Super User SirSnookalot Posted January 24, 2014 Super User Posted January 24, 2014 I got this fear of snakes real bad..........Went out to a place yesterday in hopes of catching peacocks, lots of rocks there. Reptiles like to warm up on a cool day from the heat of rocks, I saw 4 or 5 iguanas and water moc basking, no more no way am I going to do that again. I'm sticking to my hi banked canals, much safer up there. Quote
Diggy Posted January 24, 2014 Posted January 24, 2014 Im always high stepping thru grassy areas like Roger Craig. I know what you mean with the rocks, I've seen them too near 595 (iguanas and snakes). I can deal with the iguanas but Id rather skip the snakes. The worst was seeing 5+ft rattle snake floating on top of the water at Wolf Lake, while simultaneously having wild geese stare at you, then chase your car when leaving. Im bringing nun-chucks next time. Quote
ccummins Posted January 24, 2014 Posted January 24, 2014 I've been able to avoid the water moc's down here in Miami-Dade but I have killed a python out by the Everglades close to Shark Valley. Got to agree with Diggy about the iguanas in Broward; one day I was getting off 595 to go up Palm Avenue and it was like the Galapagos Islands btw 84 westbound and the canal.... wall to wall iguanas... Quote
Super User Darren. Posted January 24, 2014 Super User Posted January 24, 2014 Repeat after me: Snakes are our friends. They keep the rodent population from rising and taking over the world... LOL. But seriously, I can understand fear of snakes. However, in my house we have 20 of them. Of course we do not collect venomous snakes. My brother was bitten by a Canebrake rattlesnake back in the early 80s, we almost lost him. I was a young teenager, but learned a valuable lesson from that. Wise to avoid areas where water moccasins/cottonmouths bask. They're one of the more belligerent/stand-its-ground snakes out there. 2 Quote
Super User MarkH024 Posted January 24, 2014 Super User Posted January 24, 2014 However, in my house we have 20 of them. Do you have a rat problem? 2 Quote
Super User Darren. Posted January 24, 2014 Super User Posted January 24, 2014 Do you have a rat problem? Ha ha. Nope. They're "pets", we collect 'em. But we were raising rats for a while, for feeding. My wife wasn't a fan of that aspect of snake keeping. 1 Quote
Super User SirSnookalot Posted January 24, 2014 Author Super User Posted January 24, 2014 One nice thing about Michigan, 1 non aggressive, timid, non fatal poisonous snake. Had one on the golf course sitting between my ball and the cup, moved it with my putter..........nothing stands between me and a birdie. 1 Quote
Super User Darren. Posted January 24, 2014 Super User Posted January 24, 2014 One nice thing about Michigan, 1 non aggressive, timid, non fatal poisonous snake. Had one on the golf course sitting between my ball and the cup, moved it with my putter..........nothing stands between me and a birdie. FWIW, and this is a technicality, but worth knowing: snakes we're mentioning are "venomous" not "poisonous". A lot of people get the twain mixed up, but venom is usually injected, poison is ingested. (see below) Similarities abound, though, hence the confusion: Venomous vs. poisonous There is a difference between organisms that are venomous and those that are poisonous, two commonly confused terms applied to plant and animal life. Venomous, as stated above, refers to animals that deliver (often, inject) venom into their prey when hunting or as a defense mechanism. Poisonous, on the other hand, describes plants or animals that are harmful when consumed or touched. A poison tends to be distributed over a large part of the body of the organism producing it, while venom is typically produced in organs specialized for the purpose. One species of bird, the hooded pitohui, although not venomous, is poisonous, secreting a neurotoxin onto its skin and feathers. The slow loris, a primate, blurs the boundary between poisonous and venomous. From patches on the inside of its elbows it secretes a toxin, which it is believed to smear on its young to prevent them from being eaten; however, it will also lick these patches, giving it a venomous bite. VIA: http://www.preservevenomous.com/Venom_Vs_Poison/Venom_Vs_Poison.htm 1 Quote
Super User MCS Posted January 24, 2014 Super User Posted January 24, 2014 We just went to the serpentarium in St Cloud Fl Got to see them milking a cotton mouth, coral, rattler and cobra. Nice talk on how anti venom is made. Interesting thing Darren is that all the North American pit vipers has similar venom so rattler, copperhead cotton mouth etc. are all the same anti venom. Quote
Super User MCS Posted January 24, 2014 Super User Posted January 24, 2014 Relaxed for having just struck at him.....oh he is missing parts of fingers and arm from being bitten Quote
Super User geo g Posted January 25, 2014 Super User Posted January 25, 2014 Large cotton mouth as fat as my arm, close to Flanagans in Weston. I have some pics I just cant post. He had no fear of me! Quote
Super User Darren. Posted January 25, 2014 Super User Posted January 25, 2014 We just went to the serpentarium in St Cloud Fl Got to see them milking a cotton mouth, coral, rattler and cobra. Nice talk on how anti venom is made. Interesting thing Darren is that all the North American pit vipers has similar venom so rattler, copperhead cotton mouth etc. are all the same anti venom. That place has quite a reputation in the field. I've never been there, but believe my brother has, and knows/knew the founder (if it's the right FL serpentarium I'm thinking of)... Some great knowledge to be learned at places like that. I've been to others, and there's a great place in Luray, VA - the Luray Zoo - that has a rescue operation, tons of venomous snakes, massive crocs, tigers, etc. As far as the anti-venom for my brother's bite had to be flown to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY from Pennsylvania as they experienced far more rattler bites (Timber) than Western NY. Believe my brother was the first, or one of the first bites there. Bet your son was in wide-eyed wonder at the operation there! Quote
