# Afraid of snakes ???



## Phantom

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2PCs-Yard-Solar-Power-Multi-Pulse-Snake-Pest-Repeller-/310722356425

Not sure how good this is .....................


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## Diwundrin

I remember these were given a going over on a forum a while ago, don't remember exactly but I don't think they got a wonderful revue.  

No use to me, ground's too damned hard to screw them in.

I keep thinking of those giant worms in the 'Dune' series, they were called up by thumping noises, think I'd settle for the snakes.


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## Warrigal

No, but perhaps I should get one of those just in case a snake 
comes into my backyard for the first time since we moved in in 1996.

You can never be too careful.


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## Diwundrin

You never know Warri, I remember the shock horror News stories when they found 22 mixed species snakes on a partly vacant derelict factory block in *Leichhardt* around 15 years ago!  



I'd say the locals were dumping unwanted pet ones there, it would be a long hard track dodging traffic on Parramatta Rd for them  to have come in from the bush.


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## Warrigal

The worst I've ever had was a blue tongue lizard wintering in the compost heap.
I can't get them to take up permanent residence even though we have snails a plenty.


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## rkunsaw

We have lots of snakes around here but mostly the harmless kind. The king snakes I especially like because the eat the venomous kind.The big rat snakes are the most plentiful or at least the most often seen (and stepped on )


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## JustBonee

Don't care for snakes at all, but I have learned to tolerate..  they seem to take off at high speed  in one direction while I take off in another .. .. Have only stepped on a snake ONCE.. (years ago) I _still _remember the 'feeling' ...  eek!


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## MercyL

Boo's Mom said:


> Don't care for snakes at all, but I have learned to tolerate..  they seem to take off at high speed  in one direction while I take off in another .. .. Have only stepped on a snake ONCE.. (years ago) I _still _remember the 'feeling' ...  eek!



I cared for a whole room of snakes, and the mice they ate, during my Freshman year of college. The snakes were used for dissection in Herpetology and their blood was used for a different class. It was my job to clean their terrariums, breed mice, then feed the mice to the snakes. It was quiet work.

There were two things I did not care for bored snakes and their vomit.

The smell of snake vomit is unique. Bored snakes will sometimes over eat just to pass the time. The larger snakes eat larger mice so a large, bored snake would eat 3 large mice, then go back into the artificial cave in his terrarium where he would coil up , then puke the 3 large mice into the little space created in the center of his coil.

I had to lift the artificial cave, reach into the space with forceps and remove the crushed, but intact, mouse carcasses. I was almost bitten several times because the snakes liked striking at any hands reaching in to remove the carcasses. 

Outside of the vomiting problem, I enjoy snakes.


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## Ivanchuk

Can't say I've ever seen one of them before.


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## dbeyat45

MercyL said:


> [ Snip ]
> Outside of the vomiting problem, I enjoy snakes.


I feel the same about humans .....


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## Anne

I do NOT like snakes of any kind!!!  I know there's 'good' ones, and I'm sure we have the same ones as rkunsaw does, and I try to appreciate them, but for the most part, try to avoid them all.   The guys take care of the poisonous ones that come up in the yard.


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## Diwundrin

dbeyat45 said:


> I feel the same about humans .....


:lofl:


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## SeaBreeze

MercyL said:


> I cared for a whole room of snakes, and the mice they ate, during my Freshman year of college. The snakes were used for dissection in Herpetology and their blood was used for a different class. It was my job to clean their terrariums, breed mice, then feed the mice to the snakes. It was quiet work.
> 
> There were two things I did not care for bored snakes and their vomit.
> 
> The smell of snake vomit is unique. Bored snakes will sometimes over eat just to pass the time. The larger snakes eat larger mice so a large, bored snake would eat 3 large mice, then go back into the artificial cave in his terrarium where he would coil up , then puke the 3 large mice into the little space created in the center of his coil.
> 
> I had to lift the artificial cave, reach into the space with forceps and remove the crushed, but intact, mouse carcasses. I was almost bitten several times because the snakes liked striking at any hands reaching in to remove the carcasses.
> 
> Outside of the vomiting problem, I enjoy snakes.



You're braver than I am Mercy!   We have snakes in our area, and some come into our yard too.  I feel better when they're outdoors.  I'm not really scared of them, but I let them go on their way.  I have killed a couple of rattlesnakes in the past, and my dog was bitten by one in our yard years ago.  Usually we just see the big bull snakes and the smaller garden snakes, those I don't mind and just leave them alone, they help control the mice.  I'd never want a snake for a pet.


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## Diwundrin

No pet ones for me either, they smell really off!  They are an excellent mouse repellant though, one in the roof will rid the house of mice in minutes, they smell them and take off.  People used to throw shed snakeskins into the ceilings in the 'old' days, worked a treat.  I'll take their word for it.


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## Warrigal

I'm led to believe that snake poo causes possums to leave your roof space quite quickly too.


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## Katybug

Warrigal said:


> The worst I've ever had was a blue tongue lizard wintering in the compost heap.
> I can't get them to take up permanent residence even though we have snails a plenty.



*Ha!  My g'son has a blue tongued skink/lizard, Max.  We love the guy, but he would never be my choice of a pet.  
*


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## Katybug

MercyL said:


> I cared for a whole room of snakes, and the mice they ate, during my Freshman year of college. The snakes were used for dissection in Herpetology and their blood was used for a different class. It was my job to clean their terrariums, breed mice, then feed the mice to the snakes. It was quiet work.
> 
> There were two things I did not care for bored snakes and their vomit.
> 
> The smell of snake vomit is unique. Bored snakes will sometimes over eat just to pass the time. The larger snakes eat larger mice so a large, bored snake would eat 3 large mice, then go back into the artificial cave in his terrarium where he would coil up , then puke the 3 large mice into the little space created in the center of his coil.
> 
> I had to lift the artificial cave, reach into the space with forceps and remove the crushed, but intact, mouse carcasses. I was almost bitten several times because the snakes liked striking at any hands reaching in to remove the carcasses.
> 
> Outside of the vomiting problem, I enjoy snakes.



*That's interesting, Mercy.  Not to the point of wanting to care for them, but I am fascinated by them too, but only the exotic ones.  North American snakes don't hold my interest, but bring in something like a Black Mamba or Anaconda and I'm at full attention -- ONLY if they're in a cage and no touching!
*


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## Katybug

Ivanchuk said:


> Can't say I've ever seen one of them before.



I've never seen a snake in the wild either and there are plenty of them here in the south.  I am not an outdoors person and that's probably the reason.


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## Jackie22

Living in the country, I see snakes often, just this week I was cleaning out the garage and found a snake skin about 6' long....eek, I was very careful with the rest of the cleaning.


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## Jillaroo

_I need to clean out my shed but am worried i will come across one mg:, i am waiting until my daughter can give me a hand waiting waiting waiting ho hum:help1:_


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## Diwundrin

Tch, shoulda done it in the winter Jilly.  hwell:
I bought some moulded stripping to line the gaps between the floor and colorbond walls of the shed.  It wont stop everything determined getting in but it's a lot better than a long row of holes just begging for snakes to crawl through.  Keeps the damp out too, great stuff.


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## Jillaroo

_I'm steering away from it since the Rats got in and made one hell of a mess, there is poop everywhere and they have chewed through so many bottle of ferilizer etc, winter is when the snakes. would have been tucked up in something in the shed according to wires, help is hard to come by these days_


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## Diwundrin

Yeah, but they're slow and sleepy in winter and not nearly so 'tetchy'.


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## dbeyat45

We had plenty at our previous place in Strathpine ..... here's the skin of one we watched shedding from the kitchen window:



Here's one going up onto the roof:



We rarely saw mice ........... or canaries.


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## terra

I had a "moment" yesterday. I was doing some garden work at my part-time job on a nearby farm.. just pulling a few weeds and as I moved along the edge of the garden, I glanced sideways and there's a nice big Copperhead snake cruising past about 12 inches from my foot. 
 Naturally, I jumped about 1 metre high off the ground......  the snake took off, startled... and my heart rate doubled to warp speed.  



I reckon that the long dry period has brought them closer in search of water..... yep !... need some rain !

some info on the Copperhead:   http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/view-image.htm?index=6&gid=11893


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## Diwundrin

I haven't seen the local big Brownie yet but I watched Belle sniffing a scent trail across the ground and gravel in a zig zag so he's baaaack!

I recognize that action Tezza, did the same once when I realised the fresh shiny wet cow pat I had a foot either side of when picking mushrooms was a red-belly black snake.  It took off as fast I did, luckily in the opposite direction.


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## Anne

dbeyat45 said:


> We had plenty at our previous place in Strathpine ..... here's the skin of one we watched shedding from the kitchen window:
> 
> 
> 
> Here's one going up onto the roof:
> 
> View attachment 3170
> 
> We rarely saw mice ........... or canaries.



