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Frogwatch[_2_] September 21st 09 04:10 PM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
Most of us have sharks in the back of our minds whenever we swim in
salt water but as attacks are rare we ignore it unless we actually see
sharks. I have often seen sharks in the water after I have gotten
out. The best I can suggest is to not swim if you see em and not to
swim after dark or dusk when they supposedly feed most. Do not swim
near bloody bait either.
Fear of gators is very similar to fear of sharks. The dang lizards
are just too common being in every puddle in these parts. When I was
a kid they were much more rare and we would not hesitate in any body
of water but these days their population has exploded and I would not
go near some bodies of water I used to swim in. Some places are just
too "gatorish". You do not swim near the edges of lakes with thick
weeds and look out for gators and gator signs. You know they are
there but you gotta figure they are scared. If you go out on the
water at night and use a light, you can see their eyes glowing red and
you'll be amazed how many there are. My brother could "grunt up
gators" meaning he could make a noise deep in his throat to call them.
Snakes oughta be more worrisome than gators or sharks cuz there's so
many of em. Every palmetto thicket probably has at least one
rattlesnake but as long as you dont walk through the palmettos, you
seem almost safe. Its the Cottonmouth Moccasins that scare me the
most. Ugly, evil looking and aggressive, they'll fight you for a fish
you catch and they are all over the place. My neighbor has em in his
yard and they crawl into his garage from the creek behind his house.
All the trompin in the woods near bodies of water we do nobody in my
family has been bitten but our dog got bit on her face. She swelled
up like a balloon and died within 15 minutes. My earliest remembered
boating experience (I was 4) was in a canoe with my mother behind me.
A Moccasin charged the boat and tried to climb in and she swung that
paddle like an axe decapitating the snake right beside me, sorta made
an impression.
Sting rays are not normally fatal when they hit you but seriously
painful and likely to get infected. My brother in law got hit on his
ankle and we had to haul him 20 miles to the hospital to get the barb
pulled out. People always say "Shuffle your feet" when you walk in
shallow bay water to scare em off and maybe that works. When we were
kids, we walked barefoot all over the bays and never got hit but as an
adult I wear "water shoes" as a half assed safety measure but I doubt
thye'd help. Mostly, I just try to avoid em and swim as much as I can
instead of walking.
I figure that if you dwell on these things you'll never ahve fun but
you should take a few precautions.

nom=de=plume September 21st 09 06:22 PM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
"Frogwatch" wrote in message
...
Most of us have sharks in the back of our minds whenever we swim in
salt water but as attacks are rare we ignore it unless we actually see
sharks. I have often seen sharks in the water after I have gotten
out. The best I can suggest is to not swim if you see em and not to
swim after dark or dusk when they supposedly feed most. Do not swim
near bloody bait either.
Fear of gators is very similar to fear of sharks. The dang lizards
are just too common being in every puddle in these parts. When I was
a kid they were much more rare and we would not hesitate in any body
of water but these days their population has exploded and I would not
go near some bodies of water I used to swim in. Some places are just
too "gatorish". You do not swim near the edges of lakes with thick
weeds and look out for gators and gator signs. You know they are
there but you gotta figure they are scared. If you go out on the
water at night and use a light, you can see their eyes glowing red and
you'll be amazed how many there are. My brother could "grunt up
gators" meaning he could make a noise deep in his throat to call them.
Snakes oughta be more worrisome than gators or sharks cuz there's so
many of em. Every palmetto thicket probably has at least one
rattlesnake but as long as you dont walk through the palmettos, you
seem almost safe. Its the Cottonmouth Moccasins that scare me the
most. Ugly, evil looking and aggressive, they'll fight you for a fish
you catch and they are all over the place. My neighbor has em in his
yard and they crawl into his garage from the creek behind his house.
All the trompin in the woods near bodies of water we do nobody in my
family has been bitten but our dog got bit on her face. She swelled
up like a balloon and died within 15 minutes. My earliest remembered
boating experience (I was 4) was in a canoe with my mother behind me.
A Moccasin charged the boat and tried to climb in and she swung that
paddle like an axe decapitating the snake right beside me, sorta made
an impression.
Sting rays are not normally fatal when they hit you but seriously
painful and likely to get infected. My brother in law got hit on his
ankle and we had to haul him 20 miles to the hospital to get the barb
pulled out. People always say "Shuffle your feet" when you walk in
shallow bay water to scare em off and maybe that works. When we were
kids, we walked barefoot all over the bays and never got hit but as an
adult I wear "water shoes" as a half assed safety measure but I doubt
thye'd help. Mostly, I just try to avoid em and swim as much as I can
instead of walking.
I figure that if you dwell on these things you'll never ahve fun but
you should take a few precautions.



