Holy Cow! Copperhead in Laundry hamper

[McLoofus 35,182]

16 minutes ago, kevon67 said:

Goed een?

 

Edited May 9, 2018 by McLoofus

[AUatHeart 624]

Was on a ruck march one summer, and when we stopped for a break one of our Privates just basically flopped into the ditch with his rucksack.  Private next to him started freaking out and screaming like a little girl because the flopper almost landed on a big rattlesnake.  Strange thing to me was that the snake just slithered away, kinda like it was annoyed that he had taken his spot in the ditch.

Also have had a water snake or moccasin try to climb in the boat with me on a couple of occasions.  I don't like that at ALL!

[aujeff11 6,243]

2 hours ago, AUatHeart said:

Private next to him started freaking out and screaming like a little girl because the flopper almost landed on a big rattlesnake. 

This is how I’d react. The military said be all that you can be, not take breaks with rattlesnakes and s***. 

Edited May 9, 2018 by aujeff11

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

Sincerely hope that the thread has drifted to the point that I can revert to geezerish story telling (we folks like that).

Canoe camping trip up towards the headwaters of the mighty Fish River. Wooded, sandy bank on a blunt peninsula between river and a beaver pond. Stretched out, shorts and barefeet, leaning back against a tree to read some Tolkein. When I get into a book, I tend to get into it, to the exclusion of surroundings, but was disturbed out of reverie by a moccasin (just a little one, ~ 2 ft?) crawling across my legs, Seemed mysteriously oblivious to me (smelly, pale, and warm-blooded as I am) and I wanted to keep it that way; I went all kind'a still life. After what seemed forever of its aimless slither across the ankles-to knees region, the moment passed. 

Damned thing was in the act of shedding. Skin and scales flaking off all over, with a considerable bundle of such flakes still partially attached all around the head. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

12 minutes ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

Sincerely hope that the thread has drifted to the point that I can revert to geezerish story telling (we folks like that).

Canoe camping trip up towards the headwaters of the mighty Fish River. Wooded, sandy bank on a blunt peninsula between river and a beaver pond. Stretched out, shorts and barefeet, leaning back against a tree to read some Tolkein. When I get into a book, I tend to get into it, to the exclusion of surroundings, but was disturbed out of reverie by a moccasin (just a little one, ~ 2 ft?) crawling across my legs, Seemed mysteriously oblivious to me (smelly, pale, and warm-blooded as I am) and I wanted to keep it that way; I went all kind'a still life. After what seemed forever of its aimless slither across the ankles-to knees region, the moment passed. 

Damned thing was in the act of shedding. Skin and scales flaking off all over, with a considerable bundle of such flakes still partially attached all around the head. 

"Snakes can exhibit 5 different modes of terrestrial locomotion: (1) lateral undulation, (2) sidewinding, (3) concertina, (4) rectilinear, and (5) slide-pushing."

You just described the best variety of camping, in my opinion. Used to spend a lot of time on the Chattooga. Went there with my now-wife once. There are some shoals on Section II that we call Paradise and have camped at frequently. Big beachy area there. My wife and I floated/body surfed the shoals/rapids downriver a little bit and then swam to the bank to climb out and walk back. I swam up first with her in tow. I reached up to grab a tree root and then realized that it was not, in fact, a tree root. I calmly turned around and expressed doubt in the ability of my foot to find purchase in that exact spot, and suggested that we swim back to a shallow area in the middle of the river to walk up and find another spot on the bank to exit. Lucky for me, she had no questions or concerns with the new plan we escaped unpunctured. I didn't reveal the truth of the matter until the car had reached pavement a couple days later. 

 

[augolf1716 21,121]

6 frickin pages about a snake good grief let us snakes hater alone. Maybe I should lock this unholy thread.................................?j/k of course

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

17 hours ago, augolf1716 said:

6 frickin pages about a snake good grief let us snakes hater alone. Maybe I should lock this unholy thread.................................?j/k of course

Damn!

The times, they are a'changing?

First time I've ever seen or heard (three generations of lore) of a gator in the basin. They've always stayed down lower in the river. Only ~7' but I won't even stick my butt in an inner-tube, and (to their puzzlement and vexation) have dragged the dogs inside. Neighbors have called the gator-catcher (who knew the county even had one?) but he/she is boating up from Orange Beach.