OMG, If I saw that in the trees or on the roof, I'd end up in the hospital!!!!   :aargh::help1:


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## terra

Diwundrin said:


> I haven't seen the local big Brownie yet but I watched Belle sniffing a scent trail across the ground and gravel in a zig zag so he's baaaack!
> 
> I recognize that action Tezza, did the same once when I realised the fresh shiny wet cow pat I had a foot either side of when picking mushrooms was a red-belly black snake.  It took off as fast I did, luckily in the opposite direction.



I neglected to mention that I almost needed a change of undies !...


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## Diwundrin

Shhhh, me too.


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## Diwundrin

Anne said:


> OMG, If I saw that in the trees or on the roof, I'd end up in the hospital!!!!   :aargh::help1:



Only a tree snake Anne, they're one the few harmless ones.  They are though, as dbeyat mentioned, hell on mice and canaries.


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## dbeyat45

terra said:


> I had a "moment" yesterday. I was doing some garden work at my part-time job on a nearby farm.. just pulling a few weeds and as I moved along the edge of the garden, I glanced sideways and there's a nice big Copperhead snake cruising past about 12 inches from my foot.
> Naturally, I jumped about 1 metre high off the ground......  the snake took off, startled... and my heart rate doubled to warp speed.
> 
> 
> 
> I reckon that the long dry period has brought them closer in search of water..... yep !... need some rain !
> 
> some info on the Copperhead:   http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/view-image.htm?index=6&gid=11893



Don't worry ... they are only dangerous if they bite you. 
 :wink:


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## Davey Jones

What the heck was it thinking???


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## Diwundrin




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## That Guy




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## Katybug

Jackie22 said:


> Living in the country, I see snakes often, just this week I was cleaning out the garage and found a snake skin about 6' long....eek, I was very careful with the rest of the cleaning.



I was in a ladies' forum several years ago.  One of the regulars. from Missouri, whose husband traveled and she lived alone as she said, "out in the boonies" Mon-Fri.  One night she posted that she had just found a 4.5 ft. snakeskin in one of her kitchen drawers in a home they were renting. Nuff said, I would have packed what I needed and left the home and never gone back under any circumstances.  Her hubby would have had to handle the rest, or in my case a moving company!  We all found it extremely odd that after 3+ years of membership w/the group, she never posted again after finding the snakeskin.  The rest of us imagined all kinds of things that may have happened to her and you can imagine what we were thinking.  No one had her phone number or even her last name, but her e-mails were bounced back to us....very, very strange.


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## That Guy

I want a gopher snake to get those damned little buggers diggin' up the yard!


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## terra

Rumour has it that if you have a pet Mongoose, you won't have any problems with snakes.


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## Diwundrin

Katybug said:


> I was in a ladies' forum several years ago.  One of the regulars. from Missouri, whose husband traveled and she lived alone as she said, "out in the boonies" Mon-Fri.  One night she posted that she had just found a 4.5 ft. snakeskin in one of her kitchen drawers in a home they were renting. Nuff said, I would have packed what I needed and left the home and never gone back under any circumstances.  Her hubby would have had to handle the rest, or in my case a moving company!  We all found it extremely odd that after 3+ years of membership w/the group, she never posted again after finding the snakeskin.  The rest of us imagined all kinds of things that may have happened to her and you can imagine what we were thinking.  No one had her phone number or even her last name, but her e-mails were bounced back to us....very, very strange.




Don'tchya just hate it when that happens!?

I'd like to think that anyone who lasts more than a few months on a forum ensures that at least one other member, or the moderator, has some contact number or email address for a friend or relative.  It can create quite a feeling of loss when someone just vanishes.  Like Ozarkgal, I wonder about her almost every day.

Oh, siiiigh Tezza, if only.  I think Mongooses are banned here too, like Hamsters.  The snakes are the protected species, not us.


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## Jillaroo

_I am the same Di i do worry about Ozarkgal, i hope she is ok after that nasty storm with flooding._


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## rkunsaw

I wonder about Ozarkgal too.

A few years ago this small kitten adopted us. I was sitting in a lawn chair with the kitten when this 6 foot long black rat snake crawled alongside the chair and stopped. The curious kitten jumped down and started swatting at the snakes tail. The snake started crawling away with the kitten chasing it. I got up and started after them. The snake got to a shed and started crawling up the wall when the kitten grabbed its tail. 
Before I could get there the snake turned around and struck the kitten. Now this snake could have easily eaten this kitten for lunch, but what surprised me was the snake didn't open its mouth. It didn't try to hurt the kitten, it just wanted to be left alone. I got there by then and grabbed the kitten and I'm sure I heard the snake give a sigh of relief.


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## Diwundrin

1 down, 8 to go.


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## Jackie22

Wow...that is one long skinny snake, we have chicken snakes here that look similar...very long and very black, their main diet is bird eggs and baby birds, I have vines on my back patio and the birds build nest in them and attracts the snakes..


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## Katybug

rkunsaw said:


> I wonder about Ozarkgal too.
> 
> A few years ago this small kitten adopted us. I was sitting in a lawn chair with the kitten when this 6 foot long black rat snake crawled alongside the chair and stopped. The curious kitten jumped down and started swatting at the snakes tail. The snake started crawling away with the kitten chasing it. I got up and started after them. The snake got to a shed and started crawling up the wall when the kitten grabbed its tail.
> Before I could get there the snake turned around and struck the kitten. Now this snake could have easily eaten this kitten for lunch, but what surprised me was the snake didn't open its mouth. It didn't try to hurt the kitten, it just wanted to be left alone. I got there by then and grabbed the kitten and I'm sure I heard the snake give a sigh of relief.



Good story, and I'm glad it had a happy ending.


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## That Guy




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## Warrigal

Wow! Amazing video clip.


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## Diwundrin

Sure is a great clip. Shame it's an eel.


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## That Guy

Diwundrin said:


> Sure is a great clip. Shame it's an eel.



Ain't no eel.  Sea snake.


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## Diwundrin

Can't be, ain't no stripes. Ours got stripes.


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## That Guy

Lots of different types.  Look closely. But, what the heck, you could be right.  Okay . . . sea snake:


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## Jillaroo

_Could be an Australian Sea Snake, here's a link_

http://www.mesa.edu.au/sea_snakes/gallery.asp


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## Diwundrin

Settle down, I'm just having a stir, dunno what it is.


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## basefare

I hope I don't dream about all these snakes. I don't care what they are, I like to keep my distance. I'm afraid of all of them.


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## Ozarkgal

Well, I think from my posts on the other thread my position regarding snakes is clear..the only good snake is a dead snake..Living on a creek in the south and dealing with cottonmouths and copperheads, not to mention rattlers living amongst the rocky outcroppings causes me to shoot first and ask questions later.  Although there have been some obvious black rat snakes that have escaped my vengeance, only due to Mr. O's insistence.  I know, I know they eat the poisonous ones, but I can't get past the fear factor of snakes in general.

That Guy..thanks for posting that amazing vid..aside from the debate on whether it is a snake or eel, I wonder what kind of bird that is...awesome!


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## Diwundrin

That Guy said:


>



Looks a lot like ones I've seen around here, but my eyesight's not good enough to swear to it.  



> The *White-bellied Sea Eagle* (_Haliaeetus leucogaster_), also known as the *White-breasted Sea Eagle*, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related to Sanford's Sea Eagle of the Solomon Islands, and the two are considered a superspecies. A distinctive bird, the adult White-bellied Sea Eagle has a white head, breast, under-wing coverts  and tail. The upper parts are grey and the black under-wing flight  feathers contrast with the white coverts. The tail is short and  wedge-shaped as in all _Haliaeetus_ species.  Like many raptors, the female is slightly larger than the male, and can  measure up to 90 cm (36 in) long with a wingspan of up to 2.2 m (7 ft),  and weigh 4.5 kg (10 lb).



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-bellied_Sea_Eagle
White bellied Sea Eagle


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## Jillaroo

Diwundrin said:


> Settle down, I'm just having a stir, dunno what it is.




Ain't it grand stirring haha


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## Katybug

Jillaroo said:


> _Could be an Australian Sea Snake, here's a link_
> 
> http://www.mesa.edu.au/sea_snakes/gallery.asp



Animal Planet keeps saying sea snakes are the deadliest of all snakes, just that they are rarely in contact with people and we very rarely ever see them, so you don't hear much about them.  I didn't realize there are so many types living in the ocean and wondering if they're all that deadly.


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## Diwundrin

Sea snakes - tree snakes - 3 snakes ..... 

   Take your pick.

Could you call that having it's 'undivided' attention?


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## Katybug

Diwundrin said:


> Sea snakes - tree snakes - 3 snakes .....
> 
> Take your pick.
> 
> Could you call that having it's 'undivided' attention?



Gawd, how much more intimidating & frightening could a snake be, but one with 3 sets of fangs side by side??!!!  Whew!


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## Phantom

Most deadly of all ...........Trouser Snake


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## Diwundrin

> ... a mythical beast still considered by half the population to hold some magic powers but which has long since been proven to be a fanciful euphemism for the Common Blind Worm.   ... read more.



