I got another one, he crawled up on me as I was grilling Wahoo! What y'all call this kind?
http://i1278.photobucket.com/albums/...ps96a37137.jpg
http://i1278.photobucket.com/albums/...ps80485767.jpg
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I got another one, he crawled up on me as I was grilling Wahoo! What y'all call this kind?
http://i1278.photobucket.com/albums/...ps96a37137.jpg
http://i1278.photobucket.com/albums/...ps80485767.jpg
I am pretty sure that is a corn snake. Great snake to have around for rodent control. A lot of people have that kind as pets.
Dang it, I mis-identified this one too!
Yea, googling corn snake shows close resemblance.
Yep, corn snake, and a beautiful one at that.. Completely harmless.
Bummer.
So you killed another good snake.:confused:
Definitely a corn snake. Back before D-Con was made, my dad used to encourage them to stay around our old camp house to keep the rats from chewing all the electrical wires. If we found one in the kitchen, Dad would just get the broom and sweep it out onto the porch.
I gotta defend PNG on this one. You folks that didn't grow up in Louisiana like we did can't appreciate just how many snakes we have to deal with. You grow up keeping one eye on the ground and it becomes a reflex to shoot first and ask questions second when you get surprised by one. There are four poisonous snakes in N. America - Copperhead, Cotton Mouth, Rattle Snake, Coral Snake - and they are all found in abundance from Junction City to Venice and Delta to Greenwood.
Given time to see the snake and put an id on him, most folks let them go. It's not something we do for kicks or out of malice. But I personally know a dozen or more folks that have been bitten by poisonous snake due to misidentification or just putting a foot or hand in the wrong place. I've been struck on the boot more than once but luckily never got fanged.
I'd never fault anybody for a reflex kill. Most any snake suddenly, at close range will make me jump, and I don't think we are endangering any species from the occasional "shoot first" incident.
Reflex killing of snakes? Come on man, I'm not buying that. The natural reaction when startled by a snake is to move away from it. I've killed too many snakes to try to count and every single one died as a result of a conscious effort from me. Follow your basic instinct to make a safe space between you and the snake. This allows you an opportunity to make an identification and to make a decision of how to handle the situation.
Now when it comes to identification of any living thing, be it plant or animal, taxonomists use what are called brief recognition features or BRFs. There are only two general types of venomous snakes here in the US. We have coral snakes and pit vipers. Coral snakes are easy to identify if you remember the red touching yellow will kill a fellow rhyme. Also coral snakes rarely if ever will be visible, so if you take the time to learn where they like to hide and don't blindly stick your hands in their habitat coral snakes aren't an issue. Coral snakes amount to less than 1% of the annual snake bites in the US. Pit vipers are also easy to ID, if you take the time to learn their BRFs. The best features to identify these snakes when alive are on the head and the shape of its head itself. The pupils of all pit vipers are an elliptical vertical slit and quite easy to see if you are close enough to be threatened by a bite from them. On the other hand all, not some or most, nonvenomous serpents have round pupils. Here is a good site to learn more about identifying different kinds of snakes. Snake Identification Characteristics
I think PNG has a small child and I think kill first identify second is the best solution for any snake found in his yard. Protect the family Sam!
those nonvenomous snakes kill many disease carrying rodents. they also kill and eat venomous snakes. leaving them protects your family more than killing them.Quote:
Originally Posted by DUCK
I like this guy.:)
Snakes in general are one of the most misunderstood group of animals on the planet. I don't claim to be an expert on snakes, but I have learned enough about them to realize that there is no actual benefit in killing any of them. I have killed more than my fair share of them in the past, but now they all get a pass from me. I'll leave it at that, for here and now. If anyone wants me to enlighten them further on my reasoning or even get into a civil debate on the matter, just hit me up in person and I'll gladly oblige you. I am just not going to do it here.
The snake was in PNG' s yard. Property he owns. No law in Alabama about not killing a snake in your own yard venomous or not. Like it or not it is his right. Not taking either side, but that's how it is. By the way, thanks to all who have and are serving in our armed services who have made sure that we all have the right to agree on this or not.
I don't know about Alabama, but it is illegal to kill a copper head or an eastern diamond back or any venomous snake in TN. There again it is not widely inforced if at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by jhl
If you check the rule book and check it closely there are only certain places in the US you can catch and kill venomous snakes legally.
When I lived in Kansas you were banned from the golf couse and fined if caught killing a rattle snake.
Rattle snakes kill and eat the prairie dogs and gophers that dig up the course.
Just stay out of the rough and buy another ball.
Check this out.
Before you guys post proof that your breaking the law and you want to get a knock on the door by a unhappy DNR person. You might want to check out which snake is going to get you into the most trouble before you kill it.
herp laws and status
When the snake starts paying the property taxes, then he can..........
