when I opened the house up. :eek:

[Don Farr]

Yee ha! Nothing poisionous here in Central Maryland but there are a few species out in the western portion of the state. Timber rattlers and copperheads. May we call you Don, the Croc Hunter of SMC?

I snapped a pic of this thing that I nearly walked on in Rangiroa. Sent it to a marine biologist friend of mine when I got home. His response "good thing you didn't pick it up, it was undoubtedly the most venomous animal you've ever seen, even in the zoo. A coral sea snake. They are found on the shoreline occasionally, sunning themselves."

http://home.earthlink.net/~schwalden/fp/fritz.JPG

Yea Mike, Snakes don't scare me like they do some people, but I do respect them. Especially if I can't identify it. When I was a kid I would keep snakes for pets. (I know us southern boys are crazy) Anyway a friend and I found about a 3 foot green snake and decided that a good pin for it would be between the window and screen in the house. Bad Idea !!! When my mother decided to let in some fresh air......Well you get the picture. I couldn't sit down for a week.

[Dennis Peacock]

I'm with you Don....I don't kill snakes either that are on my property. Providing they are non-poisonous. I removed what LOML said was a stick sticking out from under the frontend of my car....I came out to find it to not be a stick....but a snake. I looked carefully only to find that he was a King Snake. I got me a stick and poked around and got the snake to start out of the engine compartment of the car. I grabbed hold of this rascal and pulled....and pulled....and pulled.....only to find that this friendly little fellow was a mere 7-1/2 feet long and I estimated him to weigh around 8 to 10 pounds....this boy was HEFTY!!!! He now lives in the field behind me helping to keep rats and mice at bay.

I picked up a snake while I was stationed in Italy a long time ago and asked one of the Italian "state troopers" what kind of snake it was and he calmly said..."It's a viper, now would you kindly put that thing down way over there....." Little did I know that this little 2 foot snake packed enough punch to kill me dead within 3 minutes of his bite.....Oh well....live and learn as I always say. But I do hate SPIDERS!!!!! Kill'em all!!!!

[Jim Becker]

But I do hate SPIDERS!!!!! Kill'em all!!!!

Dennis, Dennis, Dennis...spiders are our friends! :D They eat lots of undesirable bugs. If you have a lot of spiders, it's probably because you have a lot of other insects to feed them. This is similar to your King Snake situation...if there was no food, he/she wouldn't be "hanging out"!

This female Black-and-yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) is just outside my shop door. She's about 1.75" "foot to foot" and has a body length of about 1.5". Fascinating to watch!

[Don Farr]

I'm with you Don....I don't kill snakes either that are on my property. Providing they are non-poisonous. I removed what LOML said was a stick sticking out from under the frontend of my car....I came out to find it to not be a stick....but a snake. I looked carefully only to find that he was a King Snake. I got me a stick and poked around and got the snake to start out of the engine compartment of the car. I grabbed hold of this rascal and pulled....and pulled....and pulled.....only to find that this friendly little fellow was a mere 7-1/2 feet long and I estimated him to weigh around 8 to 10 pounds....this boy was HEFTY!!!! He now lives in the field behind me helping to keep rats and mice at bay.

I picked up a snake while I was stationed in Italy a long time ago and asked one of the Italian "state troopers" what kind of snake it was and he calmly said..."It's a viper, now would you kindly put that thing down way over there....." Little did I know that this little 2 foot snake packed enough punch to kill me dead within 3 minutes of his bite.....Oh well....live and learn as I always say. But I do hate SPIDERS!!!!! Kill'em all!!!!

Dennis, That was one heck of a king snake. I saw one in the spring this year but he was only about 3 feet long. I left him alone.
Jim can say what he likes, but I'm with you about the spiders. I"ve still got goose bumps just from looking at that picture Jim posted.
Don't you just love cutting grass this time a year and run into a big web and can't find the owner anywhere on you?

[Michael Cody]

I almost stepped on this little Cottonmouth this morning while cutting grass. I got his big brother last year.

That is a big sucker for sure..

That's why I live up here where it gets cold in the winter ... don't have to worry 'bout them things... Personally I consider snake or spider as just another of God's creatures going 'bout it's business. If it doesn't bother me, I don't bother it. If it gets in the way or causes a problem it gets squished.

I can put up with the snow so as not to have to put up with some of those less friendly denizens.

[Mike Anderson]

I'm sorry but if I'd stepped on one of those while using a lawn mower I don't think there would be enough of the critter left to take a picture of! (don't tell me that thing you're holding is still ticking!)

[Dan Smith]

That seems too long and skinny to be a cotton mouth (water moccasin) Typically, these guys don't get longer than 3' and are quite thick in diameter and live in wet swampy areas. I think what you have is a typical rat snake, see the link


Rat Snake (http://www.kentuckysnakes.org/snake_details.cfm?snake_number=33&option=non-posionous)


which is non-posionous.


-dan

[Howard Barlow]

Careful where you pull that out. :D
A friend of mine mentioned he had killed a long snake of some kind and threw it in the bed of his pickup for later disposal. That was Saturday. Sunday morning, in the church parking lot next to the freeway, he pulled it up to show a buddy.

He said, "Then it hit me. The passers-by can see this. Boy will people be talking about us now!"

A couple of years ago, a guy had a small Kabota with a little rotary mower on the rear. He was mowing heavy grass near a golf course/subdivision when he hit something with the mower. It stopped the tractor dead, killing the engine.

When he restarted and lifted the mower, he jumped off and ran to the clubhouse for help.

They pulled a dead python, about 10' long out of the blades. Apparently it was a pet that escaped or was released years ago. It was huge. They had a picture in the proshop with about 6 guys holding it.