[paulwall]

No, not "Fast Freddie", but one of his kin...


To quote Indiana Jones:
"Snakes, why'd it have to be snakes?"

http://bellsouthpwp.net/f/s/fstbck66/images/Image01.jpg

Trust me, he did NOT want to get into the bucket.

And for all you West Coast Tree Huggers (you know who you are!!! : ::... I set him free in a lush field full of fat, lazy mice.

http://bellsouthpwp.net/f/s/fstbck66/images/Image02.jpg

 

[aslan]

Is that a cottonmouth?
Stan

 

[BlackMachOne]

when me and my dad went to go pick up his mach 1, we were giving it a quick look over. we open the hood, and theirs dirt everywhere. my dad started to talk to fast to understand.....i figured out in about 5 seconds he was pointing at a 3 1/2 foot long copper head curled on the air cleaner......scary..just thought i'd share.

 

[paulwall]

God, I hope not. I think it is a non-poisonous snake known as a Smooth Earth Snake, or Eastern Hognose snake. As Steve Irwin (the Crocodile hunter) would say: "He was very grumpy and a little naughty!" He repeatedly struck at my snake hook (which became more like a spatula as time went on with him out of the bucket).

Cottonmouths : It is characterized by a brown, olive or blackish dark body with lighter belly, and body crossbands which have a distinct border extending all the way around and across the yellowish stomach. (http://www.wf.net/~snake/moccasin.htm) http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/fl-guide/pisciv10.jpg

Rough Earth Snake: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/fl-guide/virginiavvaleriae.htm http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/fl-guide/bm-vstr01.jpg

Eastern Hognose Snake:
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/fl-guide/heterodonplatirhinos.htm http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/fl-guide/hplatirhinos01.jpg

I treat all snakes as if they are poisonous, however. I really don't care for the things, but appreciate their role in nature.

 

[fast500xl1]

LMAO good thing it WASN'T freddie.......you'd be in the ER trying to get the screws removed lol well good thing ya treated it nice...that one looks like a baby compared to the 6 ft black snake in my neighbors barn :: at least we don't have many mice around here LOL.

 

[triumphman]

im glad i live in the backwaters of the country. on my property i always carry a pistol (granted its black powder). last time a saw a snake i dont think it had time to turn around. ::
and dont be mad at me i have dogs that run around my property.

 

[RichLong]

Snakes is cool!

 

[dennybsh]

Paul,
I'm not a snake expert, but I am a surveyor with a more than a little experience working in the Louisiana swamps. The head on that snake looks a lot like a cottonmouth. :: The shape and size of the head tells a lot more than the color.

 

[paulwall]

Thanks. I had it id'd by an authority from photographs as a yellow-bellied water snake. cottonmouths don't have that coloration on the underside, and generally have lighter eyes with slit pupils. When agitated, they will flatten their heads to look more menacing.

http://www.wlf.state.la.us/apps/netgear/clientFiles/lawlf/images/949587972.jpg http://www.fs.fed.us/oonf/cons_ed/red_slough/redslough/reptiles/reptiles2/images/yellowbelliedwatersnake_b.jpg
http://a1410.g.akamai.net/f/1410/1633/7d/209.133.64.45/reptile_amph/reptile_amph_l/AR0194_1l.jpg

Way more than I ever wanted to know :: http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/conmag/2004/06/50.htm

 

[dennybsh]

Your authority probably knows what they are talking about. I just know that any time I see a short, fat snake with a head shaped like that, well......one of us has to leave or die!

 

[dickson]

Looks close enough to a cottonmouth that I woulda treated it as such, Paul. ::

Ladies and Gentlemen, I happened to be in the Mardi G'rage with Paul when he discovered this little visitor. Let me tell you, Paul usually speaks softly and rarely with "spicy" language, but he let loose some blasphemous declarations upon seeing that lil coil 'o love. ::

Kudos to you for catching and relocating it. I can't say I'd have been quite as kind, trusting, or patient! :: Dickson