A long time ago, I was surfing with some friends. We weren't really doing
much, as it was sunset time and we were just hanging out past the breakers.
My friends had drifted off to another part of the water and I was just
sitting on my board just drinking in the swells, the sunset that was in
process, and using my feet to keep the board in the right orientation. Out
of the corner of my eye I saw some movement in the water, and when I turned
to look, I saw a fin, then it was gone. Then, a second later a splash on the
other sid, and a fin. Turns out it was a small pod of porpoise. They were
just out of arms reach... maybe an inch further away than I could reach
every time I tried. They stayed with me for what seemed like an hour, but it
was really just 10 minutes. They were big and if they wanted to do
damage....

--
Nom=de=Plume



Wayne.B September 21st 09 06:49 PM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:33:47 -0400, wrote:

I am not as sure about the snakes. I am out in the scrub park near the
house quite a bit and I have never seen a rattlesnake. There are
plenty of black snakes and a few coachwhips there.
This may be why
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake1.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake3.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake4.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake5.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake6.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake7.jpg


That is a great photo sequence, one of those things you wouldn't
believe possible without seeing it.


Don White September 21st 09 06:57 PM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 

"Frogwatch" wrote in message
...
Most of us have sharks in the back of our minds whenever we swim in
salt water but as attacks are rare we ignore it unless we actually see
sharks. I have often seen sharks in the water after I have gotten
out. The best I can suggest is to not swim if you see em and not to
swim after dark or dusk when they supposedly feed most. Do not swim
near bloody bait either.
Fear of gators is very similar to fear of sharks. The dang lizards
are just too common being in every puddle in these parts. When I was
a kid they were much more rare and we would not hesitate in any body
of water but these days their population has exploded and I would not
go near some bodies of water I used to swim in. Some places are just
too "gatorish". You do not swim near the edges of lakes with thick
weeds and look out for gators and gator signs. You know they are
there but you gotta figure they are scared. If you go out on the
water at night and use a light, you can see their eyes glowing red and
you'll be amazed how many there are. My brother could "grunt up
gators" meaning he could make a noise deep in his throat to call them.
Snakes oughta be more worrisome than gators or sharks cuz there's so
many of em. Every palmetto thicket probably has at least one
rattlesnake but as long as you dont walk through the palmettos, you
seem almost safe. Its the Cottonmouth Moccasins that scare me the
most. Ugly, evil looking and aggressive, they'll fight you for a fish
you catch and they are all over the place. My neighbor has em in his
yard and they crawl into his garage from the creek behind his house.
All the trompin in the woods near bodies of water we do nobody in my
family has been bitten but our dog got bit on her face. She swelled
up like a balloon and died within 15 minutes. My earliest remembered
boating experience (I was 4) was in a canoe with my mother behind me.
A Moccasin charged the boat and tried to climb in and she swung that
paddle like an axe decapitating the snake right beside me, sorta made
an impression.
Sting rays are not normally fatal when they hit you but seriously
painful and likely to get infected. My brother in law got hit on his
ankle and we had to haul him 20 miles to the hospital to get the barb
pulled out. People always say "Shuffle your feet" when you walk in
shallow bay water to scare em off and maybe that works. When we were
kids, we walked barefoot all over the bays and never got hit but as an
adult I wear "water shoes" as a half assed safety measure but I doubt
thye'd help. Mostly, I just try to avoid em and swim as much as I can
instead of walking.
I figure that if you dwell on these things you'll never ahve fun but
you should take a few precautions.


