Pygmy Rattlesnakes

SJ's picture is a classic cottonmouth. Scary to have one of those looking at you, licking his lips. :shock:

Even more scary to see him waiting to strike your feet when you walk by. I was blessed to have seen this one. They are very aggressive and I have seen one chase a guy for a short distance. I was almost on top of this one when I noticed him. He was typical size of about 3.5 feet and fairly thick bodied. I have also seen a coral snake in my yard about two years ago, and a big freaking Eastern Diamond Back Rattlesnake just down the street. He was huge - about 6 ft long and as thick as my biceps. He was going toward the woods so I let him go. The Coral Snake I picked up with a stick and placed him in a bucket and transported him down the street at the edge of the woods.

Even more scary to see him waiting to strike your feet when you walk by. I was blessed to have seen this one. They are very aggressive and I have seen one chase a guy for a short distance. I was almost on top of this one when I noticed him. He was typical size of about 3.5 feet and fairly thick bodied. I have also seen a coral snake in my yard about two years ago, and a big freaking Eastern Diamond Back Rattlesnake just down the street. He was huge - about 6 ft long and as thick as my biceps. He was going toward the woods so I let him go. The Coral Snake I picked up with a stick and placed him in a bucket and transported him down the street at the edge of the woods.

;-) Smiley J!

Gee Willackers!!! I'm starting to think I shouldn't have asked. Ignorance is bliss. Does the Destin Wal-Mart sell thigh-high fishing boots?????

Alligators and scorpions and snakes...oh my...alligators and scorpions and snakes...oh my...we not in Kansas any more Todo

Gee, thanks for the info jhbeebe

SJ and twt515...you are very brave indeed!

heh
I found a scorpion in the house during our first couple weeks here. I was horrified yet fascinated.
I think I am more scared of snakes.
What about putting that yellow sulphur stuff at the perimeter of your yard? That's what somebody told me to do.

I guess the development has displaced a lot of the local wildlife, if people think there are no snakes in the area. We are famous for snakes, always have been! Diamondback rattlesnakes, pygmy rattlers, copperhead mocassins, coral snakes and others are in abundance. They were a daily event in the old days, before the palmetto dunes were disturbed. My brother actually saw a sea snake crawling from the dunes toward the water's edge at Grayton, just last year. The pygmy rattler and copperheads are quite aggressive and will give chase if provoked. Coral snakes are hard to differentiate from the more common king snake, but for their colored bands. This is one thing that always gave me the shivers about FL, as I am not fond of reptiles of any sort. Cannot even stomach the idea of frogs legs.

We have rattlesnakes out here, too. They are all in the rocks of the canyon behind our house and are prolific in producing the deadly baby rattlers. Their babies are born with the same amount of venom as an adult snake, but they chew rather than strike. One afternoon, I was coasting rather fast on my bicycle downhill on the road and there was a rattlesnake at least six feet long stretched across the road; it was en route from the rocky area to the creek. The choices were to try and stop on the bike, possibly wiping out right next to the snake, or to keep riding and pass over it. I just kept going, felt the big bump in the road and kept riding until the snake was at an appreciable distance. Watched him slither on across the road and very nearly lost my lunch. I have no affection for reptiles.

Alligators and scorpions and snakes...oh my...alligators and scorpions and snakes...oh my...we not in Kansas any more Todo

Gee, thanks for the info jhbeebe

SJ and twt515...you are very brave indeed!

You forgot the sharks and the jellyfish . We've lived here 5 years and I've only found 1 scorpion in my house--it was dead--smashed under a laundry basket and I've seen 1 scorpion outside. As far as snakes go we used to have a lot of coach whips, but they're gone. I've seen about 2 live pygmys and several dead ones. They're around, but they don't bother you. I do not allow my children to walk through brush (live oaks, palmettos) in the summer because there is a high probability that they will come across snakes.

Oh ya, DON'T look under your boardwalk--thats where the black widows live and while we're talking about pests, be careful of the ticks in the live oak trees.

Are the snakes bad around the lakes and creeks? The only snakes I've seen in the area are dead on the roads and seem to be black snakes.

Oh, and speaking of sharks, we ran into one while kayaking in the surf last weekend. And of course that was right before my friend decided the kayak was too tippy...and over she went.

Yikes! This is going to give me nightmares. I'm hoping that I forget about this thread prior to my next visit!

We also have Stingrays and Dolphin, both of which I saw today. The Stingray was huge, and the Dolphin were on the second sand bar. They caught my eye as I saw one clear the water completely. That was the first time I have seen that in the wild. It is a good day.

Bass Pro Shops stocks snake boots.

Steve Irwin has shot a couple episodes of Crocodile Hunter out in the wilds of Eglin Reservation, with most of the focus being on the snakes out there. (He also did a little bit of black bear) Eglin's Jackson Guard conservation office also has a travelling reptile exhibit where they'll cart out assorted poisonous and non-poisonous critters they've found creeping too close to human habitation. Since there's glass between you and them, it's actually pretty cool.

