I hate cottonmouths

[drax05]

Yeah we got very lucky and she’s doing fine and the swelling is down so I’m thinking she just got bitten without much poison !

Doug, for got to mention earlier, but my neighbor had his dog bitten at the camp last year, took to the vet, vet told him next time (and down here, there will probably be a "next time") to put a lot of Benadryl down his throat ASAP. Might want to ask your vet about it also in case there is a "next time".

 

[Doug1968]

Doug, for got to mention earlier, but my neighbor had his dog bitten at the camp last year, took to the vet, vet told him next time (and down here, there will probably be a "next time") to put a lot of Benadryl down his throat ASAP. Might want to ask your vet about it also in case there is a "next time".

Thank you and have found out that’s what everyone does around here

 

[Hanshi]

Since cottonmouths were the principle subject at the start of this thread, I'll just add that I DO find them creepy and "unwholesome". Like other snakes they also don't bother me; but I just don't particularly like them.

 

[user 23626]

I'm only afraid of heights, nervous on a handicap toilet. When a boy in West Texas I wore high top cowboy boots and was cautious about reaching places. Sorry Hanshi but I participated in more than one rattlesnake roundup and have caught many barehanded. When we lived in S/E Wyo we had horses bitten twice on the nose..Large swelled head for awhile .Vet said due to their large size they fair better than a small animal..Dunno. You do get around. I saw you over on "Beartooth Bullets" forum I think it was..Out Here

 

[mark1945]

Hanshi What part of Georgia were you from I spent 3 years there in the 70.s in Fleming when i was at Ft Stewart hunted all over that area on the base and much of the area close to Hwy 17 my landlord had several thousand acres that i hunted on .My daughter lives in Cumming north of Atlanta .

 

[bobbythehunter]

Cottonmouths, just one more reason I'll probably stay in New England till I'm taken back to wherever I came from. We have copperheads, and some rattlesnakes, timber I think, but they are both rare. In my 50 plus years of trouncing around the woods and Waters of new England I've seen one copperhead and that was piointed out by my hunting partner while scouting for deer. Hunted northern California a couple of times and they have rattlesnakes but I've never seen one. I'm kind of scared of snakes but would never kill one just because it's a snake. Don't know how I'd feel if we had large numbers of poisonous snakes. Be careful you guys and gals and dogs.

 

[Newtire]

To me they are pretty fearsome creatures. If you've ever had a venomous snake coiled up ready to strike, you might not feel too hesitant about sending it into the hereafter. A rattler up close is pretty scary to me.

 

[Hanshi]

A bit more. I lived in Oglethorpe County, a rural county in Northeast Georgia. I've also spent a great deal of time in the coastal plain (southern half of the state). The area I lived in was the "Piedmont". The mountains are farther north in the state, while the Coastal Plain forms the southern half of Georgia. The Piedmont has the most deer and other game especially around the region where it gradually becomes the CP. Black bear seasons occur in the mountains and the CP; bears are rare in the Piedmont.

Timber and canebrake rattlers are the same species (Crotalus horridus) although they occupy different habitat and differ in color. The canebrake's venom is a neurotoxin unlike the mostly hemorrhagic toxin of the Eastern diamondback (Crotalus adamanteus). This means the canebrake venom is much more toxic drop for drop than the venom of the larger diamondback. The diamondback, however, because of its size can deliver massive doses from the large head and oversize venom glands. Fortunately, both species have relatively calm dispositions and bite very infrequently. Timber rattlers seem to also exhibit more color variations from the typical patterns to solid black; canebrakes don't seem to do this. The species is not a prolific producer of offspring; reaching sexual maturity at around 5 or 6 yoa. They also only procreate once every 2 to 3 years. This makes them vulnerable to population depletion.

I DO/WILL NOT kill any snake just because it is a snake; I would require a valid reason to destroy one of these valuable animals. I show them the respect that they deserve and do not prey upon them. Observing wildlife in situ is one of my greatest pleasures, and that includes snakes. :thumbs up:

 

[Hanshi]

To me they are pretty fearsome creatures. If you've ever had a venomous snake coiled up ready to strike, you might not feel too hesitant about sending it into the hereafter. A rattler up close is pretty scary to me.

Been there, done that. I simply stay out of their way and rarely harass them; and then only to move them to safety. Snakes are pretty helpless creatures. A man with a stick is a deadly threat to any of them, as are raptors, badgers and other predators. The fastest of them cannot catch a quickly walking human. I would not kill every bear, wild cat, coyote, wolf or pit bull I came across even though all have attacked and killed many humans in the past. A rattlesnake that buzzes a warning almost never strikes if not approached or bothered.

