Foo - I just had a Heart-Attack (Gruesome pictures of snakes included)

I just stepped off the back porch of my studio and stepped right on the back of that (see below). He bit through the cuff of my kakis, I am so, so, very lucky, all he got was a mouth of starched cotton.
Contrary to popular belief, white men can jump. Properly motivated I can clear a two story house.

Now I'm a country boy, did not live inside of a city limits until I went to college, but no amount of redneck training prepares you for that.

This is an Agkistrodon contortrix, or better known as a copperhead. The most common venomous snake in the eastern US. I would feel guilty about killing such a beautiful animal if he had not just bitten my pants (now soiled) right off my back door.
http://homepage.mac.com/awcg/.Pictures/Snake/Copperhead1.jpg

My hand for size comparison.
http://homepage.mac.com/awcg/.Pictures/Snake/Copperhead2.jpg

That is a brush axe, my new best friend, I'm carrying it everywhere for the next few days. He was still there after I ran off, and I have dogs.
http://homepage.mac.com/awcg/.Pictures/Snake/Copperhead3.jpg

Its nasty little fangs.
http://homepage.mac.com/awcg/.Pictures/Snake/Copperhead4.jpg

If y'all will pardon me, I'm going to go and get drunk and play the lotto.

Whew,

--Allen

you killed it now you have to eat it

:beer:

Good job, and glad you're okay.

you killed it now you have to eat it
Tastes like frogs' legs

Thanks Mitch, I appreciate it.

I wouldn't spend too much on the Lotto... I think you used up your luck for the day!

I would go around telling everybody you got a little head today! Sounds like you are very lucky.

I'm breathing again, my heart is still not in my chest though. Hoo. <wipes sweat from brow again>

We used to get a Northern Pacific Rattlesnake maybe once every couple months when I lived in West Marin. Not a big problem (never came close to stepping on one, though), but our cats were thoroughly interested. We'd mostly get babies that appeared to be lost and we were just worried one would latch on to one of our cats.

Bummer you had to kill it, but I'd have done the same thing in your position - close call.

Wow, glad you're ok.

Lucky for me, I don't think there's any dangerous snakes where I live.

Glad your okay and you didn't get hurt. :) Last summer I was mountain biking and there was one of those in the middle of the trail. Needless to say I didn't take any chances with him. :)

I need some new bar tape.

Cute little feller.

I met this guy eyeball to eyeball at 2 feet - this picture is NOT zoomed.

http://www.fincaleola.com/Nature%20shots/boa_8_foot_01.jpg

Yep, I was a touch excited for a little bit... (just a boa, might squeeze you, but nothing more) This little guy is 8 feet long - we have one on the property that is 20 feet long - and about 18 inches in diameter. :eek:

Not sure if you should go straight to Vegas or stay at home and build up your luck allotment for a while. Copperheads are not to be messed with, glad you got away with a very close call but nothing more serious. My parents had a lake place in East Texas while I was growing up and we had run ins with one type of venomous snake about twice a year. The biggest was the 6+ ft long Cotton Mouth that we had to shoot out of the rafters of our boat dock.

This is the time of year for snakes to start coming out, stepping carefully is certainly a good plan.

Cute little feller.

I met this guy eyeball to eyeball at 2 feet - this picture is NOT zoomed.

http://www.fincaleola.com/Nature%20shots/boa_8_foot_01.jpg

Yep, I was a touch excited for a little bit... (just a boa, might squeeze you, but nothing more) This little guy is 8 feet long - we have one on the property that is 20 feet long - and about 18 inches in diameter. :eek:


That's pretty awesome. I was trying to think where the hell you'd see a Boa in the US and why the hell you had a 20ft snake on your property, then I looked under your name. :p . I bet you get some great wildlife photos down there.

So you jumped like crazy, but did you shriek? ;)

Also, that's a hell of an axe.
Like a little girl, shattered every wine glass in a two mile radius.

CRTD--That really is a beauty, nice capture (image).

Again thanks all.

Copperheads and Corona, change your whole latitude, or in my case, underwear.