Good lord...that's some Paradise you live in!
All we have to worry about is the cool water.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=44258 Wow! It's up to
60F today...I gotta go for a dunkin'.



thunder September 21st 09 07:17 PM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:33:47 -0400, gfretwell wrote:


I am not as sure about the snakes. I am out in the scrub park near the
house quite a bit and I have never seen a rattlesnake. There are plenty
of black snakes and a few coachwhips there. This may be why
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake1.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake3.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake4.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake5.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake6.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake7.jpg


Great shots. That rattler seemed as long as the racer. I wonder if they
ever kill something that won't fit? After that meal, I'm surprised he
could move.



I took a stingray barb in the foot once on the beach on Sanibel but it
wasn't a bad shot. He poked up the barb to say "I'm sleeping here" and I
was walking carefully so it only went in about 1/2" I picked open the
wound with a fruit pick from the barmaid at the Hilton (now the Sanibel
Inn) beach bar and flushed it out with vodka.


That's the way John Wayne would have done it. ;-)

Frogwatch[_2_] September 21st 09 07:44 PM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
On Sep 21, 2:17*pm, thunder wrote:
On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:33:47 -0400, gfretwell wrote:
I am not as sure about the snakes. I am out in the scrub park near the
house quite a bit and I have never seen a rattlesnake. There are plenty
of black snakes and a few coachwhips there. This may be why
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake1.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake3.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake4.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake5.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake6.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake7.jpg


Great shots. *That rattler seemed as long as the racer. *I wonder if they
ever kill something that won't fit? *After that meal, I'm surprised he
could move.

I took a stingray barb in the foot once on the beach on Sanibel but it
wasn't a bad shot. He poked up the barb to say "I'm sleeping here" and I
was walking carefully so it only went in about 1/2" I picked open the
wound with a fruit pick from the barmaid at the Hilton (now the Sanibel
Inn) beach bar and flushed it out with vodka.


That's the way John Wayne would have done it. *;-)


Great pics.

nom=de=plume September 21st 09 08:06 PM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
wrote in message
...
On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:10:43 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch
wrote:

Most of us have sharks in the back of our minds whenever we swim in
salt water but as attacks are rare we ignore it unless we actually see
sharks. I have often seen sharks in the water after I have gotten
out. The best I can suggest is to not swim if you see em and not to
swim after dark or dusk when they supposedly feed most. Do not swim
near bloody bait either.
Fear of gators is very similar to fear of sharks. The dang lizards
are just too common being in every puddle in these parts. When I was
a kid they were much more rare and we would not hesitate in any body
of water but these days their population has exploded and I would not
go near some bodies of water I used to swim in. Some places are just
too "gatorish". You do not swim near the edges of lakes with thick
weeds and look out for gators and gator signs. You know they are
there but you gotta figure they are scared. If you go out on the
water at night and use a light, you can see their eyes glowing red and
you'll be amazed how many there are. My brother could "grunt up
gators" meaning he could make a noise deep in his throat to call them.
Snakes oughta be more worrisome than gators or sharks cuz there's so
many of em. Every palmetto thicket probably has at least one
rattlesnake but as long as you dont walk through the palmettos, you
seem almost safe. Its the Cottonmouth Moccasins that scare me the
most. Ugly, evil looking and aggressive, they'll fight you for a fish
you catch and they are all over the place. My neighbor has em in his
yard and they crawl into his garage from the creek behind his house.
All the trompin in the woods near bodies of water we do nobody in my
family has been bitten but our dog got bit on her face. She swelled
up like a balloon and died within 15 minutes. My earliest remembered
boating experience (I was 4) was in a canoe with my mother behind me.
A Moccasin charged the boat and tried to climb in and she swung that
paddle like an axe decapitating the snake right beside me, sorta made
an impression.
Sting rays are not normally fatal when they hit you but seriously
painful and likely to get infected. My brother in law got hit on his
ankle and we had to haul him 20 miles to the hospital to get the barb
pulled out. People always say "Shuffle your feet" when you walk in
shallow bay water to scare em off and maybe that works. When we were
kids, we walked barefoot all over the bays and never got hit but as an
adult I wear "water shoes" as a half assed safety measure but I doubt
thye'd help. Mostly, I just try to avoid em and swim as much as I can
instead of walking.
I figure that if you dwell on these things you'll never ahve fun but
you should take a few precautions.



