set em up

9/25/2008 11:47:39 PM

2 late

9/25/2008 11:49:42 PM

i killed a really big copperhead in my culdesac the other day. i know that probably makes some snake lovers mad, but i have a grudge with those things after my brother's fiance' was on crutches for three weeks thanks to one hiding near the sidewalk in raleigh at night. it took about four times running over it with my car. twas a beast. poisonous snakes ftl.

[Edited on September 25, 2008 at 11:50 PM. Reason : /]

9/25/2008 11:50:14 PM

So after the first three times it was still alive?

9/25/2008 11:53:46 PM

yeah...time one it coiled up and then it was striking the other two, fourth was guts. it was in the middle of the street where kids play, people walk their dogs, and folks jog. i didn't have anything to move the snake and was walking my friend's dog...i tried to use a broom and get it to the drain, but it was about 3.5 feet long and i didn't want to risk a hospital trip on it.

[Edited on September 25, 2008 at 11:58 PM. Reason : sorry snake lovers but it was for the greater good]

9/25/2008 11:57:50 PM

^^^the real thing that makes me mad is the number of snakes that automatically get called copperheads just because they're snakes and people jump at the chance to kill them.

but im used to people telling stories about "that big fucker" they killed. i've come to terms with the fact i cant change the world, and at least, for the most part, copperhead populations arent threatened.

[Edited on September 25, 2008 at 11:58 PM. Reason : i need to just use quotes]

9/25/2008 11:58:05 PM

yeah, this was definitely a copperhead and i don't kill snakes unless i have no other option. i could just see some kid accidentally stepping on it (my brother did that when he was six and my dad grabbed him to avoid the strike).

9/25/2008 11:59:41 PM

im guessing you've never explored the option of letting it go on its way? you do realize that the copperhead's typical habitat is not beside the sidewalk, or in the middle of the road, right?

9/26/2008 12:03:33 AM

yes i do. my brother stepped on one in the woods, we left it alone. 1.5 months ago my brother's fiance' received a nice hospital bill thanks to a copperhead on a raleigh sidewalk at night (not a typical habitat). this one was in a spot with lots of human traffic, mostly women and children as well as pets. i would have been happy to call you and have you come safely remove it, but i don't have your number.

i've killed two snakes in my life. this was one of them and if it would have stayed in its typical environment it would have been cool, but i don't want anyone else stumbling on a poisonous snake.

and i don't mean any of this in typical message board, troll fashion...i'm kind of scared by snakes, but i leave them alone 9.9 times out of 10. this was an eerily similar spot for one to be (and i left it alone and just watched it for 20 minutes and it never moved) as the bite i mentioned above and i didn't want that happening to anyone else.

[Edited on September 26, 2008 at 12:13 AM. Reason : /]

9/26/2008 12:10:57 AM

^well, you walked into a snake-lover's thread with nothing at first other than the typical a-hole "i just killed a snake" reply. so of course, i had to retort. and you're claiming you have a grudge with them one minute and saying you dont mind them 99% of the time the next.

im not doing myself any good by admitting it, but copperheads do have the worst disposition of any of the venomous snakes in the state. next time, get yourself a nice, long stick, and scoot it along. it will move, believe me. and if you cant keep yourself out of strike range of a 3.5' snake while doing so, it's too bad your mother took thalidomide.



[Edited on September 26, 2008 at 12:27 AM. Reason : [/troll]

9/26/2008 12:22:08 AM

is it true that a snake (copperhead in this case) can strike the length of it's body? just wondering how long of a stick i would need.

9/26/2008 12:39:34 AM

I've helped kill 1 snake I can remember. It was a copperhead... freakin' HUGE one too. He was chillin' on a rock right beside the swimming hole in that park sliding rock is in. After we did the deed we were carrying it across the street into the woods so another animal would eat it and people wouldn't see it when a park ranger drove up.

However the judge just laughed and dismissed the case when he found out what was going on.

