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NoHall

hmmmm......can't remember
May 28, 2007
9,032
996
Northern Hall County, GA
:funn:

Funny I should stumble upon this thread today. Was at a friends sitting by the pool last night, lights on in the pool. And there it was, a pygmy (sp?) rattler takin a dip. Had to herd the kids and dogs into the house, while the men dealt with it. Of course they were bullet proof after all the beverages they'd had that day :roll:

I was a lifeguard for many years, mostly in Georgia, and lived in fear of taking the lid off the skimmers. (Sssshiver...)

Pictures of juvenile cottonmouth I relocated out of my garden back in June. (one of two in as many weeks) Even with all of the poking and proding, not a single strike or aggressive posture. No need to kill. Just leave them alone and they'll do the same.

Sorry to hear about that. Yes, snakes can bite, but do so only in defense. Maybe you should leave the relocating to the professionals (SJ & myself:D )

I've been a landscape professional, mostly in Georgia, for the last 13 years. I worked at a camp in Jasper, Georgia that was literally infested with copperheads and rattlers. Those copperheads were aggressive. I had more than one come after me. At one point I was on a sidewalk in front of a building, and the snake came around from the back, straight toward me. I was barefooted that evening, so I was backpedaling and climbing the porch railings as fast as I could. I was joined by another adult, and the snake was determined to show us who was boss. I was able to jump the rail and run for a shovel, and the snake never gave any indication that it was willing to run.

At the same camp, I used to throw tantrums when the maintenance guys killed my black snakes. The black snakes (mostly king snakes, I believe) made every effort to stay out of our way, and I particularly loved that they are territorial. The rattlers weren't aggressive, either. In fact, I never saw one myself.

The copperhead i have seen has markings like the one on the left but were a lighter color like the ones on the right. And most moccasins I have seen look like the last pic

When I was visiting Hop a couple of months ago, he ran over what he thought was a moccasin. A passer-by told us that the copperheads and cottonmouths are closely related. I didn't realize that, but Googling confirmed it...

FOR THE RECORD: Even though my practice is to kill a venomous snake rather than risk being bitten by it later, it has never brought me any joy to kill anything. I usually leave that battle to the blacksnakes and my cat. I have nothing but respect for the likes of SJ and Grace for their mercy.
 
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savvytangerine

Beach Fanatic
Jul 5, 2007
632
35
30-A since before I could walk
At one point I was on a sidewalk in front of a building, and the snake came around from the back, straight toward me. I was barefooted that evening, so I was backpedaling and climbing the porch railings as fast as I could. I was joined by another adult, and the snake was determined to show us who was boss. I was able to jump the rail and run for a shovel, and the snake never gave any indication that it was willing to run.

At the same camp, I used to throw tantrums when the maintenance guys killed my black snakes. The black snakes (mostly king snakes, I believe) made every effort to stay out of our way, and I particularly loved that they are territorial. The rattlers weren't aggressive, either. In fact, I never saw one myself.

:yikes: :leaving:

I have a black snake that lives in my yard. Doesn't have an angled head and seems docile enough. I swear it seems like we have had this snake for a couple years now - and it is bigger each year. Hopefully it keeps everything else away.

But I did have a funky colored short snake living between the space of the backdoor and the door jam. :yikes: :yikes: :yikes: I think I may have screamed more like a little girl that day - than any other day of my life. Looking back it is funny. :rotfl:
 

jodiFL

Beach Fanatic
Jul 28, 2007
2,466
741
SOWAL,FL
The 2 top pics in my post are of copperheads. The ones I have seen around here look more like the one on the right and were probably about 3'. But I saw one that was smaller had a greenish/yellow part on its tail, which I read in my handy field guide indicated a juvenile.
The bottom pic is of a cottonmouth/moccasin. I rarely see ones that are brown/tan-ish. Most of the ones I see are very dark,almost black and have a yellowish stripe on the side of the head.Also seem short and fat, never more than 3'. I have been told that they get darker as they get older so the retirement community for water moccasins must be in my neighborhood.
:creepy:
 
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Rudyjohn

SoWal Insider
Feb 10, 2005
7,736
234
Chicago Area
I am deathly terrified of snakes, hate them all (sorry) but I keep returning to this thread. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment.

When I was growing up in S. Ala., we had woods all around our property so we had our share of rattlesnakes (I always managed to "rake" across one while I was raking) and also moccasins in the river where we skied. We even went to the Rattlesnake Rodeo in Opp some years. :eek: (very nightmarish)

But PLEASE tell me that there are no snakes ON the beach! I just never thought there would be snakes slithering along the beautiful white, pristine sand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are no snakes on the beach, right????

(I'm gonna have nightmares tonight.)
 

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,644
1,773
So, I looked through my handy-dandy-always-within-close-reach, [ame="http://www.amazon.com/National-Audubon-Society-Field-Florida/dp/067944677X/ref=sr_1_1/103-5373178-7459800?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186376491&sr=1-1"]National Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida[/ame], and, interestingly, the Copperhead is not even listed in it. The four poisonous snakes listed are the Cottonmouth, Pygmy Rattlesnake, Southeastern Diamondback, and Coral Snake. I know that we had Copperheads in north Georgia, because I've found them, but I've never personally seen any Copperheads from middle GA farther south, and I've spent many years roaming the woods and creek and river banks of south Georgia. (I'm not saying that they haven't migrated.)
 

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,644
1,773
But PLEASE tell me that there are no snakes ON the beach! I just never thought there would be snakes slithering along the beautiful white, pristine sand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are no snakes on the beach, right????

(I'm gonna have nightmares tonight.)
Haven't seen any on the actual low lying beach, and most snakes enjoy their camouflage too much, to leave it all behind for a crawl down to the beach. The short version is that the snakes follow the food source.

Remember to use that word, "never," very carefully. It gets many people into trouble. Maybe you recall the story of the American Alligator coming onto the beach in Sandestin a couple of years ago. It was described as being about 10 ft in length. People chased it back into the Gulf, and followed it for a long way down the shore, before it disappeared, not to be seen again by those people. (Alligators are fresh water animals, but mating season kind of stirs things up a bit.)
 
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