Yes - we get some pretty interesting wildlife experiences. We have approaching 500 acres or so of reforestation - as you get bigger, it gets wilder.

Holy Crap!!! I don't think I'll be visiting "Between" anytime soon! :D

Holy Crap!!! I don't think I'll be visiting "Between" anytime soon! :D
You sure, I can make great portraits of the kids. Action shots are my speciality this week.
Between (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Between,_Georgia) is a real place BTW. It's between Monroe and Loganville.
Almost 150 people live here.
http://homepage.mac.com/awcg/.Pictures/mapdata.gif
We may even get a caution light.

One thing I learned from watching people deal with venomous snakes. After the head goes off the body, do not touch it directly... it can still bite.

:lol: That's too funny (name of the town)!

I ran over and cut up a copper head ( I think it was ) with a lawn mower a few years ago.

That sucker was big.

I knew a guy many years ago who was riding his bike on the Submarine Base in Kings Bay, GA. He ran over a rattler.

I knew a guy many years ago who was riding his bike on the Submarine Base in Kings Bay, GA. He ran over a rattler.

Did he get a snakebite flat?

I remember he said he had all he could do to stay upright.

Preserve the head and then mount it on your bike stem and proclaim thee: King AllenG, Slayer of Snakes! :lol:

Definitely makes you look at things a bit differently that's for sure. Glad you're okay.

When I was living in Texas last year I did a ride where a live snake was coiled up in the middle of the road. We saw people up ahead suddenly veering off to the sides and wondering WTF?!? Then we came up on it and I swear the thing was ready to strike if we got close enough. Not sure what kind of snake it was but it had big fangs and I didn't care to find out!

I think it was the Lancaster County ride or Moritz Ride for Heroes or something like that...

Scared the poop out of us!

Daaaaayum, glad you're okay.

aah... good ol brush axe..

Man....lucky. Copperheads are pretty nasty little creatures.

Only snake I really hate are Water Moccasins....I really wish every water moc would go die in a fire. I'll help them if they don't mind.

I agree with the "stem mount the head" comment....that would be very cool!

I ran over a diamondback last year on the MUP. Man, was he po'ed!

The fire department wouldn't take care of it unless I paid a fee of $350, despite it being on a public trail where people tend to walk their dogs and kids. I didn't pay the fee, and they had the audacity to ask me to wait around it until it left so no one got bitten. Riiiight. So I hung around it a bit, just to watch it. gorgeous critter.

BTW: I hung around it from a good distance. I'm no Steve Irwin!

This reminds me of when I was in elementary school camp. There was a harmless little garder snake, and in a a successful effort to terrify this girl, this guy tells her "thats a rattle snake, deadly poisonus. You have to grab it by the neck".

So he grabs it by the neck, kills it like Crocodile Dundee did with his knee, then throws it at the girl. Said "here, catch". She ran off crying and screaming. The only word to describe it was priceless.

This reminds me of when I was in elementary school camp. There was a harmless little garder snake, and in a a successful effort to terrify this girl, this guy tells her "thats a rattle snake, deadly poisonus. You have to grab it by the neck".

So he grabs it by the neck, kills it like Crocodile Dundee did with his knee, then throws it at the girl. Said "here, catch". She ran off crying and screaming. The only word to describe it was priceless.

I remember a school field trip way back when...some kids found a garter snake and were throwing rocks at it. The teachers had to get them to stop. Sad. :(

edit: Another garter snake story: Cross country practice in high school, we were out running on a dirt road and we came across a tiny little garter snake, under a foot long sun bathing on the road. Apparently one of the girls on the team behind us tried to pick it up and it bit her a bunch of times and her hand was all bloody. :lol:

Wow. Scary.

I used to work at a summer camp in Murray County, GA, and there a number of copperheads around there.

I don't think I've seen one (in the wild) since.

That's a worm not a snake.

That's a worm not a snake.

It was far more impressive in the first pic before it was given scale. I've hear the babies venom it more powerful than the adults.