:rofl:


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## Katybug

Phantom said:


> Most deadly of all ...........Trouser Snake



Phantom, as I've posted before I am totally fascinated by exotic snakes and read anything that pertains to them.  This was definitely my new thing to learn for the day, as I had never heard of them.  But in reading everything written on them via the links, I didn't see anything about them being deadly or harmful in anyway.  Am I missing something?   Thx for the update, I enjoyed the articles. 

When I first saw your post, "Trouser Snake," I thought it perhaps referred to a venomous one taking refuge in a pair of pants.  Ha!


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## Diwundrin

A reminder to OZ that these are on the trot, bigtime, this year.



Eastern Browns - _'responsible for 60% of all snake bite fatalities in Australia.'_

Heard there's been 6 bitten by them so far this season, one fatality, a woman who was bitten in her garden near Newcastle. Paramedics thought she'd had a stroke so antivenene was adminstered  too late, and only after she had been admitted to hospital and a nurse noticed fang marks on her ankle.

According to a guru on the radio they're in unprecedented numbers in populated urban areas due to dry conditions forcing them to seek water.
It was mentioned that a friend of the radio host had been bitten on the ankle 3 times by a Carpet snake!  I may need to get out more but I've never heard of one biting anyone, just striking and leaving a bruise, or doing it's level best to strangle you. 

  They're non venomous but carry bacteria so she had to have tetanus shots and antibiotics.  Seems they're all a bit aggro this year.

Just check that there's only frogs in the dog's water bowl folks.


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## Jillaroo

_One reason i am not cleaning out my shed Di for fear there is one in there, i will wait until someone can be there with me_


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## Katybug

Jillaroo said:


> _One reason i am not cleaning out my shed Di for fear there is one in there, i will wait until someone can be there with me_



Oh my gosh, Jill, I wouldn't go inside the shed by myself for any amount of $$.  I can say I'm fascinated by them because I don't have to deal with them as you all do, and the majority of ours are non-poisonous.  But it would spook the hell outta me to think there was one of any kind hanging around, and I know there are.  But not being remotely outdoorsy it's not anything I ever worry about.  I've never seen one in my life outside captivity if that tells you anything.  I know Oz is loaded with 'em, and I'm thinking you just stay on guard and learn to mutually coexist.


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## Jillaroo

_I am very nervous about going in there , and who knows there probably isn't one in there, a couple of months back i had some rats in there and they have made such a mess, they have chewed through bottles of fertilisers and god knows what else, there is rat poo everywhere, if i could disinfect all of the things in there i would as they are such dirty things, i had some Rat bait in there and they have eaten all of it so they aren't in there anymore but the snakes would have been interested in them_


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## Ozarkgal

I sympathize with all you Aussies that are dealing with snakes.  I am lilly livered when it comes to snakes and my mantra is the only good snake is a dead snake.  We have 7 varieties of poisonous ones here in the Ozarks, but the most prevelant are water moccasins, copperheads and rattlers.  Being on the creek, spring is when we see most of the cottonmouths (aka Water Moccasins).  

Having a bunch of cats has definitely put a damper on their style, with no rats to eat because of the cats the snakes aren't interested.  In addition we keep everything cut very short and no piles of junk laying around, except for our woodpile.  Believe me I am careful about that, but again, the cats prowl it so haven't seen anything there yet.

Jilly, my brother and I recently cleaned out our shed and believe me I was ever on the ready when ever I moved anything.  I was very surprised there were no signs of rats or snakes, just the evidence of a coon that tried to make a bed in the pump housing amid the insulation. I thought about putting sticky glue traps out just in case, but then they would be smelling and I would have to deal with that.

I know Australia has some highly venomous snakes that are lethal.  Please be very careful, they see you long before you see them.


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## grannyjo

Remember when my son and I were looking at a block of land in Armidale, NSW, Australia.  It was a five acre paddock.  Decided to walk the perimeters,  just to see where it went.  Suddenly my son pushed me behind him - there was a brown snake sitting up in the strike position!  I asked him later if that was the best idea.  If the snake had struck,  he could possibly have carried me out,  but here way no way I could have carried him out!  We/he didn't buy that block of land.


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## Katybug

Geez, that would have scared off superheros.  I can't imagine anyone buying under those circumstances.


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## Diwundrin

They go with the territory, just something to keep in mind but not let their presence rule your life.  Like traffic. That's more likely to kill you than snakes but we learn how to avoid it.
Just as you wouldn't go out in a blizzard without gloves on, or cross a road without looking for vehicles, you wouldn't stick your hand into things here that snakes could be in.

Many in OZ have never seen one in the wild either, the problem now is that they are protected by law which has led to them being able to spread into more urbanised areas where people aren't raised with the thought of them being around.

 Not to say the bit of paper protects them from anyone with a sharp spade if they appear at the back door,  but it has stopped people hunting for them and clearing them out of areas as they used to.

Same thing is happening with crocodiles. They're breeding up in numbers and spreading into urban areas more too since they were 'protected'.  Big ones were culled in the past and the odd smallish one might appear in a Darwin garden but now 15 footers are strolling about in suburbia in the tropics.   Lemme think, snakes or crocs?   I'll settle for the snakes I think.



Learned something interesting the other day. Australia is the only place were there are far more venomous snake species than harmless ones.  So how did that happen I wonder?


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## Katybug

Diwundrin said:


> They go with the territory, just something to keep in mind but not let their presence rule your life.  Like traffic. That's more likely to kill you than snakes but we learn how to avoid it.
> Just as you wouldn't go out in a blizzard without gloves on, or cross a road without looking for vehicles, you wouldn't stick your hand into things here that snakes could be in.
> 
> Many in OZ have never seen one in the wild either, the problem now is that they are protected by law which has led to them being able to spread into more urbanised areas where people aren't raised with the thought of them being around.
> 
> Not to say the bit of paper protects them from anyone with a sharp spade if they appear at the back door,  but it has stopped people hunting for them and clearing them out of areas as they used to.
> 
> Same thing is happening with crocodiles. They're breeding up in numbers and spreading into urban areas more too since they were 'protected'.  Big ones were culled in the past and the odd smallish one might appear in a Darwin garden but now 15 footers are strolling about in suburbia in the tropics.   Lemme think, snakes or crocs?   I'll settle for the snakes I think.
> 
> 
> 
> Learned something interesting the other day. Australia is the only place were there are far more venomous snake species than harmless ones.  So how did that happen I wonder?



I wasn't going to say it, but being a huge ANIMAL PLANET fan I knew Oz had the majority of venomous species.  The good thing is you don't have to interact w/them on a regular basis.   Poor India where the rice fields = major livelihood and the cobras...sad situation.  Ongoing worry worldwide is cranking the auto & interacting with other wild & crazy drivers.


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## Diwundrin

That's a good point, we don't have the massive population to come into contact with them as a place like India.


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## Phantom

Katybug said:


> Phantom, as I've posted before I am totally fascinated by exotic snakes and read anything that pertains to them.  This was definitely my new thing to learn for the day, as I had never heard of them.  But in reading everything written on them via the links, I didn't see anything about them being deadly or harmful in anyway.  Am I missing something?   Thx for the update, I enjoyed the articles.
> 
> When I first saw your post, "Trouser Snake," I thought it perhaps referred to a venomous one taking refuge in a pair of pants.  Ha!




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49MOcTv3Wgs


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## Warrigal

Shame on you, Phantom. As if trying to cope with Dame Edna isn't hard enough for our American cousins, you have to inflict them with her lout of a nephew, Barry McKenzie.


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## Katybug

Lol!!!!


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## RedRibbons

Well, people can make light of it, but just think about this: What if you saw a huge over five foot snake on your kitchen table? Would you be laughing? Would you just say, "Oh well, it is just a harmless snake, and I have nothing to worry about." I had that happen to me, this past summer. The thing was a huge black snake. And, it did not kill the mice around my home. It scared the hell out of me. It got up from my crawl space, because I had two holes in my floor, behind water heater I did not know about. Holes have been sealed. I also covered all of the vents to my crawl space. I called animal control and they took the thing out. Anyway, when any of you think something like this is funny, think about a huge snake crawling up on your bed when you are asleep. Not so funny now, is it?


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## Ozarkgal

Poor Red Ribbons..I can see where you would be absolutely traumatized by a snake in your house.  There are seven poisonous species in Arkansas,  and believe me I am ever on the lookout.  If I had one in the house I would have to leave and throw a match in the door on the way out, I ain't going back in!


----------



## RedRibbons

Ozarkgal said:


> Poor Red Ribbons..I can see where you would be absolutely traumatized by a snake in your house.  There are seven poisonous species in Arkansas,  and believe me I am ever on the lookout.  If I had one in the house I would have to leave and throw a match in the door on the way out, I ain't going back in!


No need to feel sympathy for me. If I ever see any kind of snake in my house again, I will chop up that disgusting thing. I believe most normal people would be "traumatized" in seeing a snake in their house.