The only time I can verify seeing a pygmy rattler down here was one on the trail to the beach at Deer Lake SP a couple years back.

We also have Stingrays and Dolphin, both of which I saw today. The Stingray was huge, and the Dolphin were on the second sand bar. They caught my eye as I saw one clear the water completely. That was the first time I have seen that in the wild. It is a good day.

That does make a good day! We saw that right before the storm (either Bonnie or Jeanne) that hit east of us in 2004. There was a small school of them swimming west, all jumping to clear the water. I thought at the time they were running from the storm. Dolphins...my favorite! :clap_1:

That does make a good day! We saw that right before the storm (either Bonnie or Jeanne) that hit east of us in 2004. There was a small school of them swimming west, all jumping to clear the water. I thought at the time they were running from the storm. Dolphins...my favorite! :clap_1:

They are one of my favs too, unless I am trying to catch fish.

We also have Stingrays and Dolphin, both of which I saw today.

Don't forget coyotes, panthers, brown recluse spiders, and occasionally, bears.

And don't forget Florida panthers, one of which ran across the road in front of us near Basmati's in Blue Mountain one dark night.

In the past, Walton County would have what was called a Rattlesnake Rodeo. People would catch hundreds of rattlers and the live specimens would be piled up into an elevated cage. They milked the snakes for anti-venom, later used them for rattlesnake meat and for their skins. I unknowingly ate some rattlesnake meat at a chili cookoff in Southern CA. Who knows what anything tastes like when submerged in all those ingredients? But I remember all those snakes rattling and striking and coiling up together in the pens, because they gave me nightmares as a child. I also remember seeing hundreds of snakeskins hanging on a clothesline. The Rodeo had food booths where they offered rattlesnake cooked in all kinds of ways. Yuck.

Wow, this is so interesting...black widow spiders too and Panthers. Donna, your stories are so well told. I think I ate rattlesnake once too...at a Cajun restaurant. It tasted like chicken, if I remember correctly, but then, so do a lot of things...frog legs being one of them. And to think I thought "wild life" meant going to the clubs for funn :funn: I have a whole new perspective on wildlife now! Does anyone know if the snakes hybernate during the "winter" months in the panhandle? The only "critters" I've seen on and just off 30A when we've been down, are those little green, cute lizards or salamanders. Black widow spiders! The thought of those scare me just about to death!

Donna, I think Opp, Alabama still has their Rattlesnake Rodeo. Big festival.

As far as the question about hibernating - yes, they are supposed to, or at least get very sluggish when we have cold weather. But the last couple of winters have been very mild.

I once found a black widow in my basement in Denver. I checked just to make sure, yup, it had the hourglass on its stomach. We can't go tiptoeing gingerly through life, these critters have a right to live their lives too, but I sure don't want to end up meeting one in that happens to be in a bad mood.
I hear coyotes all the time, and regularly see a gray fox here, but I am already used to that from when we lived in Denver. Panthers and bobcats are supposed to be here, too, but haven't seen them yet, just feral cats.
It's the snakes that freak me out.
What's that saying about color and venomous snakes?
If it's black, you're all right, Jack.
If it's red, you're dead, Fred.
Something like that.

As long as you are mentioning spiders, we also have the Brown Recluse, which I find on occasion, but fortunately, unlike a friend of mine, we don't have Crocodiles, Monkeys, and Cobras.

Cil, I think you've put it in perfect perspective...we can't tiptoe gingerly through life. Btw, we were through Port St. Joe earlier this year...a beautiful, beautiful spot ShallowsNole...I hear your warning...well, I could wish for a colder winter...mmmm...nope...we'll take the critters...and whatever weather we get for that matter...ShallowsNole and SJ...brown recluse ...I've seen a documentary on that critter...nasty...SJ...Crocodiles, Monkeys and Cobras...oh my! We really do live in a wondrous world I feel fortunate to be able to see at least some of it...and to hear about the wildlife on/around/off 30A. Y'all are such great people!

Don't forget the dunecrashers and trashers. Human wildlife.

Don't forget the dunecrashers and trashers. Human wildlife.

This would include my ex-husband.

And don't forget Florida panthers, one of which ran across the road in front of us near Basmati's in Blue Mountain one dark night.

Donna, when was this? In the past few years?

I live near Basmati's next to the state forest and have always wondered if there were any panthers left roaming the area from time to time.

Info on pygmy rattlesnakes

http://www.herpsofnc.org/herps_of_NC/snakes/Sis_mil.html

Don't forget the dunecrashers and trashers. Human wildlife.

Yes, Ms. Kitty...human wildlife can be the worst of all! Some people just don't get it at all