I was thinking about gators when you were telling the Tolman in fresh
water story.
One was coming after my dog last week. I managed to scare him off
before he got to the dog. I saw him crawling along the bottom from the
boat, jumped in the water next to the dog and off he went.

I am not as sure about the snakes. I am out in the scrub park near the
house quite a bit and I have never seen a rattlesnake. There are
plenty of black snakes and a few coachwhips there.
This may be why
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake1.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake3.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake4.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake5.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake6.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake7.jpg

I took a stingray barb in the foot once on the beach on Sanibel but it
wasn't a bad shot. He poked up the barb to say "I'm sleeping here" and
I was walking carefully so it only went in about 1/2"
I picked open the wound with a fruit pick from the barmaid at the
Hilton (now the Sanibel Inn) beach bar and flushed it out with vodka.
I was fine. I have stepped on sand burrs that hurt longer but they are
harder to get out.



Are the black snakes poisonous?

--
Nom=de=Plume



JohnH[_5_] September 21st 09 08:38 PM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:33:47 -0400, wrote:



I am not as sure about the snakes. I am out in the scrub park near the
house quite a bit and I have never seen a rattlesnake. There are
plenty of black snakes and a few coachwhips there.
This may be why
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake1.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake3.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake4.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake5.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake6.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake7.jpg

I took a stingray barb in the foot once on the beach on Sanibel but it
wasn't a bad shot. He poked up the barb to say "I'm sleeping here" and
I was walking carefully so it only went in about 1/2"
I picked open the wound with a fruit pick from the barmaid at the
Hilton (now the Sanibel Inn) beach bar and flushed it out with vodka.
I was fine. I have stepped on sand burrs that hurt longer but they are
harder to get out.


Very cool. It's sure increased my respect for black snakes.
--

John H

thunder September 22nd 09 12:02 AM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:21:34 -0400, gfretwell wrote:


Did you see the picture of the python that ate a gator so big that it
exploded?


Yeah, that was also impressive.

http://criticalmiami.com/index.php?id=236


JustWait September 22nd 09 12:45 AM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
In article ,
says...

On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:06:54 -0700, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

Are the black snakes poisonous?


No they are really quite harmless to anything they can't swallow.
They have tiny teeth that barely break the skin on a soft spot like
the inside of your arm and don't hurt my fingers at all.
I had one living in my screen cage for a couple weeks and they are
always around the yard. I still get one in now and then.
It sure did a good job on the bugs, lizards and tree frogs.That's how
I know I have one. Nothing is alive in there.
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Black%20racer.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Black%20racer2.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Black%20racer3.jpg

I am the local snake wrangler and I go get them out of other's peoples
pool cages and garages a lot.
I toss them in my yard if I can't talk them into keeping them at in
their yard. I suppose it takes them about an hour to make their way
back but I tried ;-)

I also like the yellow rat snakes around the house.
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/yellow%20rat%20snake.jpg


Cool snake...

http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/baby%20rat%20snake.jpg


The operative word there is "rat". (rattus rattus AKA Palmetto
squirrel)
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/rattus%20rattus.jpg




--
Dad loves his family, and he was a soldier. He wanted us all to remember
that...

[email protected] September 22nd 09 02:21 AM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:37:09 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:06:54 -0700, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

Are the black snakes poisonous?


No they are really quite harmless to anything they can't swallow.
They have tiny teeth that barely break the skin on a soft spot like
the inside of your arm and don't hurt my fingers at all.
I had one living in my screen cage for a couple weeks and they are
always around the yard. I still get one in now and then.
It sure did a good job on the bugs, lizards and tree frogs.That's how
I know I have one. Nothing is alive in there.
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Black%20racer.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Black%20racer2.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Black%20racer3.jpg

I am the local snake wrangler and I go get them out of other's peoples
pool cages and garages a lot.
I toss them in my yard if I can't talk them into keeping them at in
their yard. I suppose it takes them about an hour to make their way
back but I tried ;-)


The black snake in the picture sequence is a racer? King snakes are
famously known for eating rattlesnakes, too, since apparently they are
immune to rattlesnake venom.

