Fifty Plus (50+) - saw one of these on the trail

http://www.kingsnake.com/suncoastherpsociety/photogallery/coral1389a.JPG

:eek::eek: Is that a coral snake?

I'm afraid that would be the last time I rode that trail:(

According to this: http://www.shihtzudog.com/coral.htm it appears to be the Bad One.

We only have one poisonous snake in the UK and that is the Adder. Used to see plenty when I was younger but a bit rare nowadays.(Too many people see a snake and just kill it- because it is a snake). Saw one basking on a fire road last year and I was 3rd in line- 1st rider woke it up- Second rider had it lunge at him- I got out of the way- well and truly out of the way.

Sure is a pretty thing, isn't it.

So what are the stats on cyclists killed by Coral Snakes?

(Too many people see a snake and just kill it- because it is a snake).
Very true, sadly.

I saw a guy killing a snake on a Nature Trail, for crying out loud.:mad:
You can be sure he got a piece of my mind. By the time I finished, he looked about ready to cry. :(

Very true, sadly.

I saw a guy killing a snake on a Nature Trail, for crying out loud.:mad:
You can be sure he got a piece of my mind. By the time I finished, he looked about ready to cry. :(

Good for you! It's amazing how ignorant people can be about wildlife. :mad::mad::mad::(

Too many people see a snake and just kill it- because it is a snake.

I would never get close enough to one to do it any harm:)

At the other house I often ran across large black snakes while mowing the lawn. My neighbors said they knew when I had come across one because I ran to the house and the mower would sit in the yard for a couple days:o

I would never get close enough to one to do it any harm:)

At the other house I often ran across large black snakes while mowing the lawn. My neighbors said they knew when I had come across one because I ran to the house and the mower would sit in the yard for a couple days:o

If it was me, I'ld have run into the house and the mower would still
be running! :eek:

If it was me, I'ld have run into the house and the mower would still
be running! :eek:
For me, it's hard to run very fast while I'm peeing down my leg.:o

If it was me, I'ld have run into the house and the mower would still
be running! :eek:

Mine had an automatic shut-off or it would still be running, too:rolleyes:

My question is, did you draft him or drop him?

My question is, did you draft him or drop him?

- when i rode by i wasn't sure of the coloring (as it could have been a kingsnake)... but i circled around, and sure enough, it was a coral snake - the second i've seen about this time of year down here...

- amazingly enough, the coral, related to the cobra, isn't the real baddie: that distinction belongs to the local rattlesnake species!

- i just have to remember the ditty:

'If red touches yellow, it can kill a fellow'
'If red touches black, it is a friend of Jack'

(oh, and the coral snake was NOT afraid of me at all - i wonder why?)

Yikes! Don't like snakes, but live and let live. Anyway, it would have dropped me....

So what are the stats on cyclists killed by Coral Snakes?

About as many as are killed by lightning.

I recall the rhyme
"Red next to black is a friend of Jack
Red next to yellow is a deadly fellow"

STAND BACK JACK, THAT'S A DEADLY FELLOW.

I was riding the trail over the weekend and encountered a harmless garter snake sunning itself. I stopped and shooed him off the trail before someone ran him over. Some folks would use him as target practice.

Coral snakes have deadly venom, but lack fangs. All they have li little nubby teeth. I don't think anyone in the US has ever been killed by one. Pretty snakes.

Paul

Here in So. Illinois I often have multiple snake sightings on a single ride. Only venemous one I saw this year was a copperhead on the Katy just outside of Weldon Springs.
The other day I swerved my car to miss the BIGGEST black snake I have ever seen. Then I looked in my rearview mirror to see a minivan behind me swerve to hit the snake. Oh well, what can you do?

If I saw one, I'd move a few feet away, stop and watch it for a while. I like watching snakes move, they are really quick for something with no feet or legs.

That snake must be pretty fast - it has yellow and red and NO WHITE.

I recall the rhyme
"Red next to black is a friend of Jack
Red next to yellow is a deadly fellow"

The southern version of the mnemonic is, "Red 'n yella kill a fella. Red 'n black, friend ah Jack."

I killed two coral snakes and a copper head in my back yard many moons ago when we lived south of Houston. The third coral snake got way from me before I could dispatch him. I brought formaldehyde from the lab, but didn't dilute it enough. It kinda bleached them out. I didn't worry about grass snakes, but the venomous ones had to go.

According to Wikipedia, no one in the US has been killed by a Coral Snake since antivenom became available.
But that doesn't mean that it's OK to pick one up to pet.

Here in So. Illinois I often have multiple snake sightings on a single ride. Only venemous one I saw this year was a copperhead on the Katy just outside of Weldon Springs.


Been there. A copperhead is more aggressive than the timber rattlers we have around here. So I would have stayed far away from that one.

Red followed by yellow...is a dead fellow!

Been there. A copperhead is more aggressive than the timber rattlers we have around here. So I would have stayed far away from that one.

I watched him for a while then rode on. He lifted his head, which they say is a prelude to striking. I didn't get close enough to find out! However, any copperhead I've seen in the past has never acted aggressive.

linux_author, was he on the Pinellas Trail? My neighbor found one recently when he reached into the lower cabinet of his bbq grill. That got his attention real quick. :)

Last summer I came across a diamondback rattlesnake on the Suncoast Trail. Didn't stop to take too close of a look, but did warn other riders.

Mark

I accidentally rode over the top of a western hognose on a rail trail - it was the same coloration as the trail surface. When I stopped to check it out, it was doing the classic hognose "death writhe", flipping itself upside down, gasping for breath and generally going through quite theatric death throes. We backed off and waited a few minutes, and it flipped itself rightside up and calmly slithered off! Great show, although I'd never purposely stress one for my entertainment.

BTW, the hognose has been reclassified as venomous, with a very mild neurotoxin in its saliva.

TCS

linux_author, was he on the Pinellas Trail? My neighbor found one recently when he reached into the lower cabinet of his bbq grill. That got his attention real quick. :)

Last summer I came across a diamondback rattlesnake on the Suncoast Trail. Didn't stop to take too close of a look, but did warn other riders.

Mark

- not on the trail (although i've seen plenty of black racers on the Pinellas Trail)... this was the second coral i've seen at Walshingham Park:

Walshingham Park (http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/22_Walsingham.htm)

- good for warning other riders... we also have lots of joggers and mother in-line skaters w/babies, so i threw out some cautions...

I understand that to get bitten by a Coral snake one would have to allow them to gnaw on the end of a finger as their mouths are so small and they lack fangs, as pointed out by PaulH. Snakes, as most animals, do not attack unless frightened or provoked. I've seen more snakes at this time of year than any other as they're sunning themselves on the warm roads/trails.

Had a fright like that many years ago when we still lived in Colorado. It was early April and a really nice day, came steaming over the top of a hill and saw a snake out sunning itself on the concrete directly in front of me. Had less than a sec to make a course correction so just leaned a bit to the right and kept pedaling. After I was past thought about it; amazing what you recall in so short a time....triangular shaped head, greyish brown body, mottled yellow diamond shaped markings on the back....OMG a Western Diamondback. THEN I got frightened.

BTW, the hognose has been reclassified as venomous, with a very mild neurotoxin in its saliva.

TCS

I was once told by someone, can't remember who, that all snakes are at least somewhat venomous. Obviously if they can't inject it, they can't hurt humans much.

He's a handsome devil. Is he poisonous? If he isn't I'd pick him up.

There's something about the stripe pattern between the coral (venomous) and hognose (nonvenomous) snakes. Since I don't know what that difference is, I believe I'd leave this fellow alone and keep riding.