Thank You Gary!!!
Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:53 pm
Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:08 pm
No problem Jack. If you need another new avatar to replace your latest one here, just let me know. Maybe next time I can get a picture of a roadrunner with a rattlesnake in it's mouth. 
Gary
Gary
Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:16 pm
That's the first rattlesnake I've ever seen with an 
evil eye 
Oh yeah, "is niiicccee!!!"
evil eye
Oh yeah, "is niiicccee!!!"
???
Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:19 pm
Steve shame on you and your return address says Texas.
That's a rattler killing Bull snake. If it wasn't ol Gary'd be in the ER
That's a rattler killing Bull snake. If it wasn't ol Gary'd be in the ER
Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:03 pm
Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:44 pm
You all should see the "in action" series of that little guy at work
S
S
Sat Oct 17, 2009 6:22 am
Here's the story behind the picture, and the additional pictures that go with it...........
While walking out to the shop this morning, I came across this little bull snake in the grass, trying to soak up some morning sun and get all limbered up. He was pretty lethargic, so I picked him up and carried him over to the concrete, so that he'd get warmed up and on the move again. It's pretty amazing just how quickly his blood got to flowing. He started out just crawling up my arm and acting like a long time pet or something, but within seconds, he got grumpy and aggressive. I figured I'd done my job by warming him up, so I was just gonna set him down and leave him to his bug, mice, and rattlesnake killing. He bit me on my hand a few times while putting him down, so maybe he just wanted to cuddle a little while longer...I dunno.
Anyway, before leaving him alone, I thought I'd snap a few pictures of him playing with the bottom of my boot. You can almost see the difference in his facial expression between the first and second pictures, as he was getting more and more warmed up...and aggressive. So after I took these pictures, I just left him alone. He stayed on the concrete for about thirty more seconds, in order to finish warming up, then just eased back off into the grass.
This is only the second live snake I've seen at Austin Acres in the 3.5 years I've lived here, and they were both bull snakes (the other one was over 5 ft. long). The only rattlesnake I've seen here on the property was in the mouth of Daddy Roadrunner that is one of two families of them that hangs around. So, if you don't want snakes around, hire a bunch of roadrunners to patrol your property.
And a little info about the bull snake, via Wikipedia......
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullsnake
Gary
While walking out to the shop this morning, I came across this little bull snake in the grass, trying to soak up some morning sun and get all limbered up. He was pretty lethargic, so I picked him up and carried him over to the concrete, so that he'd get warmed up and on the move again. It's pretty amazing just how quickly his blood got to flowing. He started out just crawling up my arm and acting like a long time pet or something, but within seconds, he got grumpy and aggressive. I figured I'd done my job by warming him up, so I was just gonna set him down and leave him to his bug, mice, and rattlesnake killing. He bit me on my hand a few times while putting him down, so maybe he just wanted to cuddle a little while longer...I dunno.
Anyway, before leaving him alone, I thought I'd snap a few pictures of him playing with the bottom of my boot. You can almost see the difference in his facial expression between the first and second pictures, as he was getting more and more warmed up...and aggressive. So after I took these pictures, I just left him alone. He stayed on the concrete for about thirty more seconds, in order to finish warming up, then just eased back off into the grass.
This is only the second live snake I've seen at Austin Acres in the 3.5 years I've lived here, and they were both bull snakes (the other one was over 5 ft. long). The only rattlesnake I've seen here on the property was in the mouth of Daddy Roadrunner that is one of two families of them that hangs around. So, if you don't want snakes around, hire a bunch of roadrunners to patrol your property.
And a little info about the bull snake, via Wikipedia......
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullsnake
Gary
Sat Oct 17, 2009 7:30 am
Didn't think the shape of the head was right for a rattler, needed to be flatter and kind of more diamond shaped, but that color pattern, close enough to take a second look!!
Between the Bull Snakes and Chaparral they probably keep the rattler population down. Beep, bee! If he catches you you're through!!!
Between the Bull Snakes and Chaparral they probably keep the rattler population down. Beep, bee! If he catches you you're through!!!
Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:53 am
Found an 8+ft Gopher snake outside my garage one night, first thought it was a rattler & covered the 50ft to the other end of my garage in about 4 steps & 2seconds..
????
Sat Oct 17, 2009 2:59 pm
Not many snakes around here but I did fght off a couple freaking bats the other night with my trusty rake
Sat Oct 17, 2009 3:29 pm
Smiles,
Not everything is bigger and better in Texas!
We have a great collection of snakes here in Australia with 7 of the top 10 most venomous snakes being locals.
