~ 19 foot Python killed in Florida

[ericcosh]

When I lived in Mass. I'd see a lot of water moccasins. Hated them!

There are no water moccasins (or also known as Cottonmouths) in the New England area. They are a southern snake. They are often confused with other water snakes that are non-venomous.

 

[Marty1]

When I lived in Mass. I'd see a lot of water moccasins. Hated them!

:scratch: Never seen one ever in the Northeast Muley. Are you perhaps refering to the common black snake :?:

 

[patocazador]

You can smell a cottonmouth when you get close. It smells fishy like a "brim bed" (a spot where bluegill, etc. are breeding and laying eggs).
My son and I went bowhunting 3x in a spot down here and I killed between 11 and 14 (I forget exactly) cottonmouths with a machete in those 3 trips in & out. One of them saw us coming down the firebreak and went behind a tree. When we passed, it came after us from ambush. He was left in many pieces.

 

[Muley Hunter]

When I was a kid I was told they were water moccasins. I'm no snake expert, and believed it all these years. I have to go look that up.

 

[Muley Hunter]

Well, you guys are right. I found an article on it. You can see where the idea came from about the water moccasins.


Venomous Snakes
There are only two venomous snakes in Massachusetts - the timber rattlesnake and the copperhead. (Contrary to popular belief, there are no venomous "water moccasins" in the Bay State, only harmless water snakes.) Statewide, populations of our two endangered venomous snakes are believed to number no more than a few hundred individuals. Due to a host of problems, these populations are probably still declining despite rigorous efforts to protect them. Our "rattlers" are now known to exist at only a dozen or so widely scattered sites in mountainous regions of the state; the distribution of copperheads is even more restricted. As a result, most of Massachusetts is completely devoid of venomous serpents.

 

[exMember]

let them all die off IMO. The good snakes that keep mice and rats down, those are good. Not that crap that bites me and kills me, to hell with them!

 

[ericcosh]

You can smell a cottonmouth when you get close. It smells fishy like a "brim bed" (a spot where bluegill, etc. are breeding and laying eggs).
My son and I went bowhunting 3x in a spot down here and I killed between 11 and 14 (I forget exactly) cottonmouths with a machete in those 3 trips in & out. One of them saw us coming down the firebreak and went behind a tree. When we passed, it came after us from ambush. He was left in many pieces.

I talk to other hunters in the south that deal with Cottonmouths very frequently and they also say that they are very aggressive and will come after you. Forget that!! ale:

 

[patocazador]

Muley, there's nothing "harmless" about a common water snake. They are aggressive and bite whenever possible. Although they contain no venom, their filthy mouths harbor dangerous germs that can seriously infect a wound.
They changed their Genus name a few years back but they used to be called Natrix sipedon and Natrix rhombifera. They are now named Nerodia instead of Natrix.

 

[Spitfire1]

Very few snakes will come after you , most will rather try to get away if given the chance.

 

[Marty1]

Well, you guys are right. I found an article on it. You can see where the idea came from about the water moccasins.


Venomous Snakes
There are only two venomous snakes in Massachusetts - the timber rattlesnake and the copperhead...
...As a result, most of Massachusetts is completely devoid of venomous serpents.

Your article on Venomous Snakes is right on Muley. Benn hiking and hunting Massachusetts for the past 30 years, and have never seem a rattlesnake or copperhead.