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## Anne

I remember hearing of a place they called 'the snake house', because the owners kept finding snakes in their basement, and couldn't locate where they were getting in; they ended up moving because of it.   These were just garden snakes, as there were no poisonous ones in that area, but nevertheless, I wouldn't stay in a house with any kind of snake.
We have a crawlspace here, but hubby screened off the vents as mice were getting in, and of course I figured snakes would follow.  Yikes.  So far, no more mice or snakes, but plenty of spiders....don't like them, either...some of them are poisonous.


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## Diwundrin

I can see where that would be somewhat upsetting Redribbons.  I had a green tree snake in here, it was harmless but what upset me was that I never did find the damned thing after it went under the furniture.  I guess it got out but I would have liked to have seen it leave at least.  If it had been a top ten fanger I'd have called someone in to find it but they don't bother coming for harmless ones.

We joke about snakes but still pay them due respect, most rural people have snake stories, they're just a fact of life to be aware of. 
It wouldn't be a great life to be overly scared of them around here that's for sure, we wouldn't get any sleep.


----------



## RedRibbons

Concerning any types of snakes or other wild creature: I do not go into their territory. This is My territory, and if anything invades my home and my space, they will die. Quiet simply really. Fact of life or not, they have no business in my home.


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## Diwundrin

Maybe our building houses in their territory is why they bite us ?


----------



## babyboomer

My friends bought a 1950's house at the begining of the year. When stripping old carpet, we found a dead and dried snake near front door.


----------



## RedRibbons

Diwundrin said:


> Maybe our building houses in their territory is why they bite us ?


I live in an old house. Not their territory. I think all of the new construction has brought them to my property. Too bad for them.


----------



## drifter

Ozarkgal, what are the seven species of poisonous snakes in ArKansas, pray tell?


----------



## Katybug

RedRibbons said:


> No need to feel sympathy for me. If I ever see any kind of snake in my house again, I will chop up that disgusting thing. I believe most normal people would be "traumatized" in seeing a snake in their house.



My daughter who lives in Charlotte and a dear friend in S. FL have both experienced non-poisonous ones in the home.  Neither one would take their eyes from it for fear it would go where they couldn't see. Scared to death, but grabbed their cells & hung in there 'til help came.  NOT ME, I would've been outta there in a flash, but I wouldn't have been able to go back 'til I knew it was dead, and even then w/nightmares forever!  Their brave way makes far more sense if you can pull it off.


----------



## Diwundrin

> I believe most normal people would be "traumatized" in seeing a snake in their house.



'Normal' people may be traumatized slightly but turning into serpicidal maniacs seems a tad OTT.  Here's a point to ponder. 

 The vast majority of snake bites are incurred by people trying to kill them. Next comes accidental contact.   They don't hunt people, people hunt them.  Any 'normal' person would expect them to defend themselves. 
 The trick to avoiding appearing on the casualty list is to not engage them at all.  Just stand aside and let them pass, or call in someone who knows how to handle them to remove them.  Going 'chainsaw' on them is the worst possible option.


----------



## drifter

Last time I was I was up close and personal with a pit viper, I tried to photograph a rattler. I was in a camera club and monthly contest were the order of the day. I wanted to photograph a snake striking with the wall of the canyon in the background. I got a picture of one  striking but there was no canyon. I caught his head, eyes, and fangs, with one drop of venom on one fang, sharp and clear but the photo faded into oblivion on the snakes neck and body, no canyon, no background. A slight blur on one eye. You could tell he was striking. It is however a two man job. I was just lucky I didn't get bit.


----------



## Ozarkgal

drifter said:


> Ozarkgal, what are the seven species of poisonous snakes in ArKansas, pray tell?



Copperheads, Cottonmouth aka Water Moccasin, which really count as one, Western Diamondback Rattler, Timber Rattler, Western Pygmy Rattler, and Texas Coral Snake, so really six in all.  

There is also a multitude of non-venomous species, some which closely mimic the venomous ones in coloring and pattern. Almost impossible to tell the difference unless you get very close up and personal and have the where with all to determine if they have triangle shaped or rounded heads, round pupils or slits, viper holes above the nose holes in the head, etc...and in the case of Coral snakes, can remember the old adage: Red touches yellow, kills a fellow!









The color pattern on a coral snake is a red touching yellow pattern with black between the red touching yellow band.  On snakes that mimic Corals there is a black band separating the red and yellow bands.

   Coral Snake                                                           Milk Snake








From this example you can see what I mean by getting close up and personal to tell the difference.


----------



## Ozarkgal

Diwundrin said:


> 'Normal' people may be traumatized slightly but turning into serpicidal maniacs seems a tad OTT. Here's a point to ponder.
> 
> The vast majority of snake bites are incurred by people trying to kill them. Next comes accidental contact.   They don't hunt people, people hunt them.  Any 'normal' person would expect them to defend themselves.
> The trick to avoiding appearing on the casualty list is to not engage them at all.  Just stand aside and let them pass, or call in someone who knows how to handle them to remove them.  Going 'chainsaw' on them is the worst possible option.



 Di, mostly agree with your assessment of why people get bitten. Most snakes that we have will go out of their way to avoid contact if possible. They see you way before you see them, and they are usually in retreat mode if you do see them. The only exception to that in this neck of the woods is the Cottonmouth/Water Moccasin. They are a very nasty, aggressive snake, and will actually come after you. They're so mean they'll bite themselves if they can't get you! Living on the creek as we do we have this species very close, and they are actively hunted in the spring as they make their way down the banks, or across the creek, not with a chainsaw, but a 22 LR at 25 feet.... sorry.

 I am definitely OTT when it comes to snakes.  Having the sheer number of different venomous species in this area makes me cautious to the extreme of where I am putting my hands and feet, and constantly watching the Gangstas for too much sustained interest in a certain spot on the ground.   Winter is a relief to me where snakes are concerned.  

 Just typing this is giving me the creeps.


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## Jillaroo

_Ouch those Cottonmouth snakes sound nasty, our brown & the tiger can be aggressive but mainly when you are in their territory and you corner them, i certainly wouldn't enjoy living in your home in the spring/summer, i will visit in the fall lol.
                  I am absolutely terrified of snakes and can't work out why i have this fear , i have come across them on the farm but they haven't attacked me, if you could have seen me killing a baby brown years ago you would have laughed your head off, he had a broken back due to the cat and he was only 30cms long the length of a ruler for heavens sake and i ended up shaking my head off after chopping him into a million pieces {real sook}_


----------



## Warrigal

I was wondering how big a problem venomous snakes are in the USA and I found these accounts of fatalities over time, and a brief account of how they came about.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_snake_bites_in_the_United_States#2010s

 A fair proportion of the fatalities occurred during religious rituals involving venomous snakes.
Di is right. Leave them alone and for the most part they will do the same for you.
I'm calling over reaction and exaggeration.


----------



## RedRibbons

Katybug said:


> My daughter who lives in Charlotte and a dear friend in S. FL have both experienced non-poisonous ones in the home.  Neither one would take their eyes from it for fear it would go where they couldn't see. Scared to death, but grabbed their cells & hung in there 'til help came.  NOT ME, I would've been outta there in a flash, but I wouldn't have been able to go back 'til I knew it was dead, and even then w/nightmares forever!  Their brave way makes far more sense if you can pull it off.



Katy, I read that happened to a lot of people in Charlotte, this past summer, because it rained almost every day in June. And, the things were coming in houses to seek shelter. They were brave to keep watching it. I can't do that, they creep me out too much.

Do any of you know the answer to this? Is it possible that one could come into your house, animal control couldn't find it, but then two years later the same one is still in your house?


----------



## Warrigal

Not a snake story but I did have a blue tongue lizard (think fat, foot long skink) disappear in a pickup for several weeks.
Apparently it finished its hibernation under the seat in the springs and popped out to sun itself on the drivers seat when Spring came along. It caused quite a stir when it hissed loudly at the owner of the pickup.

Note - blue tongues are all bluff. They are totally harmless but some people are scared of them.


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## RedRibbons

I love lizards, and am not afraid of any of them. Even if one Hissed at me. It is the creepy snakes, that I dislike.


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## drifter

Gracious, Ms Ozark. I didn't realize any pygmy's were in your area. But there's much i don't know.


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## Diwundrin

Not sure it they're still there,  but I think Max has a couple of freeloader carpet snakes(pythons) that have been living in his roof for years.  
Many country homes had them as 'guests' if not in the house roof, or under the floorboards,  then at least in the sheds and dairies.  I'd rather hear a carpet snake scraping across the ceiling than rats cavorting and bouncing about on it.   The smell of a shed snake skin thrown up into the roof space was enough to keep rodents out in most cases. Cheaper than rat bait and no bodies to dispose of.

Too many people have a view of snakes as something demonic, they aren't, they're just animals evolved for a particular niche, some are dangerous, some aren't. We don't have to like them but we don't have to go postal every time we see or think about one either.
 No one would blink at a cat that lived in the roof to keep rodents down would they?  Are cats 'creepy'?

(Well, yes they are really, but you get what I mean.)