GLADES Posted January 25, 2014 Posted January 25, 2014 I have had moccasins on two different occaisions swim over to where I was fishing with their heads raised above the water/mouth open. Once on shore and one time in a boat. Those are some crazy snakes. Both times I bugged out of there... 1 Quote
Super User SirSnookalot Posted January 25, 2014 Author Super User Posted January 25, 2014 I did see a swimming moc in the ICW last year, I read saltwater isn't a deterrent for them. We have had reports of saltwater crocs in the ICW between Delray and Lake Worth, haven't seen one but have always made sure not to fish scrub areas, only sea walls. I still think it's a lot safer fishing saltwater. Quote
RAMBLER Posted January 25, 2014 Posted January 25, 2014 I've had water moccasins try to get in the boat. I have a paddle or push pole with me and usually make gator snacks out of them. A friend and I were fishing a pond in NW Florida and a moc about 3 feet long came swimming at us. One of us picked it up on an oar and the other "struck it violently". There was a gator in that pond. It came out of the weeds and ate the snake and then followed us around waiting for us to get it another snake. We left. 1 Quote
Super User Sam Posted January 25, 2014 Super User Posted January 25, 2014 As we infringe on wild animal habitats we should expect to meet an greet the local animal population. Usually you give them distance and they will give you distance. With that said, water moccasins are aggressive vipers. In Louisiana we had them swim out from the grasses and strike the boat as we floated down the swamps. In Virginia they are "supposed " to be no further north than Hopewell, where we have seen them in the Appomattox River. But since they can't read to understand that they are not to go past Hopewell a number of guys have sworn they have seen the moccasins north of Hopewell on the Historic James River. Personally, I have not seen the moccasins but we do have copperheads in the Historic James and at my house by Bosher's Dam in the City of Richmond. All I can do is tell you what my uncle told me about snakes when growing up in Louisiana : "What does a snake and a leaky condom have in common? You don't **** with either!" Good advice that is true today. Take it or leave it. Quote
Super User MCS Posted January 25, 2014 Super User Posted January 25, 2014 That place has quite a reputation in the field. I've never been there, but believe my brother has, and knows/knew the founder (if it's the right FL serpentarium I'm thinking of)... Some great knowledge to be learned at places like that. I've been to others, and there's a great place in Luray, VA - the Luray Zoo - that has a rescue operation, tons of venomous snakes, massive crocs, tigers, etc. As far as the anti-venom for my brother's bite had to be flown to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY from Pennsylvania as they experienced far more rattler bites (Timber) than Western NY. Believe my brother was the first, or one of the first bites there. Bet your son was in wide-eyed wonder at the operation there! We have been to the luray zoo my wife's grandmother lived there. It is a cool place. We have a local gator farm in st aug that has a variety of reptiles. He was deffinately glued to the glass on that. Quote
Hyrule Bass Posted January 25, 2014 Posted January 25, 2014 i hate snakes. i am absolutely terrified of snakes. venomous or not, i want nothing to do with them. i dont even like dead snakes. dont want to be around them. only want to see them on tv, lol that dont bother me... 1 Quote
Super User South FLA Posted January 26, 2014 Super User Posted January 26, 2014 Sir Snook, When I was a teenager fishing a local canal I happened to step on a cotton-mouth, luckily it was less than 12" and when I stepped on it I pinned its head in such a matter that it could only twist its body. My brother was with me and killed it under foot, I was petrified, but I knew not to move. Quote
Super User SirSnookalot Posted January 26, 2014 Author Super User Posted January 26, 2014 I've been within a few foot a several times, 2 twice I was right next to one. Fishing a pond I stepped within an inch or 2, moc didn't move, I thought it was dead......whew. another time I took a step and a snake shot straight up in the air, sacred the crap out of me, in hindsight I don't think it was a moc. Quote
jonnysmith Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 my dad has a house in key largo right on lake surprize,which was salt water, he killed a few cotton mouths in the yard that came out of the salt water canal in the back..we also saw a few alligators and salt water crocs on lake surprize. Quote
Super User Darren. Posted January 31, 2014 Super User Posted January 31, 2014 If I lived and fished where you Florida guys go, I'd probably have a pair of snake boots. Used to have strap-on anti-snake bite ...thingys for my legs when I was a bit younger. No idea what happened to them. But they'd definitely save you from the biters, not the squeezers (pythons) or gators. Anyhow, Florida is an awesome place for herpetologists, entomologists, and fishermen alike. I'll visit, but don't want to live there even though I love snakes. 1 Quote
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