My earliest encounter with a snake was running around a corner of the house as a 5yo kid and discovering one curled asleep directly under my next footstep, I still dont recall how I was able to rotate 360 degrees and run off in the other direction without planting my foot down right on top of it, but from that time I have had a healthy respect for snakes, encountering many more while growing up.
In all those encounters I simply let the snake and I depart to our own destinations on a live and let live approach.
Snakes in Australia have been decimated by human actions and many are protected with some on endangered lists.
When I got married and started a family I had a rural property not dis-similar to Austin Acres (to store my own projects or twisted metal as my wife calls it) and before moving the family into a suburban house I averaged an encounter with a tigersnake @ once per summer, (these being #4 in the list), over a 15 year period.
While preferring to live and let live, I would reluctantly dispatch these with a long handled spade due to proximinity to my back yard and children (3 were dispatched in the backyard).
My main concerns were to avoid increased risk to my young children by a nest of snakes being born on the property and becoming resident, or returning each breeding season.
The Tiger grows to about 3 feet in length however most of my encounters were of 18" to 2 feet in length, they prefer to get out of your way, and only fight when cornered, but are agressive when they choose to be so.
I live on volcanic plains, and nearby in a hilly area called the You Yangs about 10 miles away, the predominant snake is the Brown Snake (these being #2 on the list), while sight seeing in the car in that area I drove past a Brown snake in the order of 5' in length and perhaps 6" across at its thickest point, hence I no longer visit that area during summer - smiles.
The Brown Snake is apparantly very agressive, (obviously larger than the Tiger) and very territorial, reputed to challenge and chase humans off its nesting grounds.
I was therefore always concerned I would encounter one of these in the backyard, or have a nest take up residence in my shed etc.
One News Years Eve I was strolling back with the kids from next door, and discovered a very small brown snake on the driveway (perhaps only 4-6" long) and immediately saw it was not a tigersnake due to the all brown skin and lack of distinctive yellow stripes. Concerned that I had discovered the first of many hatchlings of a Brown Snake's litter I dispatched it quickly and become concerned its mum or dad might come looking for it, (and me) - smiles.
Weeks later at the Melbourne zoo while visiting the reptile display, I found many more of the same small brown snakes in a display, although these were labelled as the "Olive legless lizard", often mistaken for the Brown Snake and critically endangered in Victoria because of that and the loss of grassland habitat due to property redevelopment.
http://www.itsawildlife.com.au/index.php?page=olive-legless-lizard
Of all the snakes I have had to despatch due to proximity to my house and kids, I have always regretted the mistaken identity of that endangered legless lizard, and not being able to apply my live and let live approach.
I was therefore pleased to read of Gary's post, the correct identification of the little Bull snake (apparantly often mistaken for a Rattler) and the decision to catch and release it, rather than dispatch it.
I would encourage a live and let live approach to all snakes, unless they are threatening the safety of your kids or family.
(for further info and photos on Australian Snakes see http://www.oceanwideimages.com/categories.asp?cID=278
Regards
Mark Pilkington
Not everything is bigger and better in Texas!
We have a great collection of snakes here in Australia with 7 of the top 10 most venomous snakes being locals.
•Australian snakes are the most venomous in the world.
•7 of the worlds 10 most poisonous snakes live in Australia.
1.Inland Taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus)
2.Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis)
3.Coastal Taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus)
4.Mainland Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus)
5.Peninsula or Black Tiger Snake (Notechis ater niger)
•The first five snakes and most of the snakes on the list are Australian.
My earliest encounter with a snake was running around a corner of the house as a 5yo kid and discovering one curled asleep directly under my next footstep, I still dont recall how I was able to rotate 360 degrees and run off in the other direction without planting my foot down right on top of it, but from that time I have had a healthy respect for snakes, encountering many more while growing up.
In all those encounters I simply let the snake and I depart to our own destinations on a live and let live approach.
Snakes in Australia have been decimated by human actions and many are protected with some on endangered lists.
When I got married and started a family I had a rural property not dis-similar to Austin Acres (to store my own projects or twisted metal as my wife calls it) and before moving the family into a suburban house I averaged an encounter with a tigersnake @ once per summer, (these being #4 in the list), over a 15 year period.
While preferring to live and let live, I would reluctantly dispatch these with a long handled spade due to proximinity to my back yard and children (3 were dispatched in the backyard).
My main concerns were to avoid increased risk to my young children by a nest of snakes being born on the property and becoming resident, or returning each breeding season.
The Tiger grows to about 3 feet in length however most of my encounters were of 18" to 2 feet in length, they prefer to get out of your way, and only fight when cornered, but are agressive when they choose to be so.
