Effing snek!

Burt Gummer said:
For a bunch of big strong gun loving dudes, some of you all sure like to kill things for no reason
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I make every effort to avoid killing anything needlessly- please feel free to take whatever chances you wish with your twin 18 month old granddaughters.

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Oneofsix said:
Um, sure that explains the fangs I picked up with the edge of the knife.

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Huh, my first thought was hognose as well based on the picture you posted but if it has fangs it doesn't get to live, not around my home where I have 2 puppies and an 8 year old.

Do you live below the line in NC where water moccasins live? That would be my only other guess based on the color and shape of the head. Doesn't look like a copperhead and its certainly not a rattlesnake.

Before I had a kid I'd just grab any venomous snake with a shovel and take it into the woods and let it go. But I don't take chances with an 8 year old boy who likes to get into things.
 
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Not a water moccasin/cotton mouth. That's an Eastern Hognose. The turn up on the tip of its mouth is a dead give away, they are harmless, and as stated previously they will play dead. While they do have fangs at the rear of their mouth they are not venomous like a copper head or cotton mouth. Good snakes to have around and are typically very docile, they just put on a good show when they get scared.
 
@Chdamn Lumber Bridge


Had it rolled over and played dead, I would have picked it up with the rake and moved it away. I messed with it a good 20 minutes doing my best to make it do something like that- it didn't.

We're in a rather swampy area; I've seen quite a few different snakes here and don't run around willy-nilly whacking them because I hadn't seen it before. I have in ignorance killed a king- I felt so bad I vowed not to kill another without knowing as best I could what it was.
We've had green grass snakes, orange ring neck, kings, black rat, copperheads and yes before this one a cottonmouth and a pygmy rattlesnake. Oh, and a corn snake that was eaten by a king...posted some low-res pictures of that encounter.
Not all of them died.

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I get that lightning bolt feeling every time I see a snake, having grown up around a granny that would swing a garden hoe every time she saw a slither. But I have grown used to see the big black snakes and don't mind
seeing the skins up under the house (crawlspace, not exactly airtight) because I know he's hunting the critters that carry the hantavirus, aka the originators of lyme disease (ticks only spread it from mice), and other nasties I don't need up under the house.

But yeah, they get one shot if their are near or in the actually dwelling space. We had a tiny one in the kitchen last year and you think my wife who is a very fit and strong lady, was being robbed or worse. SCREAMING for me to come get this critter coiled up on the floor. I laughed all the way to get a bucket and scoop em in and put him in the garden.
 
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Just moved this little guy out of the way and off the driveway where he was basking. He looks pretty fearsome in this shot doesn't he? :) He beat feet once I pushed him back into the grass off the driveway with my palm.
 
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JohnFreeman said:
View attachment 55247

Just moved this little guy out of the way and off the driveway where he was basking. He looks pretty fearsome in this shot doesn't he? :) He beat feet once I pushed him back into the grass off the driveway with my palm.
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Awww...how cute :D

Thats a good pic lol
 
As some of you know we just got back from spending not-quite-a-week at Oak Island. Our friends have a second home there and were gracious enough to let us use it. I was talking with the neighbor who keeps an eye on the house when our friends are not there, said the week before he killed a copperhead on the drive, and tried to kill a pygmy rattlesnake, but it got away in the bush before he could.

I asked him if they were common, and he was like, "oh, yeah...."
 
One of the "new" guys at our hunting club killed a big hognose snake last year. We went ahead and ran him off. We figured that anyone dumb enough to kill a poor old hognose wasn't someone we wanted around with a loaded weapon. The next time he may have hurt a kid or something. You can't fix stupid people but you can avoid them as much as possible.
 
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Chuckman said:
As some of you know we just got back from spending not-quite-a-week at Oak Island. Our friends have a second home there and were gracious enough to let us use it. I was talking with the neighbor who keeps an eye on the house when our friends are not there, said the week before he killed a copperhead on the drive, and tried to kill a pygmy rattlesnake, but it got away in the bush before he could.