When I was a kid, when I would come across a racer, I would try to
chase it down. It was like a sport, since the racers were so fast. I
never did see a black one, though. The ones I've encountered in our
area have been blue or green.

--
Posted via NewsDemon.com - Premium Uncensored Newsgroup Service
-------http://www.NewsDemon.com------
Unlimited Access, Anonymous Accounts, Uncensored Broadband Access

thunder September 22nd 09 02:49 AM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:01:18 -0400, gfretwell wrote:


The pythons are so bad in the everglades they have opened up hunting for
them. No closed season, no bag limit and no restriction on how you take
them.
My son in law works for water management and the guy they have taking
them uses a shotgun. The trick is being far enough away that when you
hit one in the part that is exposed, he can't get you when he strikes
back. It is certainly not a "single shot" shotgun sort of thing. You
need a quick follow up shot to hit him in the head on that strike. It is
sort of a "station 8 low house" sort of thing but a "double". There are
teams that capture them alive but they are not your average people and
they do get bit a lot. The bites are very likely to get infected.
I am going to get out there with the water management folks the first
time I get a chance but I will be a shotgun guy, not a "grab'm" guy. (at
least not at first)
I might want to go out with a capture team once I get a feel for it. I
don't mind wrestling with critters.


Looks like you have a new python, besides the Burmese one.

http://www.miamiherald.com/573/story/1243680.html

I'm still amazed those things will tangle with an alligator. I was doing
a little reading on the pythons. It seems they could really do some
damage on the Everglades ecosystem. That's a shame. There isn't any
place like the Everglades.

Frogwatch September 22nd 09 03:29 AM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
On Sep 21, 9:49*pm, thunder wrote:
On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:01:18 -0400, gfretwell wrote:
The pythons are so bad in the everglades they have opened up hunting for
them. No closed season, no bag limit and no restriction on how you take
them.
My son in law works for water management and the guy they have taking
them uses a shotgun. The trick is being far enough away that when you
hit one in the part that is exposed, he can't get you when he strikes
back. It is certainly not a "single shot" shotgun sort of thing. You
need a quick follow up shot to hit him in the head on that strike. It is
sort of a "station 8 low house" sort of thing but a "double". There are
teams that capture them alive but they are not your average people and
they do get bit a lot. The bites are very likely to get infected.
I am going to get out there with the water management folks the first
time I get a chance but I will be a shotgun guy, not a "grab'm" guy. (at
least not at first)
I might want to go out with a capture team once I get a feel for it. I
don't mind wrestling with critters.


Looks like you have a new python, besides the Burmese one.

http://www.miamiherald.com/573/story/1243680.html

I'm still amazed those things will tangle with an alligator. *I was doing
a little reading on the pythons. *It seems they could really do some
damage on the Everglades ecosystem. *That's a shame. *There isn't any
place like the Everglades.


B'leve it or not, the PETA types got upset about shooting the pythons.

[email protected] September 22nd 09 06:28 AM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
On Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:28:59 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:21:13 -0500,
wrote:

On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:37:09 -0400,
wrote:

On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:06:54 -0700, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

Are the black snakes poisonous?

No they are really quite harmless to anything they can't swallow.
They have tiny teeth that barely break the skin on a soft spot like
the inside of your arm and don't hurt my fingers at all.
I had one living in my screen cage for a couple weeks and they are
always around the yard. I still get one in now and then.
It sure did a good job on the bugs, lizards and tree frogs.That's how
I know I have one. Nothing is alive in there.
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Black%20racer.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Black%20racer2.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Black%20racer3.jpg

I am the local snake wrangler and I go get them out of other's peoples
pool cages and garages a lot.
I toss them in my yard if I can't talk them into keeping them at in
their yard. I suppose it takes them about an hour to make their way
back but I tried ;-)


The black snake in the picture sequence is a racer? King snakes are
famously known for eating rattlesnakes, too, since apparently they are
immune to rattlesnake venom.

