Buttermilk Racer - Snake Pic

[Dennis Peacock]

Good Morning,

Thought that some of you may like to see what I would classify as a rare snake as this is the 1st Buttermilk Racer that I've ever seen, and I've seen a LOT of snakes in my time. No...he's not poisonous and yes...I let him live and roam free. He's good for eating skeeters, mice and other little pesky varmits. Now, if the LOML finds it outside? ALL of you will hear her scream.!!!:eek: :eek: :D

Buttermilk Racer Snake
3-1/2 Feet long
Roughly 1-1/2 pounds

In case you are wondering? No....I'm not afraid of snakes. I'm not known to be a snake handler, but I will pick one up that is not poisonous and move it to pasture land to where it won't bother the wife or kids. While I was stationed in Italy (many years ago) I was working in the bomb dump and noticed a small snake crawling around. I bent down and picked it up. Only to find out by the local Italian state police that it was a Eurpoean Viper. The most deadly snake found in Italy at that time.:eek: And to think I picked it up and also let it go.:confused: What was I thinking?:rolleyes:

[Andy Hoyt]

Breaking News - dateline Conway Arkansas.

Andy Hoyt discovers reason to never go there!:D

[Dennis Peacock]

Breaking News - dateline Conway Arkansas.

Andy Hoyt discovers reason to never go there!:D

Now Andy....you just come on down and I'll keep then thar snakes outta yor site. Wouldn't want you to be a gittin' the hibby-jibbies or nuttin' like'at thar.;) :D

[Steve Ash]

I never got used to snakes...when I was about 4 my brothers put a snake in my boot. Scared me and to this day I don't care for them. I guess it is because they startle me. Good thing I live in Michigan, it is 4-5 months of hibernation for them. I worked at Sea World of Orlando for one summer in the landscaping department...always on the lookout for snakes when weeding the grounds. After a rain the snakes (water Moccasins...cottonmouths?) would seek higher ground which was generally the exact same spot I would be working at. :eek: ....yep, I like Michigan.

[Kyle Kraft]

Roger that, Steve!

Not too many poisonous snakes in Michigan, except for the elusive Massisauga (sp.) rattler. In my 40 years I've never seen one.

Kyle in K'zoo

[Steve Ash]

Not too many poisonous snakes in Michigan, except for the elusive Massisauga (sp.) rattler. In my 40 years I've never seen one.

I've never seen one either but I have heard they are around at a lake (Saubee) that we go bluegill fishing at so I am always on the lookout when I'm there.

[Frank Chaffee]

Ten or more years before we moved here from Minneapolis the locals would band together every year and kill hundreds of rattlers in our hills. I have not seen one here in forty years. So sad. Plenty of nice big bull snakes tho!

My sister in Cave Creek had a rattler living in her pantry all winter before her husband finally shot it. That would be too close for me.

My brothers and I would dig up snake eggs and hatch and raise them in makeshift terrariums.

Snakes are so beautiful!

Frank

[Fred Voorhees]

No siree Bob! Not me! Snakes and me are like oil and freakin water! No, keep the snakes from anywhere near Ringoes,NJ! PLEASE! Snakes make me nervous and shaky. I think you get the picture.:eek:

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Not a big fan of snakes myself..........We have plenty of rattlers here but primarily at the lower elevations. The higher elevations the snow stays in through late May or late June...consequently no or very few snakes at the higher elevation. We are located at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater's Rivers. We have over 20+ miles of asphalt bike/walking paths on the levees. When I used to run with one of the radioligists with whom I work, it wasn't unusual to see them...early in the spring....they'd crawl out on the warm asphalt.....Running before daylight...we squinted pretty hard looking for them......:D

[Perry Holbrook]

We have a few "pet" black snakes at our place. A couple live in the rocks around our mail box out at the driveway entrance. We see them or others in the yard from time to time and one used to sun on the front porch. On occassion, we have to move one out of the drive so we can get by.

We hadn't seen them this spring and thought something may have happened. About this time each year we see a shed skin in the joist of the basement. Sure enough, when we got back from a week on the road yesterday, we noticed 2 skins. One was in pieces in the yard, the other was above the water heater, it measured 6 ft long.

We are not especially fond of snakes but black snakes are harmless and keep most other pest away, so as long as they never come in the house, we'll let them live.

Perry

[Jim Dunn]

Looks like a "Speckeld King Snake" to me. Dennis is "butter milk racer" a local name?

[Brett Baldwin]

While I have no particular problem with them, my mother REALLY doesn't like snakes. I remember when I was about 14 or so, watching Mom out the back window doing some clean-up around a small tree we had just planted. She stiffened up suddenly, turned around and walked to the garage, came back with a hoe and proceeded to clobber the crap out of something on the ground. By the time I had gotten down to where she was, a poor little Garter snake had been dismantled thoroughly. The thing you have to realize is that she grew up in Oklahoma around rattlers and cottonmouths so the Garter snake was nothing to her, its only crime was being a legless reptile.

[Mark Cothren]

Jim bingo'd this one... that's a King Snake, for sure... got one in my yard, too... GOOD snakes....;-)

[Paul Downes]

I've had all kinds of 'pet' snakes including a few poisonous ones. My favorite snake story involved my little brother who put our pet bull snake through the belt loops on his pants. There was this gross old lady who used to pinch our cheeks and try to kiss us.........well you get the idea. I can still see her in my minds eye running away screaming. she bent down to do her deed and the 'belt' moved.:D

Steve, I have seen Michigan's lone rattler a few times and have caught a few. There used to be a population around Potterville.

[Steve Clardy]

Well I'm envious Dennis.:) All we got are blacksnakes and copperheads:eek: [ Not too many copperheads. They like really hot weather]

[Frank Hagan]

I'm fine if someone hands me a snake and says "Here, this is a Buttermilk Racer". Doesn't creep me out at all. But coming on one out in nature ... that's a different story!

We have a cabin out in the upper Mojave desert, and the Mojave Green rattlesnake has migrated there from points south. The standard old sidewinders we were used to were bad enough ... their venom acted like a blood thinner extraordinare', with deterioation of the blood vessel walls. But the Mojave Green ... its venom is both nerve agent and serious blood thinner. Bad thing, so I try to stay away from them.

[Mike Cutler]

Nice pic's Dennis. Thanks for not taking a hoe, or shovel to it.

Snakes tend to creep folks out, but to me they are signs of a healthy eco-system. I like to have 'em around. Grew up in So Cal with the rattler's. Even they were kinda cool, just not in the house. We have some type of a racer that lives out behind the house here in CT. I named him Julius Squeezer.

I was visiting Australia once and happened to go a zoo near Sydney. They got some serious snakes down there bro'. Got a snake called a Taipan, or Taipei maybe it was called, down there. Undisputed big boy on the block. 50 times more venomous than a cobra. Got a couple types of Death Adder's, as if just one wasn't enough, and a couple more venomous types to round out the bill. Neat place.

[Bob Weisner]

A lawn tractor is good for getting rid of snakes:D :D