 

[heelerau]

Downunder we have plenty of snakes that can kill you. It has been found young snakes are more likely to envenom when they bite as they have not as yet learnt discretion.
I remember as a kid, a king brown chasing my late little brother up the path and tried to follow him into the house. Dad got the snake with a " snake charmer" which is a long piece of bull wire with a crook in one end as a handle. They work much better than a long handled shovel. You strike the snake with it and it breaks its back. I guess growing up with snakes in ones environment you are unconsciously careful when going about your business. Most of our snakes will get out of your way, except for tiger snakes who will have a go at you unprovoked. Like Hanshi I won't kill a snake for being a snake, unless absolutely necessary

 

[Okie Hog]

i've got this thing about poisonous snakes, they die on the spot. Few years go i encountered a huge western diamond back coiled in the middle of Deyo road very close to two homes. . Snake was at least seven feet long. A couple cars stopped behind me and one guy was raising hell that i killed the snake. Finally told him to shut up: "See that house over there, a small girl lives there and that snake could have killed her." Another guy took the rattles.

My high frequency hearing is shot and i can't hear rattle snakes. To make a long story short, one cool April morning Jason was removing some parts we needed from a five ton truck while i hung out. Jason got the parts and came over. Jason: "Can't you hear that rattlesnake." Me: "What rattlesnake would that be?" Jason, pointing about six feet way: "That one."

i had been within a couple feet of that 6'6" western diamondback. The snake had a big bulge where he had swallowed something the night before. Very lucky i didn't get nailed.

 

[afishhunter]

I'm equal opportunity.
I loathe all snakes.
IMHO the only "good" snake is dead, and 5,000 feet below the grass.

 

[Buck Conner1]

If you remember the one scene in "Lonesome Dove" of the cottonmouths rolling across the water, that was a no **** (really happens) shot. On a primitive canoe trip down the Missouri River we had that happen to us. We filled the air with black powder smoke when we blew that roll of snakes into pieces. The Missouri and Mississippi Rivers are full of them along with snapping turtles.

 

[Hanshi]

My philosophy is two fold. First, I don't like doing stuff that might have a negative effect on the ecology - the web of life. Second, I did not create snakes nor did I put them here on Earth. So it would be the most blatant display of hubris for me to decide these creatures do not deserve to exist. I am a arachnophobic; but I do not kill them (yep, fear is partly responsible) or have someone else kill them unless they post an existential, at the very least, threat. But that's just me.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

I have no desire to kill snakes. I think they are pretty cool, unless they want to hang out close to my house. I will chase them off with a stick and most will not come back. The very few that have gotten aggressive or still insisted on getting close to my house................... I plead the 5th.

 

[user 23626]

Being Irish, perhaps a call to St Paddy's ghost would be in order. March them to the sea, problem solved. LOL

 

[afishhunter]

My philosophy is two fold. First, I don't like doing stuff that might have a negative effect on the ecology - the web of life. Second, I did not create snakes nor did I put them here on Earth. So it would be the most blatant display of hubris for me to decide these creatures do not deserve to exist.

Do you feel the same concerning (hungry) mosquitos, gnats, fleas, tics, and biting black flies?

 

[user 23626]

I do recall the serpent's role in the Garden of Eden..Nuff Said

 

[Hanshi]

Do you feel the same concerning (hungry) mosquitos, gnats, fleas, tics, and biting black flies?

Basically yes. Being from Georgia I had to learn to coexist with all these plus fire ants and many other creepy crawlies. Down there they are thick, ubiquitous, wide ranging and around all the time; most people's concept of "winter" simply doesn't happen there. Just about every critter I can think of has at least some usefulness to the environment. I do admit, however, that I've never heard of nor come across any reason for ticks to exist; that plague is the result of human meddling, but that's another story anyway.

When one starts removing bricks from the bottom of a brick wall just to get rid of the ugly bricks, a time will come when the entire wall will collapse.

 

[Newtire]

Been there, done that. I simply stay out of their way and rarely harass them; and then only to move them to safety. Snakes are pretty helpless creatures. A man with a stick is a deadly threat to any of them, as are raptors, badgers and other predators. The fastest of them cannot catch a quickly walking human. I would not kill every bear, wild cat, coyote, wolf or pit bull I came across even though all have attacked and killed many humans in the past. A rattlesnake that buzzes a warning almost never strikes if not approached or bothered.

Sounds like some good advice. That rattling is designed to alert. It sure has gotten my attention.