An uncle was delighted to see a Blue Tongue one day when he was squatting on his haunches fixing some farm machinery and dropped a screw between his legs, reached down to pick it up and was about to grab about 4 inches of striped tail inches under his valuable bits.  He couldn't tell if it was a Blue Tongue or a Tiger snake in the shadows but that silly big flat  triangle head finally appeared in the open and he said he was so pleased he grabbed it and gave it a cuddle.  Bet the Bluey was wondering about that for a while. 



We had a BT in our yard in Sydney for years. We never saw it until just before we left there,  but we had seen the midden of snail shells he'd built up and heard his  'clunking' mating calls now and then so we knew he was there.  There must have been plenty of others around too as we could hear the 'clunks' getting closer together. Talk about reptile erotica.  

We only saw him after a memorable 5 weeks of almost continuous rain in Sydney and he finally gave up and came up to the back porch to dry out.  It was huge, well over a foot long, and fat as, so I can't imagine how we never saw him before. But then it was a pretty well vegetated yard by normal standards.


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## RedRibbons

Too many people have a view of snakes as something demonic, they aren't, they're just animals evolved for a particular niche, some are dangerous, some aren't. We don't have to like them but we don't have to go postal every time we see or think about one either.
---------------------------------
It is in the human DNA to be afraid of snakes. And, I have to ask myself why any human would not be disgusted, and afraid of them. But, that is just me. Again, I ask, why would any normal human not be afraid of them? Creepy, slimy creatures. Ask yourself, if you woke up and found one of these creatures on your bed, what would you do? Would you lovingly pick it up, and gently lay it outside, or would you be terrified?


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## Warrigal

Red Ribbons, there are actually two kinds of people in the world - those that are panicked at the sight of a snake and those that are fascinated. I'm one of the latter, although I keep my distance and don't take any liberties.

As a child I dispelled the demons of the dark by imagining that my pet python was coiled up on my eiderdown and that he would protect me against all malevolence. It worked. I got over being afraid of the dark thanks to my imaginary pet.


----------



## Diwundrin

RedRibbons said:


> Too many people have a view of snakes as something demonic, they aren't, they're just animals evolved for a particular niche, some are dangerous, some aren't. We don't have to like them but we don't have to go postal every time we see or think about one either.
> ---------------------------------
> It is in the human DNA to be afraid of snakes. And, I have to ask myself why any human would not be disgusted, and afraid of them. But, that is just me. Again, I ask, why would any normal human not be afraid of them? Creepy, slimy creatures. Ask yourself, if you woke up and found one of these creatures on your bed, what would you do? Would you lovingly pick it up, and gently lay it outside, or would you be terrified?



Of course the natural reaction would be to flinch but keeping still until you work out what it is is the better option, we're not really talking about that scenario anyway, it's the people who are revolted by as little as a photo of one that intrigues me.

You have very obviously never touched a snake.  They are not cold.  They are definitely NOT slimy, unless you've picked it up in a swamp. 
They are exactly the same as lizards, warm, doughy and smooth or rough according to their hides. It's just their mouths that make the difference.  Some lizards are venomous too you know, and many are infectious if they break the skin.

You are making judgements of people's behaviour about an animal you seem to know very little about.  I know I wouldn't keep one as a pet, and I pay them an awful lot of respect, but other than the atavistic initial reaction to finding one unexpectedly I don't treat them differently than I would treat a vicious feral cat.  I'd do my best to keep out of it's striking range and put some distance between us but I won't be panicking, going postal or needing trauma counselling over it.

I remember finding a baby snake at Ettalong when I was around 7 at the grans' for a visit. I made it comfy in a shoe box and played with it until Dad joined us. Mum and Nana hadn't even looked closely at it, they thought it was a skink. He said I'll just put this in the laundry for the night where it'll be safe.  Of course the box was empty next morning and snake was buried up the yard I found out years later. It was a baby Brown snake and they are venomous even before they hatch.  It was about 6inches long so had just hatched, we never did see any of it's siblings though.

 Seems I missed out on that snake panic gene and only got nervous about them as I learned more about them.   I think about that snake now and then when I feel hard done by and remember it as an entry on the lucky side of my ledger.  I gave that thing a fair workout playing with it but it didn't even seem upset and obviously didn't bite me.  Lucky, lucky lucky.


----------



## RedRibbons

You are making judgements of people's behaviour about an animal you seem to know very little about. I know I wouldn't keep one as a pet, and I pay them an awful lot of respect, but other than the atavistic initial reaction to finding one unexpectedly I don't treat them differently than I would treat a vicious feral cat. I'd do my best to keep out of it's striking range and put some distance between us but I won't be panicking, going postal or needing trauma counselling over it.
============================================================================
I am making no judgements about other people's behavior, except my own. The key words in your statement were, "finding one unexpectedly." That was what I was talking about. I hope you would also not be "panicking, going postal or needing trauma counselling" to get over it. I have not done, nor needed anything of those things either. I hope you never have one in your house, nor that you wake up in your bed with one coiled around you. I hope that for no one. But, by the same token I would wish people to understand my feelings upon finding one in my home.


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## dbeyat45

Warrigal said:


> [ Snip ]
> Note - blue tongues are all bluff. They are totally harmless but some people are scared of them.


They are NOT harmless if you are scared of them:  Heart attack?  Tripping over while running?  Fainting and banging your head? Etc ....


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## babyboomer

I am not afraid of snakes, lizards etc, but I do rather avoid them. 'Get the stick, kill the bastard" is totaly wrong attitude, as they have their place in ecosystem. treat them with respect.
After all, on outskirts of urban area, we, the people, are  often the intruders on their territory!
Just yesterday, we (the family) went to the Animal park, it was nice to see snakes , lizards frogs, even the spiders, behind the glass.


----------



## Katybug

RedRibbons said:


> You are making judgements of people's behaviour about an animal you seem to know very little about. I know I wouldn't keep one as a pet, and I pay them an awful lot of respect, but other than the atavistic initial reaction to finding one unexpectedly I don't treat them differently than I would treat a vicious feral cat. I'd do my best to keep out of it's striking range and put some distance between us but I won't be panicking, going postal or needing trauma counselling over it.
> ============================================================================
> I am making no judgements about other people's behavior, except my own. The key words in your statement were, "finding one unexpectedly." That was what I was talking about. I hope you would also not be "panicking, going postal or needing trauma counselling" to get over it. I have not done, nor needed anything of those things either. I hope you never have one in your house, nor that you wake up in your bed with one coiled around you. I hope that for no one.
> 
> *But, by the same token I would wish people to understand my feelings upon finding one in my home.*



It's been 5 yrs for my daughter and 15 years for my friend in South FL who experienced the same thing, and they're not over it yet, still have nightmares.  Both describe it as the most frightened they've ever been.  I would have had to move, as someone else posted.  It would be a really big deal for me and I don't think I could pull it off emotionally. I would never feel safe again.


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## Diwundrin

Yeah, sorry I was a bit cranky yesterday, (or was it the day before, it's gone midnight) but I've had a snake in the house that I never did find, and a 7ft Brown snake with only the fly screen between us when it was trying to find a way in so have some experience.
I've found myself with a foot either side of a Black one and slept at a relative's house out in the bush knowing there was a Brown snake in the ceiling because we'd seen it earlier and 'missed' it and it got into the garage roof which adjoins the house. We could hear it up there panicking the mice. It didn't come down the bedrooms end of the house though, or at least we didn't hear it from down that end.
I've only just now remembered that one, haven't thought of it for years.

Other than being  occasional conversation pieces though I never think about it, they certainly didn't keep me awake.  I can't understand why people are so traumatised but never mind, all different I guess.


----------



## Katybug

Warrigal said:


> Red Ribbons, there are actually two kinds of people in the world - those that are panicked at the sight of a snake and those that are fascinated. I'm one of the latter, although I keep my distance and don't take any liberties.
> 
> As a child I dispelled the demons of the dark by imagining that my pet python was coiled up on my eiderdown and that he would protect me against all malevolence. It worked. I got over being afraid of the dark thanks to my imaginary pet.



As I've said before, I'm one who is totally fascinated by EXOTIC snakes, not any of the 3 types of poisonous ones I know of here in the USA. I just have no interest in North American species, and only enjoy seeing the exotic ones in documentaries or at a Serpentarium.  We have one considered to be one of the best in the world located in the area we vacation every year. Dean Ripa, world acclaimed Herpetologist, has brought in 1-2 of every venomous snake in the world...most of which he captured himself.  He's almost died 3 times from bites and his story was recently featured on tv's FATAL ATTRACTION.  He has them exhibited beautifully and they appear to be in their natural habitat, very tropical exhibits, so my family enjoys touring and reading the true stories of personal experiences with them posted under each one.  I have never touched one, nor seen one in the wild, and would be scared to death of it -- poisonous or not!  The thought of coming face to face with one of them not in captivity...well, I can't bear to even think about it!  Nonetheless, LOVE that Serpentarium!

I have to defend those who don't feel the way I do and are terrified at even looking a picture of a snake, cuz most of you know I am spooked by seeing any image of a spider.  I can easily understand people feeling the same way about snakes, and I know many who do. We can't help our fears.  