When I was a kid, when I would come across a racer, I would try to
chase it down. It was like a sport, since the racers were so fast. I
never did see a black one, though. The ones I've encountered in our
area have been blue or green.


The southern black racer is more closely related to the northern black
snake from what I understand. They may even be the same crtitter with
environmental adaptation.


That's interesting. The black snake in this area is rather gentle.
The old farmers in the area wouldn't mind the black snakes in their
barns or in the corn cribs because the snakes would eat the rats. I
remember having a black snake as a pet when I was a kid. A person
could handle it without a worry.

--
Posted via NewsDemon.com - Premium Uncensored Newsgroup Service
-------http://www.NewsDemon.com------
Unlimited Access, Anonymous Accounts, Uncensored Broadband Access

[email protected] September 22nd 09 07:34 AM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
On Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:21:55 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:28:38 -0500,
wrote:

The black snake in the picture sequence is a racer? King snakes are
famously known for eating rattlesnakes, too, since apparently they are
immune to rattlesnake venom.

When I was a kid, when I would come across a racer, I would try to
chase it down. It was like a sport, since the racers were so fast. I
never did see a black one, though. The ones I've encountered in our
area have been blue or green.

The southern black racer is more closely related to the northern black
snake from what I understand. They may even be the same crtitter with
environmental adaptation.


That's interesting. The black snake in this area is rather gentle.
The old farmers in the area wouldn't mind the black snakes in their
barns or in the corn cribs because the snakes would eat the rats. I
remember having a black snake as a pet when I was a kid. A person
could handle it without a worry.


The southern black racers are pretty aggressive. They won't hurt you
but they put on quite a show. They really don't like being picked up.
It is quite a show when I pull one out of someone's pool cage.
I let them go nuts striking at everything until I get it outside
because I know it won't hurt me.
They do put a nasty stink on your hands. That is some protective
reaction I imagine.
As soon as they hit the ground they are gone.
The flip side of that is if they are really attacked they will roll up
in a ball with nothing but the tail sticking out, whipping around,
trying to look like a rattle.
My dog went after one and he rolled up like a hockey puck. I picked
him up and tossed out the door. Once it was clear it opened up and
rocketed away unharmed.


That sounds typical of the behavior of the Hognose snake (or Puff
Adder) in this area. It will spread the sides of its head like a
cobra, and it puts on quite a show. It acts ill-tempered and will
strike. But the thing is harmless. When it becomes obvious that it
hasn't dissuaded its 'attacker' it plays dead. It's really amusing to
watch.

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Richard Casady September 22nd 09 01:06 PM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
On Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:37:08 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:49:48 -0500, thunder
wrote:

On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:01:18 -0400, gfretwell wrote:


The pythons are so bad in the everglades they have opened up hunting for
them. No closed season, no bag limit and no restriction on how you take
them.
My son in law works for water management and the guy they have taking
them uses a shotgun. The trick is being far enough away that when you
hit one in the part that is exposed, he can't get you when he strikes
back. It is certainly not a "single shot" shotgun sort of thing. You
need a quick follow up shot to hit him in the head on that strike. It is
sort of a "station 8 low house" sort of thing but a "double". There are
teams that capture them alive but they are not your average people and
they do get bit a lot. The bites are very likely to get infected.
I am going to get out there with the water management folks the first
time I get a chance but I will be a shotgun guy, not a "grab'm" guy. (at
least not at first)
I might want to go out with a capture team once I get a feel for it. I
don't mind wrestling with critters.


Looks like you have a new python, besides the Burmese one.

http://www.miamiherald.com/573/story/1243680.html

I'm still amazed those things will tangle with an alligator. I was doing
a little reading on the pythons. It seems they could really do some
damage on the Everglades ecosystem. That's a shame. There isn't any
place like the Everglades.