Normally we would try to run it off, but there were ~10 kids under the age of 10 swimming and splashing about 20 feet away and probably had no idea what it was. Plus the nearest hospital/medical was ~30 minutes away.

On a lighter note we have a black snake who sleeps in the drive way every day. I want to get a few pics of it, but it runs off. Sucka is FAST.

9/26/2008 12:46:48 AM

EEEEEKKKK! Chop it's head off and then light it on fire. I hate snakes

9/26/2008 7:26:10 AM

umop-apisdn is one of the few twwers that i'm insanely jealous of

9/26/2008 7:50:29 AM

Quote :

"is it true that a snake (copperhead in this case) can strike the length of it's body?"

no. the snake needs an anchor point to push the weight of its body to strike. so you can judge the striking distance by the length that is coiled in front of the portion of the body that is furthest back from the direction it strikes. now some individuals strike with enough force to move their entire bodies, but that usually isnt a significant amount.

now this recent diamondback had the worst temper of any rattlesnake i've dealt with (repeatedly struck), was about 52" long, and i didnt come that close to getting nailed. granted, i work with venomous snakes enough to know what's safe and what isnt. get a walking stick-sized stick and you'll be fine.

9/26/2008 8:28:18 AM

I went to the aquarium at Fort Fisher last weekend and they had some huge snakes. There were a couple of water moccasins, a nice copperhead, and a couple of rattlesnakes. They were as big or bigger than any I've ever seen in the wild.



Anyone know what kind of rattler this is? I saw it in the road on Cedar Island this summer.

9/26/2008 8:37:04 AM

I <3 snakes.

9/26/2008 9:10:30 AM

I thought this thread was about teh aidz

9/26/2008 9:11:16 AM

I have a snake question.

What's the kind of snake that will charge at you if it see/hears you?

This guy told me about how on his land he would shoot a shotgun in the air, the snake(s) would charge him, and then he'd shoot them when they got close.

9/26/2008 10:00:38 AM

I think that's the elusive brown old wives tail snake.

9/26/2008 10:10:26 AM

Quote :

"yeah, this was definitely a copperhead and i don't kill snakes unless i have no other option. i could just see some kid accidentally stepping on it (my brother did that when he was six and my dad grabbed him to avoid the strike)."

So you didn't think about calling animal control?

And people wonder why they have rodent problems. If you don't like a snake leave it the fuck alone or scare it so it leaves. WTF is so hard about that?

9/26/2008 10:17:42 AM

skack:

Canebrake Rattler
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/gaston/Pests/reptiles/canebrake.htm

9/26/2008 10:22:36 AM

^ I think you're right. Thx.

9/26/2008 10:26:28 AM

i thought this thread was going to be about the herp

9/26/2008 10:30:28 AM

i havent seen any fucking snakes here in canada. I miss the hognose snakes I had in my yard in NC. my cat would pop one on the head and it would roll over and unhinge its jaw, and the little pig nostrils were so cute!


I killed a copperhead in my mom's yard at her request when i was about 13, and I still feel shame about it over 10 years later. My parents called me recently and told me they had killed a cottonmouth in a tree in their yard in northeast raleigh. Really

9/26/2008 10:32:22 AM

Quote :

""

i caught one of those earlier in the day, too. 5 in the past week, just havent taken pictures of those yet. but yea, definitely a canebrake.

Quote :

"What's the kind of snake that will charge at you if it see/hears you?"

not necessarily a wive's tale. there are very few snake species in the world that are known to actually go after humans. but none in the US do. this one came at me every time i tried to put the bag down on the ground to put it inside, but that was most likely because i was standing between the snake and its hole.

9/26/2008 3:06:52 PM

I will kill copperheads if they come into the street, yard, house. yeah had to kill one in the neighbors house. it was wrapped around the water heater. I guess I am the designated snake killer around here and in my family. also I can identify them. If it is not a poisonious one I just catch him and let the kids look at him or shoo him away. I catch lots of small ones w/o meaning to while picking up yard debris and trash. I like snakes. just not them mean ole copper heads. I would shit my pants if I saw a rattler.