I asked him if they were common, and he was like, "oh, yeah...."
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Oak island is loaded with snakes. I’ve seen copperheads, Pygmys, and a ton of water moccasins. Used to go to the dead end of ninth Ave to catch bait. I would normally see a moccasin every time I went. Also a bunch of deer on the island
 
Burt Gummer said:
Oak island is loaded with snakes. I’ve seen copperheads, Pygmys, and a ton of water moccasins. Used to go to the dead end of ninth Ave to catch bait. I would normally see a moccasin every time I went. Also a bunch of deer on the island
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You know (or maybe not) now there is a walkway at the end of 9th that goes over the marsh and canal over to the beach. We loved walking it, we could see all kinds of critters. We were staying on 12th.

At low tide we saw coyote, fox, and deer tracks in the mud under that walkway.
 
Chuckman said:
You know (or maybe not) now there is a walkway at the end of 9th that goes over the marsh and canal over to the beach. We loved walking it, we could see all kinds of critters. We were staying on 12th.

At low tide we saw coyote, fox, and deer tracks in the mud under that walkway.
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Before the walkway we had to fight that marsh grass to get to the creek. That’s when we used to see a ton of snakes
 
410470F1-6D68-4189-A8A7-B2724789DF31.jpeg We have some swallows that nest in the corner of our porch roof every year. I always let them be, and it will usually attract a black snake or two. Last night we let our pit out to potty before bed and she noticed this guy up in the corner looking for dinner. He ate two of the baby birds before I could get him down, but moved him without harm to our pond. Our pit cornered three black snakes on the opposite side of the porch last year, moved all of them as well.
 
dman24 said:
View attachment 55668 We have some swallows that nest in the corner of our porch roof every year. I always let them be, and it will usually attract a black snake or two. Last night we let our pit out to potty before bed and she noticed this guy up in the corner looking for dinner. He ate two of the baby birds before I could get him down, but moved him without harm to our pond. Our pit cornered three black snakes on the opposite side of the porch last year, moved all of them as well.
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Been awesome to watch it cling up there. They’re great climbers. Have seen them go straight up a brick wall
 
Red on yellow will kill a fella, red on black venom lack.......that's how we were always taught.

As much as I've been outside and in the woods, I've never seen a coral snake. Has anyone here ever actually seen one in the wild?
 
BBD280 said:
Red on yellow will kill a fella, red on black venom lack.......that's how we were always taught.

As much as I've been outside and in the woods, I've never seen a coral snake. Has anyone here ever actually seen one in the wild?
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They say the very southeastern part of NC is where you’ll find them. They stay underground most of the time
 
Coral snakes are fixed fang snakes with a weird venom delivery system. They don't have hypodermic fangs with a venom sack, their fangs are solid and they excrete the venom from their mouths. Most venomous snakes bite fast and release. The coral has to hold on and wiggle it's mouth to work the venom in. That's one reason they aren't particularly dangerous to humans. It's difficult to deliver the venom. Unless you're stupid and you let one chew on you, even a bite is not a big deal...

Couple that with the fact that they are an endangered species in NC and live underground primarily and it's about the last thing you should worry about outside...

Ticks scare me these days much worse than snakes...
 
BBD280 said:
Red on yellow will kill a fella, red on black venom lack.......that's how we were always taught.

As much as I've been outside and in the woods, I've never seen a coral snake. Has anyone here ever actually seen one in the wild?
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Nope, and I've been looking all my life. I've caught Western and Eastern diamondbacks, bunch of other rattlesnakes, copperheads, pygmys (those guys are cool and about as dangerous as wasps), but though my herpetology book says they're around, I've never seen one. I've caught scarlet kings which are the closet thing that resemble them and share some of the same habitat.
 
Pink_Vapor said:
That harmless little guy's your friend, he'll eat the mice that chew away at the wiring harness.
Along with that they're impervious to snake venom and eat poisonous snakes. This copperhead became lunch here in NC.
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That is probably an Indigo Snake eatin' that copperheaded rattler... Black Rat Snakes are said to eat copperheads, but I don't think they do. King Snakes and Indigo Snakes definitely eat copperheads. Indigo snakes are immune to snake venom.
 