I was flipping channels tonight and saw that Jackass guy playing with
two anacondas in one of those ball houses the kids play in.
One of the snakes disappeared in those balls and popped out of nowhere
to grab one of the guys by the leg. The Jackass guy got two nasty
bites on his arm trying to hold one. He had it too far from the head
(maybe on purpose, considering who it was).
I am thinking the shotgun doesn't sound like a bad idea.
I am not looking for aT


The internet should disclose some makers of western boots. Might be
good money in the skins

Casady

Frogwatch[_2_] September 22nd 09 03:30 PM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
On Sep 22, 8:06*am, (Richard Casady)
wrote:
On Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:37:08 -0400, wrote:
On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:49:48 -0500, thunder
wrote:


On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:01:18 -0400, gfretwell wrote:


The pythons are so bad in the everglades they have opened up hunting for
them. No closed season, no bag limit and no restriction on how you take
them.
My son in law works for water management and the guy they have taking
them uses a shotgun. The trick is being far enough away that when you
hit one in the part that is exposed, he can't get you when he strikes
back. It is certainly not a "single shot" shotgun sort of thing. You
need a quick follow up shot to hit him in the head on that strike. It is
sort of a "station 8 low house" sort of thing but a "double". There are
teams that capture them alive but they are not your average people and
they do get bit a lot. The bites are very likely to get infected.
I am going to get out there with the water management folks the first
time I get a chance but I will be a shotgun guy, not a "grab'm" guy. (at
least not at first)
I might want to go out with a capture team once I get a feel for it. I
don't mind wrestling with critters.


Looks like you have a new python, besides the Burmese one.


http://www.miamiherald.com/573/story/1243680.html


I'm still amazed those things will tangle with an alligator. *I was doing
a little reading on the pythons. *It seems they could really do some
damage on the Everglades ecosystem. *That's a shame. *There isn't any
place like the Everglades.


I was flipping channels tonight and saw that Jackass guy playing with
two anacondas in one of those ball houses the kids play in.
One of the snakes disappeared in those balls and popped out of nowhere
to grab one of the guys by the leg. The Jackass guy got two nasty
bites on his arm trying to hold one. He had it too far from the head
(maybe on purpose, considering who it was).
I am thinking the shotgun doesn't sound like a bad idea.
I am not looking for aT


The internet should disclose some makers of western boots. Might be
good money in the skins

Casady


As all the grandkids of my parents got older, at Easter, the kid's
would hide the eggs and the adults would look for em. My sis in law
was bending over to pick up an egg and a hognose snake "struck" at
her. She fainted right there on the spot and so did the snake. You
could roll the snake on his belly and he'd roll back over like he's
trying to say, 'Go away, I'm dead", sorta cute.
Another time, we were exploring the pit at Falling Waters State Park
mapping the cave at the bottom and one of the guys finds a black racer
in the pit and decides to "rescue" it even though tit looked very
happy to me down there. He caught it and stuffed it into his pack and
started up the rope. He gets about halfway up and that snake got out
of his pack and starts wrapping round his arm biting him and he's
desperately trying to stuff it back in with one hand, funny as hell.

Richard Casady September 22nd 09 03:49 PM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:06:54 -0700, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

Are the black snakes poisonous?


There are no poisonous snakes. They are all safe to eat. Some are
venomous, but not blacksnakes.

Casady

Wayne.B September 22nd 09 04:20 PM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:01:18 -0400, wrote:

I am going to get out there with the water management folks the first
time I get a chance but I will be a shotgun guy, not a "grab'm" guy.
(at least not at first)


Where would you go for the best python hunting and what would be the
most suitable boat? I've been back 20 to 30 miles in the Little Shark
River area but haven't seen any snakes, possibly from lack of skill at
it.

Do you need to notify the park people in advance?


nom=de=plume September 22nd 09 07:18 PM

Gators, sharks, snakes and rays
 
"Richard Casady" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:06:54 -0700, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

Are the black snakes poisonous?


There are no poisonous snakes. They are all safe to eat. Some are
venomous, but not blacksnakes.

Casady



I meant venomous. Thanks for the correction. I've never had a problem with
snakes (non-human of course). I don't even mind spiders. I had a friend with
a tarantula. I wouldn't have picked it as a pet, but it was ok to handle
(after a few thoughtful minutes of consideration).

--
Nom=de=Plume




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