Image Description: Mainland Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus). An aggressive snake when aroused, mostly active during daylight hours. Feeds mainly on frogs. Also known as Eastern Tiger Snake. Dorrigo, New South Wales, Australia. Extremely venomous and dangerous snake.
Photographer Copyright: © Gary Bell/OceanwideImages.com
I live on volcanic plains, and nearby in a hilly area called the You Yangs about 10 miles away, the predominant snake is the Brown Snake (these being #2 on the list), while sight seeing in the car in that area I drove past a Brown snake in the order of 5' in length and perhaps 6" across at its thickest point, hence I no longer visit that area during summer - smiles.
The Brown Snake is apparantly very agressive, (obviously larger than the Tiger) and very territorial, reputed to challenge and chase humans off its nesting grounds.
Image Description: Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis). Eastern Australia. A swift-moving, diurnal snake that feeds primarily on small mammals and reptiles. Venomous and dangerous snake.
Photographer Copyright: © Gary Bell/OceanwideImages.com
I was therefore always concerned I would encounter one of these in the backyard, or have a nest take up residence in my shed etc.
One News Years Eve I was strolling back with the kids from next door, and discovered a very small brown snake on the driveway (perhaps only 4-6" long) and immediately saw it was not a tigersnake due to the all brown skin and lack of distinctive yellow stripes. Concerned that I had discovered the first of many hatchlings of a Brown Snake's litter I dispatched it quickly and become concerned its mum or dad might come looking for it, (and me) - smiles.
Weeks later at the Melbourne zoo while visiting the reptile display, I found many more of the same small brown snakes in a display, although these were labelled as the "Olive legless lizard", often mistaken for the Brown Snake and critically endangered in Victoria because of that and the loss of grassland habitat due to property redevelopment.
Olive legless lizard - Delma inorata. This beautiful legless lizard is rarely encountered, but is often mistaken for a juvenile brown snake and is killed as a result. As its name suggests, the Olive legless lizard is olive in color with a yellow underside and each scale is edged with black. With a SVL (snout to vent length) of around 13cm, the tail of the legless lizard is up to four times the length of the body. It survives in grassy woodland and native grassland between s.e South Australia to the Darling Downs of s.e Queensland.
In Victoria, Native Tussock Grasslands cover just 0.6% of their previous extent. In the Victorian Volcanic Plains 8 of 56 mammal species are extinct and another 11 are in severe decline, occupying less than 10% of their former range.
The Native Grasslands of Victoria have been listed as Critically Endangered! Read more....
Direct quote- VNPA Grassland clearing trend.
http://www.itsawildlife.com.au/index.php?page=olive-legless-lizard
Of all the snakes I have had to despatch due to proximity to my house and kids, I have always regretted the mistaken identity of that endangered legless lizard, and not being able to apply my live and let live approach.
I was therefore pleased to read of Gary's post, the correct identification of the little Bull snake (apparantly often mistaken for a Rattler) and the decision to catch and release it, rather than dispatch it.
I would encourage a live and let live approach to all snakes, unless they are threatening the safety of your kids or family.
(for further info and photos on Australian Snakes see http://www.oceanwideimages.com/categories.asp?cID=278
Regards
Mark Pilkington
Last edited by Mark_Pilkington on Sat Oct 17, 2009 3:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Sat Oct 17, 2009 3:45 pm
Mark_Pilkington wrote:.......I still dont recall how I was able to rotate 360 degrees and run off in the other direction
I hear ya! "Let's make a 360 and get the heck outta here!!!"
Mark_Pilkington wrote:I was therefore pleased to read of Gary's post, the correct identification of the little Bull snake (apparantly often mistaken for a Rattler) and the decision to catch and release it, rather than dispatch it.
Well, around here, you have to be kinda like Santa Clause. When dealing with the creepy-crawlies, you gotta know who's naughty and who's nice. Trust me, if I wasn't sure that was a bull snake, I wouldn't have picked him up, much less let him bite me several times.
Gary
Sat Oct 17, 2009 5:19 pm
here is a little I was able to check out for a while this past June. Looks like he was fat and happy and just wanted a little sun to nap in after a good meal.
I'm still looking for a copperhead on the trails around here but have yet to find one.
Tim
I'm still looking for a copperhead on the trails around here but have yet to find one.
Tim
????
Sat Oct 17, 2009 5:51 pm
I'm still looking for a copperhead on the trails around here but have yet to find one.
If you ever decide you need to see a Water Moccassin I can point you in right direction
I just love the fang scars on my leg
Rule of thumb if you're golfing in FL and your balls lands right by the water just let it go and get another
Your life will be much less complicated if you follow that simple rule
Sat Oct 17, 2009 6:10 pm
how much flesh did you from that one?