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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 20 of 20. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Phillipa on June 5, 2006, at 20:10:37
Are snakes friendly? And how can you tell if they are poisonous? Doesn't it have something to do with shape of it's head? Love Phillipa
Posted by Kath on June 5, 2006, at 20:51:48
In reply to How Many Like Snakes Are They Friendly?, posted by Phillipa on June 5, 2006, at 20:10:37
My kids have had pet snakes - just wild ones. One was as small arouhnd as a thin pencil & about 5 inches long. Sooooo cute a DeKay's something-or-other. If you put him in your palm he'd curl up & if you pressed gently on him with fingertips he'd go to sleep!!!!!!
He was the tamest.
I don't know how you know. The constrictors can apparently make nice pets.
In Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, there are poisonous massassauga rattle snakes. Apparently if you get bitten by one it's tremendously painful but as long as you get to a hospital in I think it's an hour, you'll be fine. In Parry Sound, also there are Fox snakes, which look sorta like rattlesnakes & which pretend they're rattlers by flicking their tail in the grass or dry leaves. Once camping, I stepped into the grass to hang something on my rope clothesline I'd made & MOVEMENT!!!!!!! NOISE!!!!! I just about had a heart attack. I JUMPED back & away slid a beautiful Fox Snake. It was around 5 feet long. I followed it, but lost it in a nearby swamp. God, was I startled!!!!!
Kath
> Are snakes friendly? And how can you tell if they are poisonous? Doesn't it have something to do with shape of it's head? Love Phillipa
>
Posted by TexasChic on June 5, 2006, at 21:05:11
In reply to How Many Like Snakes Are They Friendly?, posted by Phillipa on June 5, 2006, at 20:10:37
Did you find a snake or something? I don't think there's any one specific way to tell if its poisonous. But you can probably look up pictures and compare on the internet.
As far as being friendly, I don't know. Reptiles are different as far as emotions and such. I don't know if they are capable of being either friendly or unfriendly. Of course I'm no expert, I'm just talking out my *ss.
IMO their differences are what makes them so interesting. I like lizards myself.
-T
Posted by curtm on June 5, 2006, at 23:52:42
In reply to How Many Like Snakes Are They Friendly?, posted by Phillipa on June 5, 2006, at 20:10:37
We wer out boating once and this water snake (no-poisonous) swam up to the boat. It swam around right by the boat in a small area until one of us picked it up out of the water. It might even have been me, I dont remember. It didnt panic or anything. It camly let itself be held and passed to whoever wanted to hold it. Then we put it back into the water and it swam away.
Bye snake
Posted by Larry Hoover on June 6, 2006, at 5:09:16
In reply to How Many Like Snakes Are They Friendly?, posted by Phillipa on June 5, 2006, at 20:10:37
> Are snakes friendly? And how can you tell if they are poisonous? Doesn't it have something to do with shape of it's head? Love Phillipa
No, the shape of the head is suggestive, but not definitive. You really need to learn about the poisonous snakes in your area, to be safe from poisonous snakes in your area. Coral snakes are really pretty, but pretty dang deadly. And, other snakes do tend to mimic the coloration and size and behaviour of poisonous species. Birds of prey are more careful, if the snake is "close".
I betcha 99.5% of the snakes you see are non-poisonous, even if you're in an area with known concentrations of a poisonous species. An exception is water moccasin bayou country, but if you were in there, you'd know that.
My grandfather once despatched a female Massassaugua rattlesnake, up at our family cottage. He dutifully reported the event to the authorities, only to be lectured and fined by a conservation officer. Protected species is protected species.
I used to have a garter snake mating territory in my back yard. Every spring, thousands of 'em. Then they were all gone. Garter snakes give live birth, just like humans. Others lay eggs. No such thing as a generic snake.
Lar
Posted by wildcardII on June 6, 2006, at 8:34:00
In reply to Re: How Many Like Snakes Are They Friendly? » Phillipa, posted by Larry Hoover on June 6, 2006, at 5:09:16
just killed yet another copperhead a few days ago. walked up on him and he was in striking position~ewwwww young adult which are more poisonous. killed 2 before that were a greyish color, this one was brownish. i don't even go into the woods, just around the house. i have no mice or other attractors that i know of ??? i had a water moccasin come towards me in the lake one time while rope swinging and it must have been a sight but my @ss sure got up that 8ft. cliff in record time..LOL i truly HATE!!! snakes.