9/26/2008 3:19:51 PM

When I was surveying, during the late spring, summer, and early fall, snakes were a weekly occurrence.

Sometime in Early October 2005...

We were surveying a boundary around a 500+ ac. tract in Apex. We had cut the line the day before in the rain and were back to traverse what we had just cut. It was still early, between 7:30 and 8:00, when we were hiking in. It was a brisk morning, but it was supposed to warm up some that day. I was carrying one tripod and the instrument and as I stooped to go under a small tree, I caught a little movement out of the corner of my eye.

About six inches from my face was a baby copperhead that was twisted around a tree that was hanging over the line. He (or she) was about six inches long and as wide as a carpenter's pencil. Since it was so cool, it wasn't active at all, so we let it be, but we kept our eyes peeled when we hiked back through that area that afternoon. That was the youngest and smallest snake that I have ever seen (save a green snake). I thought it was pretty cool.

Another time (I don't remember when)

We were surveying a lot in a subdivision in order to stake out a house around the Wake/Granville county line and while the rest of the party was setting up the equipment, I went to look for all the corners. One of the back irons of the lot was on a utility easement and the trees were cleared, but the grass was about knee deep. I saw a little bit of orange flagging poking out of the grass about where the corner was supposed to be.

When I reached down to pull the grass back, there was a copperhead curled up around the iron stake, only six inches or so from where I stuck my hand. It was one of those times when my stomach ended up in my throat because I almost grabbed the snake. I am not fond of creatures with no legs, but I don't piss myself when I see them either like some people. Anyway, about the time I saw the snake, it saw me and reared back to warn me away, so I moved on to the next corner and when I cam eback, it was gone.

On a related note, does a baby snake have the same amount of toxin in less venom than an adult (poisonous snake, of course)?

9/26/2008 4:22:30 PM

I've always understood their bites to be more trouble, because their venom is more concentrated.

[Edited on September 26, 2008 at 4:26 PM. Reason : I]

[Edited on September 26, 2008 at 4:26 PM. Reason : 'm probably totally wrong, though.]

9/26/2008 4:26:20 PM

my brother did a TON of research on copperheads when his fiance' was recovering from her copperhead bite.

this may not be 100% correct, but this is what he explained to me: baby copperheads are worse off about 50% of the time. they don't know how to control their venom like the adults (as in use all of it in one bite in some cases), but at the same time a lot of their bites can be superficial.

when rachael was bitten, there were two good bites around her toes and a superficial one above that so it struck her three times. luckily, the swelling never passed her ankle and she didn't need the anti-venom, just lots of drugs via IV for the pain. she couldn't put any weight on that foot for three weeks though and it was from a very small baby copperhead.

umop-apisdn, please correct anything in this post that's wrong as i like to know these things and not have misinformation.

[Edited on September 26, 2008 at 6:01 PM. Reason : /]

9/26/2008 6:00:11 PM

How do you get bit three times in the same spot? Did she just stand there going "OMG OMG OMG" or something?

9/26/2008 6:55:57 PM

basically

9/26/2008 6:56:55 PM

you're up to the mercy of the individual when you are bitten. "toxicity" of venom is measured by a term "LD50" which stands for the lethal dose for 50% of injected victims (lab mice/rats). blah blah, neonates dont control their venom as well, blah blah. toxicity of venom doesnt change with age, it's not more concentrated, etc. adults have more potential with a higher venom load, they just tend not to blow it all right away.

and you're stupid (for the most part) if you take antivenom for a copperhead bite. sure, it's gonna save you some tissue damage (if you dont react badly to the antivenom), but it's just gonna cost you a hell of a lot more and you blow your only chance at it (not so important unless you work with venomous snakes).

but sounds like this chick needs to get her reflexes checked.

[Edited on September 26, 2008 at 9:57 PM. Reason : oh, and copperheads are pussy shit.]

9/26/2008 9:56:19 PM