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Snake Thread 2016

591,643 Views | 2152 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by Moderator
ZooGuy
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That was also me as a kid. Getting chased by bulls, bringing copperheads to show my mom, catching every aquatic animal in sight and giving it a summer aquarium home. Had an alligator gamer for a while, raised snapping turtle eggs, etc.
FrioAg 00
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AG
Great pic. My kiddos all love taking the 4 wheeler with dad into the edge of our pond that's infested with cottonmouths. They're getting pretty good popping their heads with the .22 as they swim away.

I know OB will tell me they are harmless in there, and I agree - but I'd rather my kids get the practice in live action shooting that feels more dangerous than it actually is. I bring them plenty of harmless snakes to play with so they make the distinction.
oneeyedag
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Coplerhead from our local wildlife management company taken from the local public pool. Dang good camo!

ellebee
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Is this a copperhead?
GinaLinetti
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AG
Doesn't really look right to be a copperhead
ellebee
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I didn't think so either based on what others have been posting.
BackwardsInBoots
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AG
Nope
GinaLinetti
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AG
I'm guessing rat snake
ellebee
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That's what my internet sleuthing leads me to believe as well.
SteveBott
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AG
Rat snake are so common here.
FrioAg 00
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AG
Nope. 8 rat snakes and 3 water snakes.

/TexAgs
12f Mane
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AG
One of my favorites activities and can be one of the most productive ways to find snakes.

Sites like this in the spring are like like Saturday kickoffs in the fall to me:





12f Mane
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AG
That's either a Great Plains ratsnake or a Slowinski's corn snake (some consider them the same thing) depending on where it is from.

Where was it found?
george92
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One man's nightmare is another man's paradise.

I think my dislike of these things has to do with the fact that I was always assigned the crap work like this. I was always the lowest on the totem pole. Need somebody to check to see if the electric fence is hot, lets let George get the crap shocked out of him. Sewer pipe clogged, lets send the Polack in the hole to figure out what's the problem.

Me - "hey there's a big black snake down here, I'm coming back up".

Old farts above - "lets put the lid back on this man hole and make him sweat a little bit."

Good times.
12f Mane
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ursusguy
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AG
I'm not a herper persay, but I came to like snakes over the last 20ish years. Growing up, and up until my Junior year at A&M, I was honestly in the "only good snake is a dead snake" school of thought. Summer of '97 I was the Nature Director at a scout camp, part of my job was maintaining live animal displays, including 3 rattlesnakes. Much to my shock at the time, the rattlesnakes were downright docile. I ended working that August in Philmont's backcountry (Dean Cow), and there were a lot of rattlesnakes that were borderline pets. I had one that lived under my tent platform. Part of the morning ritual was look under bed, then tap the platform to get the snake to sound off (occasionally you got more than one).

Going more professional, my graduate work was down at Sinton. Due to my odd work schedule, my tech and I ran into rattlers several times a week. Again, they were docile as hell, and only struck when I was jacking with them. One morning I thought something was wrong with the truck, and told my tech to check the truck later. As he drove away, I realized there was a coiled rattler between my feet happily buzzing away, but it never did anything. That started my general snake karma I like to stay on the good side of.

I spent almost 12 year with TPWD officed out of Cedar Hill SP. Turns out SW Dallas County has a LOT of rattlesnakes. The area also has some of the largest diamondbacks in the state (not kidding). Had a 10 day period where we found 4 rattlers inside the office. With my new job, I can find copperhead on a daily basis if I feel so inclined.

Boiled down, I got habituated to snakes and figured out that my upbringing of "the only good snake is a dead snake" thought process was severely misguided. The last 15 years of his life my dad did a complete 180 on snakes. My soon to be 7 year old son has never seen me kill a snake, and likely won't. We spend a LOT of time at the zoo (at least once a month), and he is in the field with me a lot. He has seen multiple rattlers, copperheads and rat snakes with me, and can ID snakes better than most of the OB (I seriously believe this some times).
ZooGuy
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Yeah, your son would definitely know what a rat snake, water moccasin, and copperhead are (among the most mis-identified snakes on the OB).
ursusguy
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AG
Oh he gets mad when I bother him to show him a TA snake thread. Before I open the thread, "It's a rat snake, it's always a rat snake". But he loves this thread when something new pops up....granted, I have to be more careful now that he can also read.
Lonestar_Ag09
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AG
Ok so most of what i have read is that you will not find a copperhead in a tree above your head. Truth ot lie?

I ask because this time last year there was a snake hanging in the moss of a large oak tree at our lease. That SOB look like a dead ringer for a Copperhead, pattern eyes head shape etc. The only reason we saw it was when i went to pull some dead limbs out so they didnt drag on my truck it moved.
RockinU
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So wait...Ursus the omnivore doesn't eat snakes?
The Collective
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AG
Copperheads will definitely climb a tree for food.
ellebee
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Central tx
Tursiops93
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AG
Prairie Rattler? Friend of mine in Dumas, TX found this guy and turned it into dinner.
12f Mane
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AG
It is. Neat, notorious snakes.
Stive
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Honest question.....notorious how?
SoulSlaveAG2005
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AG
B.I.G.
ursusguy
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AG
I have, and if an event has rattlesnake I'll certainly have some. Just I'm not going to kill a snake because I happen to see one.
12f Mane
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They are known for having a quicker temper than other rattlesnakes and often rattle well before being seen. I don't have much experience with them to validate, however. The first two I found both rattled when I got within 30 feet or so, helping me locate them!
FOUR THIN INCHES
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AG
There is nothing as eloquent as a rattlesnake tail.
FOUR THIN INCHES
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I feel the same way about snakes. I'd always been told that water moccasins were aggressive. One summer during college I got a job on a surveying crew and we surveyed the San Jacinto River along a couple of big ranches. We were wading through swamp everyday that was full of moccasins and never once did any of them mess with us unprovoked. They would leave us alone as long as we left them alone.
FOUR THIN INCHES
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Here's a few of the snakes I've encountered thus far this summer:

Not sure what this is(Guadalupe River):


Or this(Guadalupe River):


Red racer/coachwhip at Big Bend:


Rattlesnake I found inside of a bar in College Station:

Chazz03
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AG
Hey! I've seen that last one!
Sean98
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AG
Let me take you hunting in a ground blind over a water hole in Western Kansas and I can almost guarantee we'll find you one.
12f Mane
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AG
I'm there! Got any nice flat rocks to flip?
BCO07
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AG
Taking a guess before the authorities

The first unknown is a rat snake and the second is a yellow bellied water snake
 
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