My venomous beauties

[MAC]

Now plenty of you are from areas with venomous snakes...btu some of you have never seen one. Allow me a quick run down.
I have two of the most common venomous snakes in South Eastern North America. The copperhead and the cottonmouth. (These snakes exist in several subspecies but to you, out for a walk in the field or the neighborhood they are essentially the same.) They do not hear well. they actually use their inner ear to sense vibrations in the ground. They can "see" heat with the pits located between the nostrils and the eyes. And they can "smell" you with their tounge. In effect they will do their best to avoid you. But if you corner one on purpose or accidentally or you step on or try to pick one up you will get bitten. They don't play around or pretend...they just envenomate. Both snakes will normally vibrate their tail as a warning if they get a chance. It will "rattle" its tail on the leaves and grass it touches and makes a cool buzzing sound.

Ok, I had a large copperhead I let go recently because she didn't wanna eat frozen/thawed mice....but these two husky ladies suck them down so fast I am gonna get them bibs.

This copperhead was in the drive way at work a week or so ago.
Its maybe 20" long but its not quite an adult yet. the ynormally don't get bigger than 3' but they can be very very aggressive when you get them scared.

This one is wicked and aggressive...she actually chased me when I caught her.
http://www.cox-internet.com/fabcoproducts/herps/copperhead/ch7-22-02-01.jpg

This is what they look like before you step on them and get bitten (normally they will run to avoid you but they do count on camoflague and that means a careless foot step could be disasterous, please consider that......)
http://www.cox-internet.com/fabcoproducts/herps/copperhead/ch7-22-02-02.jpg

Ready to strike....
http://www.cox-internet.com/fabcoproducts/herps/copperhead/ch7-22-02-03.jpg

If you ever see one this close without the glass...its too late...
http://www.cox-internet.com/fabcoproducts/herps/copperhead/ch7-22-02-05.jpg

[MAC]

Here's the cottonmouth. They normally stay in and around water.
When they swim their body is almost totally submerged and they sink as soon as they stop swimmin.
See those eyes? Those pupils open WAY up to big round dishes that gather light at night. That with the heat sensing pits make they VERY effective ambush hunters.
http://www.cox-internet.com/fabcoproducts/herps/cottonmouth/A_p_leucostoma_01.jpg

They are closely related to the copperhead and the head shape shows it. Their venom does alot more tissue damage.
Normally th eyoung are grey and black. This one is very brown. He will probably turn totally very dark grey/black when he's grown and that pattern will disapear totally.
http://www.cox-internet.com/fabcoproducts/herps/cottonmouth/A_p_leucostoma_03.jpg

He heads straight to water when threatened.
they don't have any real means of regulating body temp, and since water around 40% more thermally conductive than air they need to comeout frequently to warm up in the sun. This is why they are often encountered in the weeds around lakes and rivers. Always kick the boat over before you put your hand under it to push it out. these guys LOVE to sleep under them.
http://www.cox-internet.com/fabcoproducts/herps/cottonmouth/A_p_leucostoma_04.jpg

There's alot more to these snakes that I didn't cover, but I think I gavce you an idea. If you have questions ask them. I'll answer what I know and look up the rest.
In the mean time move to Canada, they have only 4 species of venomous snakes, and they are all rattlers. :D

[Pianomahnn]

I have a snake and I'm touching it right now.

[SimpleSimon]

Originally posted by Pianomahnn
I have a snake and I'm touching it right now.

That ain't a snake, it's an inchworm!

[euphorbia]

beautiful.

[Venus]

Once again, I have snake envy. They're absolutly beautiful MAC.

[Cruise Director]

What kind of precautions do you take to keep from getting bitten? Do you live close to the hospital for anti-venom? It seems that every snake handler I've ever seen has been bitten a few times. That's why they call them accidents.

[MAC]

1) I have read that 80% of all envenomations of handlers by their snakes involve alcohol :p

2) comparatively speaking these two species of snakes do not frequently cause death. The nearest emergency room is 8 miles but I seriously doubt they would give me antivenom anyway (they didn't last time) the cottonmouth has much more necrotic (tissue destroying) venom than th ecopperhead. But what is a very distinct possibility is you loose part of the finger or whatever was bitten.
I recommend you go look at a few pics of bite victims (http://www.venomousreptiles.org/)

[Koliedrus]

Hat.

Stop me if I've written this before.

Oh. You can't...

Recall the pic of a frozen waterfall leading up to my old campsite.

On one trip, a prospective med student was with us when a copperhead swam upstream and headed for our tents and sleeping bags. Finding and killing it was our only option lest a bunch of nerds sleep unsoundly. It was an effort but the serpent lost to the monkey-brains.

First, the head came off. Then I was given a lesson about how and why the heart continued to beat. Something about ADP and ATP. Before I knew it, I was being taught by another of our group about skinning, wrapping sections in foil and cooking time.

Tasted like chicken. Thank God for KFC.

[jules]

Hmm, I have a couple snake stories myself...

*pauses as all the memories come flooding back*

My neighbor is a large rich man who is overly-dependent on technology and his money. I remember getting a ride home with him, and he got pulled over for speeding.... the guy was cursing at his radar-detector for not working properly all the while. (WAY TO TAKE RESPONSIBILTY BUD!)

Anyways, he came by one time on his way out, and I was sitting there, eight-year-old girl with a 10-gallon bucket full of garter snakes (very nonpoisonous.) I had my hands in the bucket, playing with the snakes (getting bitten repeatedly of course, but I was oblivious) and he decided to give it a try. Can't stick his hand in there, though-- that would be disgusting, eh? So he pulls his cellphone out of his pocket, pulls up the antenna, kneels down into the bucket and sticks the cellphone into it. The snakes ignore the cellphone and bite him a couple times.

Heheheh.
Maybe their is some justice in this world. :)

[fiend]

Where does an eight year old girl get 10 gallons of garter snakes? :p

[jules]

Originally posted by fiend
Where does an eight year old girl get 10 gallons of garter snakes? :p

Well, she catches them, of course.
And "full" wasn't meant literally. :)
Probably six or seven snakes.

[MAC]

That Jul my kinda girl. :)
I need one about 15 years older tho :(