|
|
|
|
#31
07-20-2017, 02:26 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
I almost rode over this guy last year. He was laying in a shady spot and I couldn't really make out what it was until I was about 10 ft away.....I thought it was a limb at first. I think he was more surprised by me than I was by him.
__________________
"I am just a blacksmith" - Dario Pegoretti
|
|
#32
07-20-2017, 02:34 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
This one set up in a spot that could give someone a bad day.
|
|
#34
07-20-2017, 02:53 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
having grown up in the Chihuahuan desert, I'm pretty familiar with rattlesnakes. even collected them during college for venom tox studies. have a healthy respect, but no fear or hatred of them.
recently, a friend was hiking on a cool spring morning in west TX and stepped on a 5' western diamondback that was not fully alert... snake did not rattle, just struck him mid-calf...twice. my buddy said it felt like being hit with a red-hot anvil. he took two steps towards his vehicle and collapsed. luckily, his GF was able to summons a park ranger who transported him by truck to an air ambulance. entire leg turned black and swelled to enormous proportions. my pal required 7 surgeries and 145 vials of antivenin. at one point, surgeons were preparing to amputate, but ended up only removing a muscle in the calf. total medical costs exceeded $800K. I'd post a pic of the injury, but it's pretty disturbing.
|
|
#36
07-20-2017, 03:17 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
|
|
#39
07-20-2017, 04:42 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
To the OP; it's good you're asking.
Those are almost certainly Brown snakes (Dekays), which is a very common species. They are lethal if you're a bug, or a slug, or a worm. They are not known to even try to bite humans. Rat snakes have a body shaped like a loaf of bread, and get big -- up to 6-7 feet. They aren't king or milk snakes, but they are equally harmless. Copperheads look absolutely nothing like that. Your odds of seeing a rattlesnake in Atlanta are extremely low (only Timbers in theory, and they are largely extirpated). Regardless, I'm firmly of the belief that none of these creatures deserve to be killed on site. You could in theory make an argument that a copperhead, if properly identified, or a cottonmouth might pose a risk if you have small children (toddlers) or a habit of reaching into dark areas without looking first. In some states (VA, for example) it is in fact a misdemeanor to kill a snake, unless it's protected (like a Timber rattlesnake) in which case the severity rises significantly. Someone in PA was just fined several thousand dollars for killing a Timber. Dunno about GA, but again, this is a very common species. You will almost certainly see more. I'd weigh in with everyone else in suggesting more familiarity with local species. Link to brown snakes on a good site I found on GA reptiles. Note marking, especially around the head: https://srelherp.uga.edu/snakes/stodek.htm BTW, bunny hopped over a rat snake last weekend going about 22mph. Turned around and pulled her off the road. Hitting her at that speed would have been very harmful to us both. Last edited by adrien; 07-20-2017 at 04:50 PM.
|
|
#41
07-20-2017, 05:28 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Years ago, when I first moved into my current house, the previous owners had a black plastic mesh up in one section of the garden as a fence to keep the deer out. Several times I found live black snakes caught up in the mesh. The holes in the mesh were just the right size for the snakes to go in but not be able to pull the rest of their body through. The first time it was relatively easy to free the guy (gal?) but the second time he had managed to really get himself tangled up in there, and in several spots the mesh was cutting into his skin. It took me about 10 minutes of careful snipping with scissors, all the while having him wiggling around trying to free himself, but I finally cut him loose and released him. He then slithered away, and I'd like to think that his wounds healed on their own - which they likely did, since cuts and stuff on healthy animals tend to heal incredibly quickly.
That was the final straw for me. I took the plastic mesh down and put up a much stronger & better wire mesh fence with larger spacing. Haven't had to free any snakes since then.
|
|
#42
07-20-2017, 05:31 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
apparently, because the snake that bit my buddy was startled from a torporous state, it went full gas on him and gave him its whole load. and biting him twice ensured that there was nothing left in reserve, too.
|
|
#43
07-21-2017, 03:42 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
Last edited by Tony; 07-21-2017 at 03:44 AM.
|
|
#44
07-21-2017, 05:27 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Sure enough, after reading this thread yesterday, snakes in my dreams last night. Lots of 'em!
|
|
#45
07-21-2017, 05:42 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
@Tony now there's a story!
SPP
|
 |
|
|
Linear Mode