Posted by curtm on June 6, 2006, at 9:13:08
In reply to Re: How Many Like Snakes Are They Friendly? » Phillipa, posted by Larry Hoover on June 6, 2006, at 5:09:16
Just watch out for the ones that tell you to "eat the fruit of the tree!"
Posted by wildcardII on June 6, 2006, at 9:40:07
In reply to Re: How Many Like Snakes Are They Friendly? » Larry Hoover, posted by curtm on June 6, 2006, at 9:13:08
Posted by TexasChic on June 6, 2006, at 11:06:37
In reply to i'm the exception then :-O » Larry Hoover, posted by wildcardII on June 6, 2006, at 8:34:00
>Just killed yet another copperhead a few days ago.
Oooh, scary! Copperheads, water moccasins, and Rattlesnakes are the scary ones to me. But I think that's because those are the only kind they ever showed on the westerns I watched as a kid.
So what eats snakes anyway? Was it birds of prey that Larry mentioned? Maybe you can get a bunch and release them in your back yard. ;-) Oh wait, that might be bad for any pets around.
Its too bad we have to kill them, they're just doing what they do (we'd probably be overrun by mice and rats if it weren't for them). But what else CAN you do?
Oh, and those little ones Kath mentioned are so cute. When I briefly worked at Petco, we had albino corn snakes, they were pink with a white lacy design. They were really very pretty and would just curl up in your hand. Younger kids loved them. They also had Baby Ball Pythons which are these minature pythons. When I would get one out of the cage it would rear up and look just like a regular python (only smaller) and scared the crap out of me. I have to admit they were really cool though.
-T
Posted by wildcardII on June 6, 2006, at 14:02:54
In reply to Re: i'm the exception then :-O, posted by TexasChic on June 6, 2006, at 11:06:37
and i thought about buying several and letting them go. they wld. hopefully help get rid of the poisonous ones :O(
Posted by curtm on June 6, 2006, at 14:16:01
In reply to black snakes kill them » TexasChic, posted by wildcardII on June 6, 2006, at 14:02:54
They kill rattlesnakes.
Posted by TexasChic on June 6, 2006, at 14:34:35
In reply to black snakes kill them » TexasChic, posted by wildcardII on June 6, 2006, at 14:02:54
Hey, now that's an idea. Maybe if they aren't too expensive you can do that. Can you imagine someone seeing you let loose a bunch of black snakes in the yard? ;-)
-T
P.S. I just realized this thread and the one above are about 'spiders and snakes'. That's a song I loved as a kid. (I don't like spiders and snakes, and that ain't what it takes to love me, like I want to be loved by you).
Posted by AuntieMel on June 6, 2006, at 15:05:52
In reply to Re: How Many Like Snakes Are They Friendly? » Phillipa, posted by Larry Hoover on June 6, 2006, at 5:09:16
When you're out pushing the cattle across the cut, it doesn't matter what kind of snake it is - the horses sure get spooked. Nothing like a prickley pear in the tush.
I used to catch snakes as a kid - hog-nose were my favorite, but a good king snake was fun, too.
Posted by Kath on June 6, 2006, at 20:29:20
In reply to i'm the exception then :-O » Larry Hoover, posted by wildcardII on June 6, 2006, at 8:34:00
Oh my Gawd!!!
I think I'd be so so scared if I lived where there were deadly snakes like that!!
I think I'd also NOT go into the woods, but what a shame not to be able to!
Do people actually get bitten & die from copperheads & water mocassins?
Kath
> just killed yet another copperhead a few days ago. walked up on him and he was in striking position~ewwwww young adult which are more poisonous. killed 2 before that were a greyish color, this one was brownish. i don't even go into the woods, just around the house. i have no mice or other attractors that i know of ??? i had a water moccasin come towards me in the lake one time while rope swinging and it must have been a sight but my @ss sure got up that 8ft. cliff in record time..LOL i truly HATE!!! snakes.
Posted by Kath on June 6, 2006, at 20:35:53
In reply to Re: i'm the exception then :-O, posted by TexasChic on June 6, 2006, at 11:06:37
Corn snakes are soo cute. One year my husband, daughter & I went to Allegany State Park for a holiday. There were various events, one of which was snake-finding. They found cute small ring-necks & I can't remember what else. Anyway, afterwards, we went back & my daughter (who was in her early 20's at the time) captured 1 of each.