[kevon67 2,368]

15 minutes ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

Damn!

The times, they are a'changing?

First time I've ever seen or heard (three generations of lore) of a gator in the basin. They've always stayed down lower in the river. Only ~7' but I won't even stick my butt in an inner-tube, and (to their puzzlement and vexation) have dragged the dogs inside. Neighbors have called the gator-catcher (who knew the county even had one?) but he/she is boating up from Orange Beach.

Wise man sir.......I remember reading an article in Alabama Game&Fish claiming gators wont attack......Well I call bs........in the meantime I wont be walking up to shake ones leg anytime soon.......However, I will eat one on a stick

[McLoofus 35,182]

36 minutes ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

Damn!

The times, they are a'changing?

First time I've ever seen or heard (three generations of lore) of a gator in the basin. They've always stayed down lower in the river. Only ~7' but I won't even stick my butt in an inner-tube, and (to their puzzlement and vexation) have dragged the dogs inside. Neighbors have called the gator-catcher (who knew the county even had one?) but he/she is boating up from Orange Beach.

BOOOOOOO

We have them all over the place, but not in the same waters that we actually get in.

Good luck!

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

Gator (10'6") has left the building.

11 close-range shots by animal Control and a neighborhood effort on loading.

All Clear, but I got a new thing to be watchful for.

[McLoofus 35,182]

7 minutes ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

Gator (10'6") has left the building.

11 close-range shots by animal Control and a neighborhood effort on loading.

All Clear, but I got a new thing to be watchful for.

High stakes tubing is... well, not necessarily the best variety of tubing, but it still tubing. 

Just kidding. The thing about isolated incidents is that they are isolated. Tell your neighbors to quit throwing chicken carcasses in the river and I'm sure this will become a laugher in time. 

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

18 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

High stakes tubing is... well, not necessarily the best variety of tubing, but it still tubing. 

Just kidding. The thing about isolated incidents is that they are isolated. Tell your neighbors to quit throwing chicken carcasses in the river and I'm sure this will become a laugher in time. 

Now,

I'll call it a week.

[kevon67 2,368]

Back to snakes, just read where a man from Gilbertown, AL. was bitten by what he thought was a king snake........turns out it was a coral snake...his kids first found the snake........is in ICU in a MS. hospital....paralyzed an clinging to life.....so very sad.

My dad RIP grew up just a few miles south of Gilbertown and I never knew coral snakes were common.......

Edited May 13, 2018 by kevon67

[homersapien 11,369]

17 hours ago, kevon67 said:

Back to snakes, just read where a man from Gilbertown, AL. was bitten by what he thought was a king snake........turns out it was a coral snake...his kids first found the snake........is in ICU in a MS. hospital....paralyzed an clinging to life.....so very sad.

My dad RIP grew up just a few miles south of Gilbertown and I never knew coral snakes were common.......

Don't know how common they are, but they are very elusive and seldom seen.  They don't have fangs, just teeth and are pretty small.  Sounds like he was handling it.  The toxin is a neurotoxin, like Cobras. 

[kevon67 2,368]

Just now, homersapien said:

Don't know how common they are, but they are very elusive and seldom seen.  They don't have fangs, just teeth and are pretty small.  Sounds like he was handling it.  The toxin is a neurotoxin, like Cobras. 

He was catching what he thought was a King Snake for his brothers collection........had to have anti-venom flown in...not sure which state.

According to Fox 10 Mobile the gentleman is paralyzed and also has vision issues.......not sure if that's temporary. Very sad....

Can't imagine what would happen had one his children been bitten.

 

[homersapien 11,369]

Yeah, I saw that article.

Let's see, how does it go:  Red on black, friend of Jack;  red on yellow, kill a fellow.

Bottom line, don't pick one up unless you really know your snakes.

Edited May 13, 2018 by homersapien

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

1 minute ago, homersapien said:

Let's see, how does it go:  Red on black, friend of Jack;  red on yellow, kill a fellow.

Bottom line, don't pick one up unless you really know your snakes.

Just about to post that rhyme.

Coral snake does have "fangs" (it's a viper), but not the folding kind (not a pit viper).

Down here, most bites are to folks that nap next to a wood/brush pile. They're just not good at striking; they gotta sneak up and chew. Also, I think it's a neurotoxin (vs hemo) and nasty if it gets in you.