And someone was a really bad pet python owner here in Charlotte last wk.  A woman found one on her patio....a pretty big one.  Same old story, I'm sure, purchased small as a pet and when it's appetite increased from mice to rabbits, they set it free. Happens all the time, but hopefully our winters are too cold for them to thrive, so we'll wait for those that can mosey on up from South Florida's Everglades.  The thought of that is terrifying, tho they say it is an excellent possibility!  Maybe they'll realize our cooler climate, turn around and head back to the Everglades.  Makes me sick, tho, that they don't belong there and are totally destroying the ecology of the Everglades area.


----------



## Katybug

Ozarkgal said:


> Copperheads, Cottonmouth aka Water Moccasin, which really count as one, Western Diamondback Rattler, Timber Rattler, Western Pygmy Rattler, and Texas Coral Snake, so really six in all.
> 
> There is also a multitude of non-venomous species, some which closely mimic the venomous ones in coloring and pattern. Almost impossible to tell the difference unless you get very close up and personal and have the where with all to determine if they have triangle shaped or rounded heads, round pupils or slits, viper holes above the nose holes in the head, etc...and in the case of Coral snakes, can remember the old adage: Red touches yellow, kills a fellow!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The color pattern on a coral snake is a red touching yellow pattern with black between the red touching yellow band.  On snakes that mimic Corals there is a black band separating the red and yellow bands.
> 
> Coral Snake                                                           Milk Snake
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> From this example you can see what I mean by getting close up and personal to tell the difference.



Thanks for the info.  I could have sworn we had only 3 venomous ones in the US, lumping all rattlers into one.  I have never heard of the Texas Coral Snake.


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## rkunsaw

Coral snakes are only found in the south. Some as far north as the most southern areas of Arkansas,

There are many varieties of rattlesnakes but not all varieties will be found in any certain area.

Copperheads and water moccasins are the most common venomous snakes in my area.


----------



## Katybug

rkunsaw said:


> Coral snakes are only found in the south. Some as far north as the most southern areas of Arkansas,
> 
> There are many varieties of rattlesnakes but not all varieties will be found in any certain area.
> 
> Copperheads and water moccasins are the most common venomous snakes in my area.



Our mountains and rural areas are loaded w/rattlers (didn't know there were so many varieties,) and we've got a lot of copperheads around here.  We don't hear so much about the water moccasins, but we've got several enormous lakes very close by, one man made that covers 7 counties, so you know they're there.  Never hear anything about coral snakes, thought they were primarily in FL, but what do I know?  If you've never been an outdoorsy person, like myself, it's nothing you worry about.


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## dbeyat45

Taken outside a friend's laundry, just up the road in Albany Creek,  a few days ago ...


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## Jillaroo

*OMG i hate snakes that's one fear i have of coming across one of them here*


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## Diwundrin

Cute.  Diamond or really dark Carpet Python?   How's the friend? 



For those who don't like snakes but are looking anyway, ( 

)  these things get to 4metres (around 5 yards) and are pretty much totally harmless to humans.  They will dine on your pets though or whatever else they can swallow whole.


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## dbeyat45

Friend knows about the snake which is a regular visitor .... their cat is still around too.  House backs steeply onto a riverbank:  He has all sorts of "interesting" visitors.


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## Katybug

Just lost my reply, p.o'd as can be.  Too angry at myself to retype it, but GAWD, what a biggie!!!


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## dbeyat45

Brother-in-law, banana farmer, had a couple about that size that lived around his house, packing sheds and garage.  The garage had no ceiling and it was not uncommon to find them semi-coiled in the rafters.  DROP SNAKES !!!!


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## Jillaroo

_I lurv that song DB have heard it a few times and i have seen them singing it on TV on the ABC_


----------



## Anne

Those snakes.... *shiver*  :stop:


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## GDAD

I HATE SNAKES & SPIDERS!!!mg:


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## Warrigal

I don't. 
I hate jelly fish.


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## dbeyat45

Is there a name for that Warrigal?


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## Warrigal

Stingaphobia?


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## Diwundrin

With you on jellyfish Warri, those things are horrible to bump into to, even the harmless ones.  
Wouldn't dream of swimming anywhere near where the box jellies etc hang out and bluebottles (man-o-wars) would clear the surf quicker than a shark call when I used to swim around here.


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## Katybug

I thought the song was cute, but there were those darned spiders!!!  I can take anything but those godawful creatures...well, those and Palmetto Bugs!  My two biggest frights, as I have zero exposure to anything else.


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## Diwundrin

While we're at it, there's a big kerfuffle on about culling sharks again as the score last week was Sharks 2 - Tourists 0.  2 in a week sounds a bit dire until someone was smart enough to compare the long term average of around 1 shark fatality per 2.5 years to that of av.230 p.a. who drown in the surf while swimming or rockfishing.  

If I could get a guarantee that I'd only die of snake, spider or shark bite I reckon I'd be around for another century or two at least.


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## rkunsaw

Sharks gotta eat too. I guess it's better to feed them tourists than locals.


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## Diwundrin

rkunsaw said:


> Sharks gotta eat too. I guess it's better to feed them tourists than locals.



I have to agree with that Rky.


----------



## Anne

But, what happens when there's no tourists left?????


----------



## Pappy

Anne said:


> But, what happens when there's no tourists left?????



Throw them a politician.


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## Katybug

rkunsaw said:


> Sharks gotta eat too. I guess it's better to feed them tourists than locals.




:lofl:


----------



## dbeyat45

There are no sharks where I live.  The crocodiles at them all ....


----------



## babyboomer

Katybug said:


> :lofl:



If people shoot the ducks trough  the "Duck Season" , do we suppose to shoot tourist during "the Tourist Season"?


----------



## Ozarkgal

Here's yet another example of the brainiacs we have running the government, and what they can think of next to waste taxpayer money.  I think they're all high on drugs. 

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/3/us-drops-2000-mice-guam-parachute-kill-snakes/


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## Jillaroo

_OMG that is the silliest thing i have ever heard, i keep imagining the little mice hanging onto the ropes of the Parachute while descending admiring the countryside, either that or they die of sheer terror before they hit the ground, i wonder if they took the trouble to teach them all how to roll on landing _


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## Warrigal

And the mice that survive the landing and escape the snakes will breed a new mouse plague for Guam.
What next - rocket launched cats?


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## Diwundrin

Well, that's how we got cane toads!  No, not by parachute 

 but via a brainfart to wipe out something else that wasn't near as harmful.

I'm not good at maths but 2,000 exceedingly expensive mice  = 2,000 meals and kill 2,000 snakes. According to the figures that still leaves roughly 12,800 snakes per square mile to breed up and replace them in a blink.  Do they share meals??  

Have the USAF set up a field veterinary hospital to patch up the wounded mice and send them back out to fight again or what?? 
Is Tylenol inherited?
 Maybe it would be simpler and cheaper to send in a crop duster and spray the joint with cough syrup?

Of course the really puzzling aspect of all this isn't the deteriorating IQ levels in high places.  It's how the hell did they find out that Brown Tree Snakes are allergic to Tylenol?  Did a pet one sneeze or something??

The possible scenarios could keep me awake for hours.


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## Katybug

Diwundrin said:


> Tch, shoulda done it in the winter Jilly.  hwell:
> I bought some moulded stripping to line the gaps between the floor and colorbond walls of the shed.  It wont stop everything determined getting in but it's a lot better than a long row of holes just begging for snakes to crawl through.  Keeps the damp out too, great stuff.



*I know this is an old post, but it's one of my favorite threads so I'm always on it.  I can't believe that darned deadly brown snake continued on in trying to get in with you on the other side of the screen.  Know nothing about them, but they obviously have no fear, as most will do their best to avoid us.  *

*And you get the award for courage in staying in your home another day without having found that thing.  You probably own your home, but if that weren't the case and it meant buying another home, so be it!  Most can't cover 2 mortgages, and as for me they could foreclose & have it!   Good riddance, I would say!  No way in hell would I have ever spent another night there.  I consider myself somewhat of a "ballsy" chick in some respects, (but absolutely w/nothing that moves -- other than humans.)  You've got me way beat, my friend.  No association w/crocs on this, as beloved Crocodile Dundee was known for -- just that he had no fear.  If an extremely lethal brown snake was trying to get in my home and you didn't leave or consider it a big deal, I'm thinking of you as very brave dunDI!! *


----------



## Diwundrin

Katy, it wasn't that big a deal, it was just out looking for munchies and exploring whatever it came across, which happened to be the screen door with scents from house wafting through that interested it.  It wasn't looking for me, just a way in.  Once I slammed the glass sliding door shut it lost interest, did a 180 and took off. 

 They're an adrenalin punch at first sight, that was the biggest one I've ever seen, around 7ft.,  but their instinct is to flee, not attack, unless you're standing on it or provoke it.  A rule of thumb is that if you can see it you're reasonably safe, it's accidental contact that is the worry, hence keeping them out of the shed where the tools and things are kept.  

