Snakes on the course!

[Geoffro]

Grow up.

Well put. Amen.

 

[80playedin10states]

how bout **** off all you *******s?....please boot me from this site!!!! nothing but a bunch of know it all pricks

 

[BrotherDave]

 

[grodney]

2509 day bump. I was at Selah last week and tripped on something....figured it was a stick, you know, how you step on one end and it flips up trips you? Turned around and saw this guy. Felt him hit almost up to my knee, so either I flipped him up when I tripped on him, or he struck at me when I stepped on/over him. No bite though. Disc for scale.

Figure it's a water snake (not a moccasin), but I'm no expert.

 

[THUGNIFICENT763]

Things like this thread make me pretty thankful to live in MN, where snakes are few and far-between. And only two species here are venomous, the Timber Rattlesnake and the Eastern Massasauga. That guy looks like a tough customer, consider yourself lucky hahahahaha.

 

[ClockRoach]

2509 day bump. I was at Selah last week and tripped on something....figured it was a stick, you know, how you step on one end and it flips up trips you? Turned around and saw this guy. Felt him hit almost up to my knee, so either I flipped him up when I tripped on him, or he struck at me when I stepped on/over him. No bite though. Disc for scale.

Figure it's a water snake (not a moccasin), but I'm no expert.

That probably is a water moccasin (aka cottonmouth). The best rule of thumb for North American snakes is to look at their jaw. If they've got a jaw that's much wider than their neck, like that one, beware. If their jaw and neck are perfectly smooth with no bulge, they're almost certainly safe. The only venemous snake we have that doesn't have that big pit viper jaw is the coral snake, and they're both rare and distinctive (red, yellow, and black bands with red touching the yellow).

 

[Doofenshmirtz]

That probably is a water moccasin (aka cottonmouth).

Take out "probably." Someone should be very happy they didn't get bit.

 

[DavidSauls]

Well, that'll ruin me for the next 177 sticks I trip over.

Nonetheless, I'm glad you lived to tell the story.

 

[lyleoross]

I agree, that snake has a viper jaw if I've ever seen one, you were lucky. I was once out running, came over a rise onto one sunning. It came all the way off the ground in it's strike. I was running hard enough that I had one option, leap over it and hope. Just in case, I swatted at my rump on the way over. Would rather have to explain a bite on the wrist than one on the butt, not to mention the inevitable and never ending jokes and family retells. Oh, that, and I screamed like a five year old as I went over, yeah, wait till it happens to you before you judge.

 

[Nova P]

The triangular-shaped head marks it as a viper, which in North America generally means "don't get bitten by me. I will wreck you." Even if memorizing all the colors of snakes, stripe patterns, and so forth can be too much to remember, please remember that. (They also have little heat-sensing pits between their eyes and mouth, but who wants to get close enough to look for that?)

That is deffo a water moccasin, or cottonmouth, and a bite from it would have ruined your week for sure. (And can kill.)

 

[grodney]

Okay guys, what about this site, that sure makes it sound like a harmless water snake? It says moccasin have a blocky (not triangular) head.

http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/water_moccasin_watersnake_comparison.shtml

Scroll down on that page for pics for comparison.

 

[lyleoross]

BTW - they come out in the spring, it's mating season. And with that, goes a fair amount of aggression. Typically, snakes, all of them, avoid us if they see us coming. In the spring, the cottonmouth gets nasty and tends to stand it's ground or attack anything that it can get a center on.

Another story, there's a local herein Houston, Jim Davis, really nice guy. He likes to play with them. I've seen him pick them up. He's never been bitten to my knowledge, just has a way.

 

[lyleoross]

Okay guys, what about this site, that sure makes it sound like a harmless water snake? It says moccasin have a blocky (not triangular) head.

http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/water_moccasin_watersnake_comparison.shtml

Scroll down on that page for pics for comparison.

That may be, and indeed, I'm not going to question a university site. The snake here has a very viper shape and size to it. Vipers are defined as having the triangular head, in general. The shorter, fat body is very much moccasin in nature. The real answer is to see it in a strike with it's mouth open. Perhaps it would be best to say, that regardless, avoid all snakes if you can. The ones that are poisonous, well that's obvious, the non-poisonous, well, as adults we should know enough to leave harmless things alone.

 

[grodney]

Perhaps it would be best to say, that regardless, avoid all snakes if you can. The ones that are poisonous, well that's obvious, the non-poisonous, well, as adults we should know enough to leave harmless things alone.

Well yes obviously ha ha! I paid a hell of a lot more attention to where I was walking after that point!

Just wish I knew for sure so I know how epic the story is. And how lucky I was!

 

[NathanNoodleArm]

Dear grodney, I'm glad you're not dead. I hope I don't get bitten by a snake when I go to Selah next month.

 

[grodney]

Thanks, I'm glad, too. I hope you don't, either.

Have fun and be careful!

 

[DavidSauls]

I'd guess moccasin, but it's hard to be sure. Some water snakes have an intermediate head, broader than most snakes, and pretty heavy bodies. An above-the-head view would be helpful.

 

[THUGNIFICENT763]

Treat all snakes as if they are venomous. Problem solved.

 

[KniceZ]

Everyone seems to focus on the head shape but as shown in the linked web site that can be misleading. The one absolute way to tell is the eyes - round versus vertical slit pupil. Unfortunately you've got to get CLOSE to tell.

Did it ever coil up and show fangs?

I generally just leave any snake alone.

 

[Agricolae]

$20 says water snake, nonvenomous. Safe money says *stay away* as even water snakes are mean b*st*rds!