[homersapien 11,369]

19 minutes ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

Just about to post that rhyme.

Coral snake does have "fangs" (it's a viper), but not the folding kind (not a pit viper).

Down here, most bites are to folks that nap next to a wood/brush pile. They're just not good at striking; they gotta sneak up and chew. Also, I think it's a neurotoxin (vs hemo) and nasty if it gets in you.

Not sure about them being vipers - don't have time to research it now -  but if they have fangs they aren't hollow and supplied by venom sacs like vipers.  The toxin is delivered to the wound from wounds caused by the teeth - via saliva, so to speak.

Definately a neuro toxin.  I think they are more related to cobras than vipers.

Edited May 13, 2018 by homersapien

[homersapien 11,369]

This was interesting:

Danger to humans[edit]

New World coral snakes possess one of the most potent venoms of any North American snake. However, relatively few bites are recorded due to their reclusive nature and the fact they generally inhabit sparsely populated areas. According to the American National Institutes of Health, there are an average of 15–25 coral snake bites in the United States each year.^[12] When confronted by humans, coral snakes will almost always attempt to flee, and bite only as a last resort. In addition, coral snakes have short fangs (proteroglyph dentition) that cannot penetrate thick leather clothing. Any skin penetration, however, is a medical emergency that requires immediate attention. Coral snakes have a powerful neurotoxin that paralyzes the breathing muscles; mechanical or artificial respiration, along with large doses of antivenom, are often required to save a victim's life. There is usually only mild pain associated with a bite, but respiratory failure can occur within hours.

Antivenom shortage[edit]

As of 2012, the relative rarity of coral snake bites combined with the high costs of producing and maintaining an antivenom supply mean that antivenom (also called "antivenin") production in the United States has ceased. According to Pfizer, the owner of the company that used to make the antivenom Coralmyn, it would take between $5–$10 million for researching a new synthetic antivenom.^{[citation needed][clarification needed]} The cost was too large for the small number of cases presented each year. The existing American coral snake antivenom stock technically expired in 2008, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has extended the expiration date every year through at least April 30, 2017.^[13][14] Foreign pharmaceutical manufacturers have produced other coral snake antivenoms, but the costs of licensing them in the United States have stalled availability (see above).^[15] Instituto Bioclon is developing a coral snake antivenom.^[16] In 2013, Pfizer was reportedly working on a new batch of antivenom but had not announced when it would become available.^[14] As of 2016, the Venom Immunochemistry, Pharmacology and Emergency Response (VIPER) institute of the University of Arizona College of Medicine was enrolling participants in a clinical trial of INA2013, a "novel antivenom," according to the Florida Poison Information Center.^[17][18]

 

[homersapien 11,369]

Coral snakes are part of the Elapidae family of snakes, not the Viperidae. 

http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Viperidae/classification/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venomous_snake

Edited May 13, 2018 by homersapien

[homersapien 11,369]

Another meme to ID them is "Red, Yellow, Stop"  (Like traffic lights)

Never heard that one before but it's pretty good.  Simple.

Edited May 13, 2018 by homersapien

[McLoofus 35,182]

Coral snake spotted down here the other day (not by me). I was glad to hear that some effort usually goes into actually getting bitten and then venom-ized by one. 

[alexava 6,973]

If I see a snake that might be a coral snake, I won’t take any chances. But I don’t usually play with any snakes. 

[augolf1716 21,121]

9 hours ago, alexava said:

If I see a snake that might be a coral snake, I won’t take any chances. But I don’t usually play with any snakes. 

Play with snakes hell just shoot them.....................................I kid.........................sorta

[AU64 10,122]

On ‎5‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 2:57 PM, homersapien said:

Another meme to ID them is "Red, Yellow, Stop"  (Like traffic lights)

Never heard that one before but it's pretty good.  Simple.

the old scout adage from back in the days along the gulf coast. ...red on yellow dangerous fellow, red on black friend of jack....

I live in the heart of copperhead country.....and TO DATE....have never seen one in my yard....( but I know they must be out there) ......have them on our golf course along with moccasins in the creek areas which tends to discourage golfers from digging around in the edges of our creeks looking for golf balls except from a distance with a telescoping scooper. 

If I had run across that snake in the laundry hamper there would have been another batch of clothes needing a couple cycles in the old Kenmore.