It's still around, I've watched Belle sniffing out a zigzag scent across the gravel now and then but so far they both haven't been out at the same time.  I don't think she'd take it on, I've tried to train her to leave reptiles alone and just yap at them until I come,  but it's a bit of a worry.

Don't remember if I mentioned when I first moved here Belle was going berko at a pile of empty plant pots and paving blocks. So I threw her into the house to stop her killing yet another Blue Tongue, moved a block carefully and had a foot or two of shiny brown tail flip up in front of my face. The front end of the snake was heading for the gap under the wire mesh fence but I wasn't there long enough to see all of it go through. 



A Queensland member used to post pictures of the ones that sunned themselves on his back verandah, they didn't bother him because he didn't bother them.  When he opened the door they fled, no problem.

If I find one in the house then you can bet I'll be calling Wires or 000 about it but when it's gone, it's gone, no point in moving out because it had been there.


----------



## Jillaroo

_When my daughter was living in a house in Bonville with rainforest all around , they were plentiful there and it wasn't unusual to see the Pythons mating on the verandah and hanging from the trees, once she had a huge python at the front door and it looked like it wanted to come in, the owner told her later that he used to let them use the house as a shortcut to the backyard, of course she didn't let them have the same privilage, when i was staying there you could hear them slithering around in the ceiling, i always worried one would fall through lol i am a real wuss when it comes to snakes even the harmless python, i would freak out at a brown.
             Spiders are my other fear White tails and funnel webs are my worst nightmare, couldn't believe the cheek of a small spider this morning i turned around in the kitchen in time to see it abseiling down onto my shirt, the cheek of it._


----------



## dbeyat45

We saw this king brown at Yanga Homestead while on a tour ... just beforehand, we had seen two smaller snakes fighting (love making?) near the homestead's kitchen.  The one in the photo would have been seven feet at least.


----------



## Diwundrin

I have a  really big Huntsman as new lodger. Must have just arrived, only saw him yesterday, good, I had to vacuum some DLL webs for the first time in months last week and needed a new one.  The damned dog kills them if she spots them at ground level.

 Never get DLLs with a Huntsman in the house.  I keep trying to convince a rel who is always whinging about the amount of webs in her house but she's too freaky about spiders and sprays the poor Huntsmans before they can tidy it up for her. 
It sounds a horrible arrangement to arachnophobes i suppose but it really is ecology working at it's finest.


----------



## dbeyat45

DLL?


----------



## Diwundrin

Daddy-long-legs spiders.  (Yeah, I don't do acronyms well, fixed 'em now. 

)


----------



## dbeyat45

It took me back to my programming days:  Dynamic Link Libraries, the greatest invention since sliced bread.


----------



## Katybug

Diwundrin said:


> Katy, it wasn't that big a deal, it was just out looking for munchies and exploring whatever it came across, which happened to be the screen door with scents from house wafting through that interested it.  It wasn't looking for me, just a way in.  Once I slammed the glass sliding door shut it lost interest, did a 180 and took off.
> 
> They're an adrenalin punch at first sight, that was the biggest one I've ever seen, around 7ft.,  but their instinct is to flee, not attack, unless you're standing on it or provoke it.  A rule of thumb is that if you can see it you're reasonably safe, it's accidental contact that is the worry, hence keeping them out of the shed where the tools and things are kept.
> 
> It's still around, I've watched Belle sniffing out a zigzag scent across the gravel now and then but so far they both haven't been out at the same time.  I don't think she'd take it on, I've tried to train her to leave reptiles alone and just yap at them until I come,  but it's a bit of a worry.
> 
> Don't remember if I mentioned when I first moved here Belle was going berko at a pile of empty plant pots and paving blocks. So I threw her into the house to stop her killing yet another Blue Tongue, moved a block carefully and had a foot or two of shiny brown tail flip up in front of my face. The front end of the snake was heading for the gap under the wire mesh fence but I wasn't there long enough to see all of it go through.
> 
> 
> 
> A Queensland member used to post pictures of the ones that sunned themselves on his back verandah, they didn't bother him because he didn't bother them.  When he opened the door they fled, no problem.
> 
> If I find one in the house then you can bet I'll be calling Wires or 000 about it but when it's gone, it's gone, no point in moving out because it had been there.



My friend, you have an excellent Aussie mind set...you know all the species that abound and leave them be.  That's a good thing, cuz what are ya gonna do?  It isn't going to change anything to go all bonkers the way I would, so may as well accept it, mutually co-exist, and go on.  It would be a freakin' major deal for me with the Brown being so lethal, but you're such a spunky lady and I understand someone like courageous you taking it in stride and moving right on.  I need some of your spunk.  If there was any snake, even a harmless garden snake, making such an aggressive attempt to get in my home, well, I can even imagine!  Far worse, under the circumstances you described in another post as to not being sure where it was -- the attic maybe -- dear Gawd, I could never go back in the home. I cringed as I read that.  And the odds of me going in your shed even if I knew there was big money there for me, just go in and get it, are far less than winning the lottery that I never buy a ticket for.:sour:

My long term friend in Sydney has never seen one in the wild and has lived there all her life.  She has friends who don't live in the city, as she does, and their stories keep her from sleeping. 

Many yrs ago in Negril, Jamaica, I saw a small lizard thing come under the door.  We were in a locally owned place and not exactly the Ritz!  Damn, it just had to be the first day, because I slept with the sheet over my head every night and wouldn't get up to go to the bathroom no matter how much I had to go.  And I very carefully packed to come home in going through every item of clothes.  We're talking a lil thing that there are probably a million of there and not remotely lethal.  They don't even bite!  I am just a heavy-duty wuss when it comes to anything like that being in my space...and I mean anything more than the average person would call a pet.  What can I say, I was born this way?  LOL


----------



## Katybug

dbeyat45 said:


> DLL?



Oh, God, don't ask!  Whew!


----------



## Katybug

Jillaroo said:


> _When my daughter was living in a house in Bonville with rainforest all around , they were plentiful there and it wasn't unusual to see the Pythons mating on the verandah and hanging from the trees, once she had a huge python at the front door and it looked like it wanted to come in, the owner told her later that he used to let them use the house as a shortcut to the backyard, of course she didn't let them have the same privilage, when i was staying there you could hear them slithering around in the ceiling, i always worried one would fall through lol i am a real wuss when it comes to snakes even the harmless python, i would freak out at a brown.
> Spiders are my other fear White tails and funnel webs are my worst nightmare, couldn't believe the cheek of a small spider this morning i turned around in the kitchen in time to see it abseiling down onto my shirt, the cheek of it._



Do ya suppose the pythons shared among themselves about the nice man that would let them take a short cut? 

I've always thought I was the weird one in being very fascinated by them in captivity, but when you mention hearing slithering....I would be somewhere else and very far away asap!  Whew!   Oz is such an entirely different country, as wonderful as I've always heard it is, but you have to learn to deal with and accept more of this type thing than we do here.   The beauty of this forum and hearing about things that are so than we know.....but a lot of the things we have in human form, I'm betting we have more of and they are equally as dangerous!


----------



## Diwundrin

You are just far to civilized Katy, 

  a product of human evolution that has removed it from nature, I think I got left behind. 



Actually living in a city it is highly unlikely that an Aussie would ever see a snake other than through glass too. Or anything else that qualified as wildlife for that matter, especially not native wildlife other than birds and the odd highly annoying possum in the roof.

 I was fortunate (or not) to spend more vacation time than most in different regions due to a scattered family, and got a far wider grounding in how things operated in far and different places to most (or any) kids I grew up with. The dangers and foibles of snakes,  guns, and the vagaries of nature in a 'mood' were familiar to me from early on whereas those living in cities only would have had very little chance of contact with any of those.  It's not bravery it's 'education'. 

Strangely it's only recently that I've begun to appreciate just how incredibly lucky I was to have had such a wide range of  experiences so early.  
I didn't even have to move from home. Just family vacations, stories, characters I've met,  and their very different lifestyles gave me a wider view of life to most. 
They ranged from dirt poor in rented 'shacks' to mansions.   I learned a little about farming, crops and cattle, coal mining, pro and sport fishing, hunting, bush lore, ecology, even how millionaires had 'made it' while other girls my age were still playing with dolls and reading romance novels.  Who needed 'college'?   



We're all different due to luck, nature or nurture, we don't score brownie points for how we are or think either way.


----------



## Warrigal

One holiday in a forested area of NSW we were staying at a guest house (Barrington Tops) where rosellas (beautiful blue and red parrots) visited the verandah area every afternoon for food. Everyone loved watching them and there was consternation one day when a carpet snake (non venomous python, considered harmless) reached down from the rafters and seized one of the birds, which it coolly swallowed before our very eyes. 

It was very educational for all concerned though.


----------



## Diwundrin

Sobering isn't it?  
Hearing the dear little calf you're cuddling being discussed as to whether he'd 'dress' better as a vealer or yearling tends to knock the Disney glow off cute too.  

 
It didn't pay to get too attached to anything on a farm other than the dogs and it didn't bode well for them to get slack either.  It was a tougher world back then I guess.