Just kidding there however, as someone who also has children and had young children when I lived in MS, there was no poisonous snake that would be tolerated around my house regardless of state, federal or international law. King snakes and the like, I would try to move them a little away from the house because any snake can and will strike if stepped on even by a child.
That is just wrong to have a law like that. I've seen too many copper heads that strike without provocation. They seem to be born with a bad attitude.Quote:
Originally Posted by DANtheJDMan
Even a rattlesnake gets a free pass from me unless he's where I'm living or working. Hey, there's always a chance he might bite a lawyer.
i disagree completely and support such laws. there are exceptions for when and where the snake is a threat. i have never seen a copperhead strike that wasn't provoked and i have seen more than a few.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave
Killing Native Snakes in TennesseeQuote:
Originally Posted by stik
- It is illegal to kill any species of snakes native to the state of Tennessee, venomous or non-venomous. The only rare exception is made for a homeowner who feels genuinely threatened by a snake. This exception particularly applies to a homeowner who finds a snake inside of their home. It is also legal to defend livestock that are being threatened by a snake. This means that it is always illegal to go out into the wild and kill a snake in its natural Tennessee habitat.
Read more: Laws About Killing Snakes in Tennessee | eHowhttp://www.ehow.com/info_8718418_laws-killing-snakes-tennessee.html#ixzz2UVpXyBLz
I have. I've been the one being struck at. Cotton Mouths are the same way at times.Quote:
Originally Posted by stik
Dave, just because you may not have intentionally provoked a snake, doesn't mean that the snake didn't feel provoked.
Most wild animals usually try to avoid humans. I think of cottonmouths as nasty tempered and aggressive towards people, but I don't really know what I'm talking about. Regardless, I don't want nothin' to do with no cottonmouth. This link is interesting: (The author has a PhD from Auburn, so I guess he qualifies as an expert on this forum.)Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave
Living Alongside Wildlife: Are Cottonmouths Aggressive?
When I encounter a critter without legs on my porch, in my shrubbery or lying atop my front door storm roll-down, I shoot, hoe and/or shovel-dice first and let the scavengers identify.
If a snake corners me in a forty acre field, it’s a dead snake, sorry, but it is survival of the scaredist!
I don’t see many around my place anymore, the word must’ve spread thru the no-legged community!
I've seen a cottonmouth slide off the bank on the other side of the creek and make a beeline for me with its mouth open. That's either aggression or a d@mned good imitation. They smell bad, too. As far as I'm concerned, the only thing good about a feral hog is that it will eat a cottonmouth.
HaHa! I wish it was the snakes eating the hogs sometimes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Haywire
I was wondering just how close you get to cottonmouths to know they smell bad!
Sorry, I never bothered to delve into the psyche of a snake.Quote:
Originally Posted by DRH
Y'all still beating this dead snake, I mean horse! Haha!
Where do I start.......
Ok, so if my cattle is threatened in TN I can kill a snake, but not my child?!?! I guess if that officer shows up at my door I'll just take my lick. We use to use a saying in the military, " I rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6". As I said before, try teaching a 2 yr old to ID a snake. She see something, she's picking it up, bottom line.
I totally understand what y'all are getting at about killing them in the wild for no reason but I choose to keep them out of my yard, atleast try to.
Now, I don't care who you are - that's funny.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave
For the record, I'm not anti-snake killing. I have no need to kill them to fill a specific reward. Whether the reward is food, a monetary gain or the comfort you get from the sense of protecting what means something to you. You can't eat or buy comfort, sometimes you've got take action. Even if how you got the comfort wasn't necessarily gotten the right way, its effect it has on you is real. So, just as many say about fishing one way or another; keep on with what makes you comfortable. Also don't stop posting your postmortem snakes. Before long we'll have you able to identify the good guys from the bad.Quote:
Originally Posted by PurpleNGold
Personally, I think that is exactly what we should do, have a snake index with pics of the snake and maby a little short paragraph about the snake and have them titled under venomous or non-venomous
Quote:
Originally Posted by PurpleNGold
Page 1. Name: Dead
Threat: Harmless
Joseph, you're spot on!
No threat at all!
Wow. That is a beautiful snake. Snake identification is quick and easy; but it does require at least an effort to learn. I have handled and kept non-venomous snakes since I was 8 or 9. Now in my 60's, I just watch them and see what they are up to.
Ever since I read the bible and I came away with the thought that snakes were bad, I don't care if a man wants to kill a snake! Anyone that has anything to say to the contrary has no idea what it is like to live in the south and have to deal with these dang things. +1 to you purp, the only good snake is a dead snake!
I don't go looking for snakes just to kill them, however if I see one in my yard then it will go be with Sams snakes. (reason a young child and pets)
There is a recent example of the misunderstanding of snakes. Just in case anyone didn't spot it.