RobertRyan
Australia
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Joined: 03/16/2008
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navegator wrote:The only snake, in the world, that will chase, lives in Australia, this side of the pond, they all want to flee. I understand the wife's aprehension, but it is hard to convince someone, about theire feelings.
It is a Tiger snake, about as common in Australia as Alligators wandering the streets of New York.
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Don/Shar
Sioux Falls, SD/ Lebanon, Indiana
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Joined: 04/05/2003
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My wife lived in Indiana for 62 years, we have seen a lot of snakes.
My wife and I have been fulltiming for 6 years all over the west. We have walked in the desert of Arizona, walked trails in New Mexico, been to the center of Mexico and have never seen a rattler till we got to south Texas. So far I have killed 6 rattlers, the biggest one right beside our RV was about 6 1/2 to 7 ft long. The pictures I am including in the post are of the snake I came upon last evening .
Don / Sharon Smith
7th year fulltiming
1 high school sweetheart bride of 50 yrs. Sharon
1 long haired mini dauchound...Jake
1997 Beaver Patriot DP
2004 Jeep Rubicon
http://s168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/smithster_photos/
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harper223
West Texas
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Joined: 09/11/2008
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I live in West TX, and of all the snakes I've come across, they were more interested in getting away from me than rearing up and getting defensive. My first job in college was washing golf carts for the local golf course and one evening I was closing up- locking a gate. I looked down and I had stepped right down into the middle of a coiled up rattler. I was just sitting there around my foot- never touching it. I don't know, maybe it got into some of the beer that the golfers left behind in their carts but I was pretty lucky that time. Another job I had in college was cotton farming for a friend of mine and I would maintain the fields with a tractor. I would often see snakes scurry across the rows trying to get away from a huge tractor. This has been my experience so far, but believe me, there are plenty of folks around here who have been cornered by rattlers and copperheads. When I see them out where I live, I keep a 9mm with snakeshot ammo in the pickup and have only had to use it a few times, namely at my Uncle's ranch and when boondocking on private property out here. I hate snakes, and will shoot one until it doesn't look like a snake anymore. Want another freaky story? A buddy of mine woke up one morning to fine one coiled around his ARB grill guard on his pickup. He just got in the truck and started driving down the road until it fell off and he ran over it.
BTW, we are only a few miles from the annual Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup. Look it up. They catch thousands of those things every year.
"Whatever is good to know, is difficult to to learn."
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Deb and Ed M
SW MI, USA
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Joined: 06/07/2004
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Education. Your wife can either sit home in fear of the unknown - or she can read up on snakes, and then recognize places where snakes like to hang out and stay away from those. We've camped out west countless times, and I've never seen a snake of ANY species in a campground - other than a Blue Racer here in Michigan (we only have one small Timber Rattler specie that is very shy and endangered - not much of a threat)
And as other have pointed out - if she's worried about the dogs - there's a lot of scary stuff right in Indiana. Ticks carrying diseases/poisonous spiders/coyotes, etc.
On edit: go to Alaska. No snakes. Of course the bears think little dogs are snacks.... :-)
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Hammerhead
Moon Base 5
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Joined: 05/02/2002
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I've lived in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Oregon all of my 42 years and have never seen a live rattlesnake or anything other than a garter snake in the wild. We did find a dead rattlesnake on a geology field course in South Dakota that some students put around their neck for photos and I still wouldn't go anywhere near it.
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mimi55
austin
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Joined: 06/24/2010
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sounds like lots of snakes to me. Curious though if they are not bothering you, why are you killing them. Why not try to relocate them as they keep the mice away. I have counted 4 mice this year while guarding.
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BCSnob
Middletown, MD
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Joined: 02/23/2002
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I killed a copperhead in the garage of our last house so our litter of pups wouldn't go try to "see" what was in the corner of the garage.
My wife and I were looking for roof leaks in the attic of our current 2 story farm house and she went to put her hand down on the rafter to steady herself and almost put her hand on top of a black snake that was between her legs.
My wife went to pick tomatoes last summer and found a juvenile black snake (they are marked similar a copperhead) up on a leaf of a tomato plant.
We see black snakes in and around our barn every summer (occasionally find one in our duck pen looking to steal another egg); garter snakes in the lawn and garden (watched one consume a frog last summer); and a variety of other snakes in the fields.
My dog Eve and I were walking back from moving a few lambs and she walked on top of what I think was a Northern Brown snake sunning itself along a fenceline. I was behind Eve and the snake was pissed when I walked by.
Mark
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dreeder
Castle Rock, Co
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Joined: 08/07/2010
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I am much more concerned about some of the two legged snakes that we are around when camping and in everyday life in general.
Seriously though, I understand that people have phobias. I don't mind snakes, (doesn't mean I want to play with them.. ) but I absolutely cringe when it comes to spider's and heights. If you want to see my wife have a myocardial infarction just put her in a confined space.
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CavemanCharlie
Storden,MN
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Joined: 03/01/2012
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dreeder wrote:I am much more concerned about some of the two legged snakes that we are around when camping and in everyday life in general.
Seriously though, I understand that people have phobias. I don't mind snakes, (doesn't mean I want to play with them.. ) but I absolutely cringe when it comes to spider's and heights. If you want to see my wife have a myocardial infarction just put her in a confined space.
Rats. I really not fond of rats. Don't like mice much either.
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Desert Captain
Tucson
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Joined: 02/19/2011
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You should NEVER handle an allegedly "dead" snake as you are in the photos.  Lots of folks get bit that way. First off it might not be completely dead despite appearing to be and even if it is, muscle reflex can cause them to inflict a nasty bite. Carefully chop the head off and bury it deep before you pose for pics or mess with it.
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