Confession Time:
She kept them & when it was time to go home to Canada, we had to figure out how to take them back (not supposed to bring in plants, wildlife, etc). She put grass, etc into a large plastic peanut butter tub & they came back with us in our cooler!!!! They lived for a few years. She had them in a huge fish tank decked out like nature. "Sammy" died on her birthday & she was devatated!!
K
Just killed yet another copperhead a few days ago.
>
> Oooh, scary! Copperheads, water moccasins, and Rattlesnakes are the scary ones to me. But I think that's because those are the only kind they ever showed on the westerns I watched as a kid.
>
> So what eats snakes anyway? Was it birds of prey that Larry mentioned? Maybe you can get a bunch and release them in your back yard. ;-) Oh wait, that might be bad for any pets around.
>
> Its too bad we have to kill them, they're just doing what they do (we'd probably be overrun by mice and rats if it weren't for them). But what else CAN you do?
>
> Oh, and those little ones Kath mentioned are so cute. When I briefly worked at Petco, we had albino corn snakes, they were pink with a white lacy design. They were really very pretty and would just curl up in your hand. Younger kids loved them. They also had Baby Ball Pythons which are these minature pythons. When I would get one out of the cage it would rear up and look just like a regular python (only smaller) and scared the crap out of me. I have to admit they were really cool though.
>
> -T
Posted by tizza on June 9, 2006, at 0:20:06
In reply to Re: i'm the exception then :-O » TexasChic, posted by Kath on June 6, 2006, at 20:35:53
unfortunately Australia has 8 out of the 10 most poisonious snakes in the world. If you ever come here don't even think about picking up a snake unless you are in the tropical areas and even then be VERY careful because they are not all pythons. Where I live every single snake you see has extremely toxic venom and all can kill in a matter of minutes. The weird thing is though I don't mind snakes but I absoultely hate spiders and our spiders are very toxic too. Just don't touch any spiders or snakes in the land of Oz, you just might bite off more than you can chew!!!! The land of OZ HAS really sh*tty creepy crawly's. BE WARNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I killed a red back spider yesterday, sorry spider lovers but it was inside without an invitation. I love Australian surface spray, it's designed to kill all our spiders which can get HUGE (from the size of a tea saucer to a normal plate which are usually called huntsman's but they aren't poisonous even though they can be massive) it even kills cockroaches within 10 seconds, I kid you not.
Posted by curtm on June 9, 2006, at 9:38:09
In reply to Re: snakes and spiders in Australia!!! pls read, posted by tizza on June 9, 2006, at 0:20:06
Can you hook us up with some pics or links of these magnificent creatures? (especially the arachnid gigantus!!!)
Posted by Larry Hoover on June 9, 2006, at 10:21:14
In reply to Re: snakes and spiders in Australia!!! pls read, posted by tizza on June 9, 2006, at 0:20:06
> unfortunately Australia has 8 out of the 10 most poisonious snakes in the world..... Where I live every single snake you see has extremely toxic venom and all can kill in a matter of minutes.
And I bet it's a topic of discussion going back to early childhood. You can't let someone not know *that*.
In most of North America, they just killed the rattlesnakes off. Tiny pockets that we missed are all that's left of them. Except those wetlands and wet woods that criss-cross the south-east US, and parts of the south-west drylands. Most people are cautious around snakes you just don't want to cross paths with there few remnants of what it used to be like.
Now, in Australia, if I ever visit.....I'm bringing books with me. Picture books, with writing in them. Thanks for the heads-up.
Lar
Posted by tizza on June 9, 2006, at 23:36:38
In reply to Re: snakes and spiders in Australia!!! pls read » tizza, posted by Larry Hoover on June 9, 2006, at 10:21:14
if you just google Australian snakes and spiders it should keep you going for some time.
Posted by TexasChic on June 12, 2006, at 18:30:13
In reply to Re: snakes and spiders in Australia!!! pls read, posted by tizza on June 9, 2006, at 0:20:06
My dream is to go to Austrailia, but damn, the size of a dinner plate?! That's just not right.
I would never just pick up a snake outside, the only one's I've held were in pet stores or someone's pet. I think the big ones are cool (I really know very little about the different kinds), although I'm still a little frightened of them.
I wish I had some of that spray for some bugs here! Sounds great! I hate bugs, even though I try to like all living things.
-T
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