MacEntyre said:
That is probably an Indigo Snake eatin' that copperheaded rattler... Black Rat Snakes are said to eat copperheads, but I don't think they do. King Snakes and Indigo Snakes definitely eat copperheads. Indigo snakes are immune to snake venom.
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I didn't know that about indigo's, it looks like a rat with the white around it's mouth. I found it via web search, like the indigo below.
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bigfelipe said:
Coral snakes are fixed fang snakes with a weird venom delivery system. They don't have hypodermic fangs with a venom sack, their fangs are solid and they excrete the venom from their mouths. Most venomous snakes bite fast and release. The coral has to hold on and wiggle it's mouth to work the venom in. That's one reason they aren't particularly dangerous to humans. It's difficult to deliver the venom. Unless you're stupid and you let one chew on you, even a bite is not a big deal...
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But their venom is neurotoxic, the only neurotoxic snake in the US. So if they DO bite, it's no bueno. I am not sure what hospital in NC, if any, has antivenom. Mine doesn't.

But you are right in that they have to bite and chew to be effective, they are rare, they are shy, and they like to hide. I have never seen one in the wild, the only person I know who has seen them in the wild wrote "the" book about snakes in NC, and I certainly haven't heard of anyone being bit.
 
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Chuckman said:
But their venom is neurotoxic, the only neurotoxic snake in the US. So if they DO bite, it's no bueno. I am not sure what hospital in NC, if any, has antivenom. Mine doesn't.

But you are right in that they have to bite and chew to be effective, they are rare, they are shy, and they like to hide. I have never seen one in the wild, the only person I know who has seen them in the wild wrote "the" book about snakes in NC, and I certainly haven't heard of anyone being bit.
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Someone in Alabama puilled it off, 12 replies up
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2018/...-life-after-coral-snake-bite-family-says.html
 
Pretty educational. Talks about venom properties.

These are Elapidae family, like cobras/mambas/etc. Unlike vipers and pit vipers, such as copperheads/rattlers/cottonmouths, which are Viperidae.

 
Chuckman said:
Damn. That sucks. I wonder what the heck he did to get bit??
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"Phillips’ children were the first to spot the snake. Initially thinking the serpent was a harmless king snake, Phillips decided to catch it and give the snake as a gift to his older brother, who has owned snakes in the past"
 
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Pink_Vapor said:
Phillips’ children were the first to spot the snake. Initially thinking the serpent was a harmless king snake, Phillips decided to catch it and give the snake as a gift to his older brother, who has owned snakes in the past
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Helped a neighbor move some 'stuff' yesterday. He pulled a tarp off so we could get to the pile and out popped a 2' long copperhead. :eek: I didn't have a flame thrower so a brick did the job.

First one I saw since moving here in 2000.
 
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He had to try hard to get bit. Actually found one in the Sandhills game lands when I was in college. Had made several trips looking for a Scarlet King snake. Had tore the bark off of God know how many dead and rotting pine trees and had flipped over a million logs. Finally tore the bark off the underside of a pine log that was laying on the ground. Saw the right colors and picked it up. Totally docile, but only about 6 inches long. My buddy who was taking herpetology at the time took one look and said better check the colors. I put him down gently. Basically was just curling around my fingers like a worm snake would. And even better, same trip I actually did find a Scarlet King Snake! Looked twice before picking him up since he was about the same size. Fed him crickets then graduated him to anoles before I finally took him back and released him.

edit: may be wrong on the location, It may have been in Francis Marion National Forrest down in SC. We used to go to both places regular to irritate the local lizards and snakes.
 
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Remshooter said:
He had to try hard to get bit. Actually found one in the Sandhills game lands when I was in college. Had made several trips looking for a Scarlet King snake. Had tore the bark off of God know how many dead and rotting pine trees and had flipped over a million logs. Finally tore the bark off the underside of a pine log that was laying on the ground. Saw the right colors and picked it up. Totally docile, but only about 6 inches long. My buddy who was taking herpetology at the time took one look and said better check the colors. I put him down gently. Basically was just curling around my fingers like a worm snake would. And even better, same trip I actually did find a Scarlet King Snake! Looked twice before picking him up since he was about the same size. Fed him crickets then graduated him to anoles before I finally took him back and released him.

edit: may be wrong on the location, It may have been in Francis Marion National Forrest down in SC. We used to go to both places regular to irritate the local lizards and snakes.
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Back in the day a pair of scarlet kings were worth a lot of cash!
 
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