I can vouch for the copperheads in the area. We get eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, copperheads, and water moccasins here in GA. I live in Johns Creek, which is maybe 30 miles from Between, and I've killed 1 water moccassin and 1 copperhead in my front yard in the last 2 years. Probably because of all the construction in the area, and their homes getting displaced.

Heh I love garter snakes.

When I was in grade school, we had a field trip in the park...I saw a bunch of garter snakes all around each other (odd, but harmelss so I messed with them)....I stuck them all over both of my arms, and then snuck around the group.

As the girls passed I walked to them from the side, arms spread wide yelling "AHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

The panic that ensued was priceless :D :) :D :) :D

Ah yes, the infamous Copperhead which is responsible for more bites than Timber rattlers or diamondbacks here in the southeast of the US. Rattlers around here most often give you a warning they are there. Copperheads however do not except for the bite to the leg. You are lucky and that is a fine looking specimen.

I sat down beside a Copperhead over twenty years ago as a teenager fishing one cool morning on the river bank. I reached to open my tacklebox and saw a 1.5 foot long Copperhead coiled up on the tree root waiting for the morning sun to warm his arse up so he could move. Needless to say I carefully reached for my lock blade knife and as he stared at me I whacked his head off. He was about one foot from me. I had cold chills all over after that.

This same river I was fishing me and a friend would swim in..............one summer we were swimming around and disturbed a nest of water moccassins and Jesus was not the only person to walk on water. When I saw about 10 moccassins coming at me I floated on water and ran my arse off. I was about 15 years old when that happened.

This is what I find on the single track I ride...

http://www.geocities.com/alicestrong/rattler1.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/alicestrong/rattler2.jpg

I saw these two Diamondbacks on the same warm day. They like to sun on the trail.

So, about 2 years ago, my wife was heading upstairs to bed...in the dark...and steps on a baby rattlesnake...in our living room. No rattles, so she didn't hear it or anything. Kicked it out of the way thinking it was a dog toy. Turns on the light over the stairs and I hear the blood curdling scream.

Baby rattlesnake, in the house, wife steps on it.

I run in and the thing is striking out like crazy. I'm like WTFBBQ, run to the garage for some tools.

I sweep it outside and oct-sect it with a shovel. Fxxk snakes.

Contrary to popular belief, white men can jump. Properly motivated I can clear a two story house.


I would feel guilty about killing such a beautiful animal if he had not just bitten my pants (now soiled) right off my back door.

Hey Allen - you made me laugh aloud twice. Nicely done. :D


... Brad

I remember mountain biking in Waco - Copperheads were everywhere. Great motivation to not fall in the brush, although I hear their venom isn't as dangerous as other snakes (still wouldn't want to test it out).

CRTree - we have a species of snake here called Blue Indigo Snakes. They can get upwards of 8 - 10 feet long. I was quail hunting as a boy and wounded a bird. When I went to fetch it I discovered a LARGE blue indigo had gotten there first. I couldn't believe how thick he was. Gorgeous animal, but it scared the crap outta me. I tripped over a cactus patch in my haste. That was....unpleasant.

I caught a 8" baby garter snake in my apartment last weekend. At least this one had the decency to not crawl into bed with me. Made my hand stink when I picked it up.

I caught this little guy last year and snapped a few pics of him, baby water moccasin, Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus, very closely related of course to the copperhead and appearance-wise, the young have a strong resemblance.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/5936/hpim2294large0kn.jpg
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/820/hpim2289large4qq.jpg
http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/2562/hpim2277large9ms.jpg
http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/310/hpim2259large1qh.jpg

^^^wow^^^^

Allen... you are a man now, son.

Water moccasins suck. And they're ugly.

I've hear the babies venom it more powerful than the adults.

not necessarily true, More like the baby snakes can't control the amount of venom to inject. Venom are very very expensive metabolically to manufacture so most adult snakes have learned how to use only a few drops at a time. Baby snake would pump ALL of the venom in a single bite.

(Learned of this from a show on animal planet based on Venom ER)

The benefit of living in Maine...almost 0 poisonous snakes.