Sabre52
Cave Dweller 
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,504
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Post by Sabre52 on Apr 9, 2013 9:46:18 GMT -5
Howdy folks, Been working hard around our property trying to improve snake habitat and last night, while on my nocturnal before bed walk, I found our first baby. It's a little Texas Rat Snake about 6" long, probably fairly newly hatched out. Hope he has many brothers and sisters around the ranch. By the way, that m*therf**king photobucket loses all your new pics in the friggin album despite your settings saying the last shot is supposed to be first in the library....Mel Baby pics:   |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Apr 9, 2013 15:38:21 GMT -5
The state snake of Florida is a beautiful yellow Rat Snake.The first time i saw one i had a heart attack.it was yellow!The yellow just does not happen.It was on the banister of the porch and my brother almost attacked me accusing me of putting it there.It really scared him but did me as well.It was also 6'9",increasing the 'what the hell is it factor".
Does that variety get big?Most here in Georgia are balck and get to 6 feet commonly
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,504
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Post by Sabre52 on Apr 9, 2013 15:44:23 GMT -5
James, The Texas Rat Snake is one of our largest snakes growing to well over six feet. Largest I've caught have been in the five foot range. Really vary in color too. I caught one last year that was a red phase and kind of corn snake pretty. All are really aggressive and mean tempered. Your Georgia snakes may be the black rat snake. They get huge! I caught one in Yukon, Oklahoma that was close to eight feet long....Mel
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Apr 9, 2013 16:20:28 GMT -5
The Florida ones are normally an avoidance animal.. they avoid human contact... I had one at my house and he got a lil pissed because I poked him with a rake to get him off my porch after he fell out of a planter and onto my sisters shoulder.. no person should ever make sounds like my sister did when that snakes fell on her!!!
but anyways.. after a few pokes he took off into the garden and has not been seen since!
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,504
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Post by Sabre52 on Apr 9, 2013 18:40:13 GMT -5
*L* Mario, I was at a Fish and Game training session one time where we had to take a practical ID examination. All the tanks with specimens for the test were arranged along a narrow aisle. Large black woman (I mean like 350# large) backed her hindquarters into a tank with a Mojave Rattler inside. That sucker lit up and hit the glass with a bang and she let out the loudest squawk I've ever heard come from a human and ran down the aisle leaving a pile of trampled biologists in her wake. Was the biologist version of the running of the bulls. I laughed so hard I almost choked *L*....Mel
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Apr 9, 2013 19:00:27 GMT -5
I see a lot of water snakes in my water plant nursery.On 2 occasions i have seen King snakes choking water snakes.I would guess one was out weighed 4 to 1 and the other 8 to 1.That King snake goes for that choke and pays no attention to the bites.They killed both and could not eat them since they were to big.I think they choke and eat rattlers,moccasins and copperheads.The worst enemy of the water snake is actually my wife.She gets mad cause i don't kill them.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,504
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Post by Sabre52 on Apr 9, 2013 19:36:24 GMT -5
James, we have a lot of water snakes here on the ranch too, mainly Diamondback and Blotched watersnakes. I really like them but when you catch them to take pics, they poop smelly white gunk all over you and upchuck fish. Very smelly critters...Mel
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Post by Bikerrandy on Apr 9, 2013 19:45:22 GMT -5
He's a cute one!! James, I grew up in Orlando and caught a good many yellow rat snakes when I was a kid. They always seemed docile until the shock of being captured wore off, then I'd get bit on the hand, arm, face..... lol
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2013 19:45:56 GMT -5
Mel ole pal; may I politely disagree? Ratsnakes have a stripe between the eyes and are much thinner than this specimen. That mi amigo is a baby of the genus Nerodia (or whatever they call it today). One of the watersnake species. Also the scales along the tail of your specimen are too "keeled". Meaning they have ridges similar to a file. Hatchling Texas Ratsnake  Hatchling Nerodia  Here is continuing reading on blotched snakes of the northern portion of the Edwards Plateau.Mel, do you have Indigos out and about at Thanksgiving? |
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,504
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Post by Sabre52 on Apr 9, 2013 22:33:45 GMT -5
Shotgunner, Well, by golly you sure are right. I'm still learning my Texas snakes, especially babies *S*. Never even occurred to me that we'd have a baby watersnake this far from the creek and of course Texas Rat Snakes are the most common thing I have around the house. I have captured adult blotched down on the creek a number of times. Actually, thanks a lot because while the rat snake would not be, the watersnake is a new addition to my list of yard snakes which is mucho cool. I'm always happy for help on all these Texas snakes. I screwed up last year when I caught what I thought was a garter snake and just let it loose after a quick glance without taking a pic. Turned out it was a Texas Brown Snake that I had no pics of. Boy did I feel stupid that time too *L*. It's amazing how many snakes Texas has compared to California. I've yet to see an Indigo snake this far onto the plateau. Saw several breeding on the west edge out by Eden and Melvin, Texas probably 25 years ago and have not seen one since. Again, thanks for the information.....Mel
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2013 10:49:15 GMT -5
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,504
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Post by Sabre52 on Apr 10, 2013 15:08:14 GMT -5
Great sites Scott, I've bookmarked'em....Mel
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Apr 10, 2013 15:33:47 GMT -5
Baby snakes make me nervous because of ID complications.Take heed when they are babies,they also have plenty of poison and are often not shy about striking.
There is no smell like that of a water snake.Wow that is a nasty snake.I think their bite is full of bacteria like a gator bite.It is not adviseable to get bit by one due to infection.Are the ones out west always in a bad mood?
I thought that rat snake was something out of Thailand Randy.The color is way out of place.I have seen a few more and smaller ones.The cottonmouths are a problem around Florida water and the Pygmy rattlers way score highest on humanoid bites.I see an Indigo about every year down there.There is a huge variety of snakes in Florida and add the collectors intros and i do not trust any ID.And Corals are common-wacth for a black nose.I need Scott to figure out all of them.Just Kings and Crayfish snakes vary so much.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,504
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Post by Sabre52 on Apr 10, 2013 20:00:03 GMT -5
Scott: Wow I just read all through that new herp site you gave me and it looks like all my books are defunct. Different names, ranges etc. Those folks don't make it easy for a guy trying to learn the snakes of a new area. I thought we had Texas Blindsnakes all over the place here on the ranch and now I'm going to have to catch one cause I guess they might be thread snakes instead because I know they're not flat headed snakes or black headed snakes because I've caught both of them before.....Mel
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