SsssNAKE SeasoN ......,(merged threads)

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Garrett, Feb 17, 2009.

  1. Seth Kendall

    Seth Kendall New Member

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    Yes, except for this one: Crotalus catalinensis

    My old professor and boss while I did herpetology in college was one of the leading herpetologist on this species. It does not have a rattle, just a bit of a nub. Here is some more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_catalinensis
     
  2. HEYwait4me

    HEYwait4me Member

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    Earlier this week my coworkers witnessed two 3' rattlers mating in a v ditch. They took pictures w/ there iphones it was pretty cool. The rattlers where standing up like a couple of cobras.
     
  3. BIO

    BIO New Member

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    so i guess im realy lucky because i se 1 everyday =-p

    [​IMG]
     
  4. Seth Kendall

    Seth Kendall New Member

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    I hope I'm wrong, but it looked like the first two guys bunny hopped the snake and the third guy looked like he just plowed it over.
     
  5. Garrett

    Garrett Active Member

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    Nah, I can see him bunny hop it a bit.
     
  6. Adrian

    Adrian foesnasty no more....

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    these snakes that "slither" off after being ran over will die about 90% of the time... I'm no snake expert but I do keep/breed pythons and have for about 15 years... They are just like any other animal and go in to shock when hit, like a dog or cat would.... The spine and ribs are very flexible but still delicate.... so if you can bunny hop over them, please do, If you run them over on purpose don't let me see you do it...
     
  7. ManInAShed

    ManInAShed New Member

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    Ok, story time.

    When I was a kid, we caught snakes just because, well, we were boys. It quickly became a competition to see who could catch the most dangerous snake. We had Swamp Rattlers and Timber Rattlers around and had varying degrees of success with those. We'd pin them down with nets, or if you were quick, with a forked stick, grab them, study them in detail, show everyone, and then fling them into the tall grass and run like hell, get on your bike and ride away. Until... vacationing down south, I learned of... water moccasins.

    Well, I thought, that'd pretty much take the cake, right there. I'd be untouchable if I showed back up with a Water Moccasin. We'd never heard of them before, and they were apparently venomous, so I was determined to catch one. Well. Let me tell you. I swam out there many times hoping to see one, but the one time I did in fact find them, and was close enough to see what I was nearing... that was the last time I went in that lake. That moment is forever burned into my mind, as is the heart-dropping frozen panic and terror.

    There you are, up to your knees in muck and chest-deep water. You can barely pull your feet through the spongy weedy silty lakebed. And then you see it. You don't dare make a ripple. The adrenaline surges, and your senses redline, as you try to detect if the surrounding water is carrying your body heat off and in which direction. Because there, 40 feet in front of you, is a writhing ball of... tails... on the surface. ...and long black bodies everywhere below it.

    As it turns out, water moccasins will tie themselves into a ball at the surface. Then they let their heads dangle down and out in all directions, like a neutrally bouyant, huge, poisonous, medusa head, but much, much worse. When a fish, bullfrog, bird, or unlucky bastard gets close enough, the nearest snake uses the ball to lunge off from, and strikes with great speed and deadly venom. The rest of the group instantly unwinds and joins in the attack, carrying the prey down. The water boils, the sorry prey is simultaneously poisoned, drowned, torn apart and devoured.

    I didn't capture a water moccasin. But they did make me appreciate how manageable every other species of snake is in comparison.

    ...and yeah, I've been told over the years that they don't ball. But you'll never convince me after that.
     
  8. un-kola

    un-kola Just another Homer!

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    When I was in Vietnam we had a kid in our company who was bitten by some kind of viper or mamba(we were told mamba).He started convulsing,went into shock and died before we could get a medivac in to get him.The most pissed off breed of snake I ever seen was a cottonmouth,and the wierdest was a sidewinder.-LLoyd :wave:
     
  9. gray

    gray Tree Hugger

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    Me too! This is "El Cucuy", my office mate.
     

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  10. MnMDan

    MnMDan Member

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    Saw a few small, crushed snakes (probably rattlers) in the Bike Lane on Santiago Canyon road on my roadie ride yesterday :(...not great. I have this irrational fear of $H!t that can kill me so I tend to not solo Mtn. Bike all that much...every time I have, I've seen Mt. Lion, Snake, Bobcat, Crazy Dude talking to themselves (might have been on hands-free cellphone in Peters Canyon).

    Best advice...if you see one and can avoid it, warn all others coming the other direction. Otherwise, ride with a buddy(s) who all have different cell phone carriers so you can be sure to get reception.
     
  11. Rockinthecasbah

    Rockinthecasbah A.D.D. Unleased

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    I love snake season ..bite kits are worthless..don't cut anything unless you like making things worse ..in vegas ill post more later
     
  12. tomcat7

    tomcat7 Member

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    Baby Gopher Snake? on O'Neils Vista Ridge Trail. :wave:
    Perfect weather last Sunday. Great ride.
     
  13. Maxxout

    Maxxout Two-wheeler

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    If it's warm enough, they'll be out at night too. Sometimes more 'cause they'll lay on the road or rocks well into the night to soak up more heat.
     
  14. sociald

    sociald New Member

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    How do you run over a snake and not bother it?
     
  15. Rockinthecasbah

    Rockinthecasbah A.D.D. Unleased

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    prob at least two year old gopher for being a wild snake
     
  16. genusmtbkr5

    genusmtbkr5 STR Moderator

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    Got home from visiting OMR at the hospital and my neighbor ask if I knew anything about snakes. I don't except I know a rattler when I see it. This guy was not although I could be wrong:?:. So I ran into my house and grabbed my camera. It did try and imitate 1 by rattling it's tail, but I could see no rattler. It did strike at me a few times, but I kept my distance and used the door mat as a shield(I'm a wimp)8-[. Once I got it off the porch, I needed to grab him so just to be safe, I got a stick and placed it on it's head(like I've seen on TV):-k, grab it and my neighbor got a container and I put it in. I drove it to a nearby open field to release it.

    IMG_6089.jpg

    IMG_6091.jpg

    IMG_6092.jpg
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 1, 2010
  17. asian fury

    asian fury You give love a bad name

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    You're a better man than me. I would have screamed like a girl, ran home, and locked the door.

    Just looking at snakes makes my balls twitch.

     
  18. tomcat7

    tomcat7 Member

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    Kind of looks like a gopher snake, see above. Excellent of you to visit OMR. :clap:
     
  19. shudder

    shudder no big deal

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    Rattlers and other venomous snakies are pretty easy to tell from their head shape. Found some pics to demonstrate this:
    [​IMG]




    [​IMG]

    The real obvious bit when you are out there is noting that the head is very triangular compared to your gopher or king or whatever.

    Be aware of the caveats indicated in the top pic!

    - shud
     
  20. velo4it

    velo4it New Member

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    a few snakes out today on the back loop of weir canyon...two small gophers and one really pissed off black rattler. bike riders were ok, but the dogs off the leash seemed risky at best.
     

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