When I saw Silence of the Lambs and the big deal was made over her getting neurotic about them being slaughtered all I thought was "that girl needs to get out more."  Where does she think lamb cutlets come from?

A much younger, 100% city cousin flatly refused to eat eggs when she learned at the tender age of around 10 that they weren't produced off a conveyor belt in a factory same as Easter eggs.  How can you get that old and still be that dumb?  She knew chooks laid eggs but never associated them with the ones in the cartons at the supermarket. They had little stamps on them so they must have been manufactured right? Doh.  She could rattle off every 'in' label that she couldn't appear somewhere without wearing though.  Horses for courses I guess.


----------



## dbeyat45

Speaking of snakes .... not for for the faint-hearted:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/31/florida-16-foot-python-deer-photos-pictures_n_1068228.html


----------



## Jillaroo

_That's a whopper DB, it always amazes me how their jaws can stretch to accommodate an animal that large_


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## Diwundrin

First reaction was why kill it?  But read further and it was a feral,. Burmese python so fair enough.   You don't have biggish pythons in the States?
I don't think ours get to those proportions but they can swallow a small roo so they're getting up there.


----------



## dbeyat45

Jillaroo said:


> _That's a whopper DB, it always amazes me how their jaws can stretch to accommodate an animal that large_


I can eat a hamburger with the works .....


----------



## Diwundrin

That's only impressive if you can swallow it whole.


----------



## GDAD

The deer hunter


----------



## Pappy

OMG. Is there anything they won't eat?


----------



## Jackie22

OMG!......I grew up in the country and appreciate nature as much as anyone....just don't want snakes venturing into my territory.


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## dbeyat45

Pappy said:


> OMG. Is there anything they won't eat?



I can answer that question Pappy, if you tell me your height and weight.


----------



## Pappy

dbeyat45 said:


> I can answer that question Pappy, if you tell me your height and weight.



Damnit......do you know how much work it is to clean all this coffee off my Ipad?  Thanks for a good laugh. :lofl:


----------



## dbeyat45

Pappy said:


> Damnit......do you know how much work it is to clean all this coffee off my Ipad?  Thanks for a good laugh. :lofl:



$US100.00 thanks.


----------



## Pappy

Worth every penny but you gotta wait till my social security check comes in. kay:


----------



## Katybug

Diwundrin said:


> You are just far to civilized Katy,
> 
> a product of human evolution that has removed it from nature, I think I got left behind.
> 
> 
> 
> Actually living in a city it is highly unlikely that an Aussie would ever see a snake other than through glass too. Or anything else that qualified as wildlife for that matter, especially not native wildlife other than birds and the odd highly annoying possum in the roof.
> 
> I was fortunate (or not) to spend more vacation time than most in different regions due to a scattered family, and got a far wider grounding in how things operated in far and different places to most (or any) kids I grew up with. The dangers and foibles of snakes,  guns, and the vagaries of nature in a 'mood' were familiar to me from early on whereas those living in cities only would have had very little chance of contact with any of those.  It's not bravery it's 'education'.
> 
> Strangely it's only recently that I've begun to appreciate just how incredibly lucky I was to have had such a wide range of  experiences so early.
> I didn't even have to move from home. Just family vacations, stories, characters I've met,  and their very different lifestyles gave me a wider view of life to most.
> They ranged from dirt poor in rented 'shacks' to mansions.   I learned a little about farming, crops and cattle, coal mining, pro and sport fishing, hunting, bush lore, ecology, even how millionaires had 'made it' while other girls my age were still playing with dolls and reading romance novels.  Who needed 'college'?
> 
> 
> 
> We're all different due to luck, nature or nurture, we don't score brownie points for how we are or think either way.



I am way too civilized, Di, seem to be the only person on here that's never seen a snake in the wild.  Probably one of the only ones who would pay to go to a large serpentarium every year as well.  I don't have an oz of your courage in seeing them in the wild, but love your attitude.  

Still trying to get a visual of a Brown trying to get in and you just slamming the door shut and going on with your life.  I would have made my first call to the Rescue Squad with an anxiety attack. I would never get over it, not ever!  Much as I want to visit and see it all, I'm not Aussie material. I wouldn't feel comfortable going outside, from descriptions you've written, other than in the city and that offers no flavor at all, just another huge city.  That's not the fascinating appeal of Australia, so why travel round the world with my attitude?  I'll just keep watching documentaries and enjoying the posts from those of you who are kind enough to share.


----------



## Katybug

Diwundrin said:


> First reaction was why kill it?  But read further and it was a feral,. Burmese python so fair enough.   You don't have biggish pythons in the States?
> I don't think ours get to those proportions but they can swallow a small roo so they're getting up there.



I wish we didn't have biggish pythons, Di, but S Florida is loaded with them.  People dump them in the everglades when they get too large and they can give birth to 150 or so at a time.  It's totally destroying the ecology and for the first time ever S Floridians can't let their kids or their pets out because of it.  I mean, if it can eat a deer.....


----------



## Anne

I've seen documentaries of those pythons, and how they round them up.  But, aren't they just moving them and not killing them??  If that's true, I don't understand it.


----------



## Katybug

Jillaroo said:


> _When my daughter was living in a house in Bonville with rainforest all around , they were plentiful there and it wasn't unusual to see the Pythons mating on the verandah and hanging from the trees, once she had a huge python at the front door and it looked like it wanted to come in, the owner told her later that he used to let them use the house as a shortcut to the backyard, of course she didn't let them have the same privilage, when i was staying there you could hear them slithering around in the ceiling, i always worried one would fall through lol i am a real wuss when it comes to snakes even the harmless python, i would freak out at a brown.
> Spiders are my other fear White tails and funnel webs are my worst nightmare, couldn't believe the cheek of a small spider this morning i turned around in the kitchen in time to see it abseiling down onto my shirt, the cheek of it._



You know me, Jill, that is a big "oh my gawd moment" for you this morning -- no matter the type or if totally harmless, not even if it was Charlotte from CHARLOTTE'S WEB.  And not one I'm going to elaborate on for your sake.


----------



## Katybug

Anne said:


> I've seen documentaries of those pythons, and how they round them up.  But, aren't they just moving them and not killing them??  If that's true, I don't understand it.



They are not killing them, Anne...you're right, just moving them -- as if they can't crawl back!!!  And S Florida Everglades is almost as infested at this point as any natural habitat for them.  

Takes us 10-15 yrs to do away with someone on death row and they're not about to kill a snake that is causing no harm, just being there.  So in the meantime they're taking over and it's downright scary thinking about them moving on up the east coast. It's already predicted as our winters are mild enough for their survival, just a matter of time and the numbers they give birth to at one time is really frightening!


----------



## Katybug

Diwundrin said:


> First reaction was why kill it?  But read further and it was a feral,. Burmese python so fair enough.   You don't have biggish pythons in the States?
> I don't think ours get to those proportions but they can swallow a small roo so they're getting up there.



I'm wondering at it being described as a "feral."  Isn't anything wild referred to as feral?  I'm probably off base here, thinking of cats, but, damn, no snake is anything but wild -- ever.  Not even the ones owners are stupid enough to think of as pets....they're not, and a lot of dead owners to prove it.  Perhaps I don't have the meaning of feral correctly so far as the snake was concerned and don't have time to read it, I'm calling it a day.  I'm ready for some R & R and may be able to catch up tomorrow with the links.  Gawd, I love this thread, can't get away from it!


----------



## Diwundrin

If they aren't a native snake then they should be culling them right out!  Believe me feral foreign wildlife will devastate your landscape and fauna quicker than all the worst pollution man can inflict on them.  I can't believe someone thinks rounding them up and moving them is doing a kindness for anything, it's moving and spreading the problem.  

We get howling and hair pulling from Pollyanna protesters when we cull bumbies here.  But if they stopped to think,  they're doing it tough out there, despite the romanticised visions of 'living in freedom'.  

They live in misery covered in ticks, and they break legs in wombat holes, starve in droughts, destroy vegetation which small native marsupials rely on for cover, and eat out and erode grassland that others depend on.  There a lot more horses around than rare and endangered marsupials so to me it's a no brainer to allow pros to shoot them kindly.
Very few are ever worth the expense and training to domesticate so most are only going to end up being trucked to the dog food factory if they're mustered anyway.  Shooting them in situ is kinder than terrifying them by herding wild horses into trucks and confining them in slaughter yards.  It's simply dragging out the agony to the same ultimate conclusion imo.  How is that more 'humanitarian'?

I'm really down on ferals of all ilk.  Our rivers are ruined by carp that some idiot imported a century ago and got away when their dam flooded  and they've since spread and  taken out umpteen species of native fish types and muddied the waters causing more silt and less light leading to the  extinction of some aquatic vegetation that held the banks and riverbeds stable in floods... and... aaaghh!  
We had had one mental giant caught trying to import live piranhas!  Maybe to take out the carp?   Spare us!!!

People wanting trendy pets should be looked at really closely and some form of licencing, annual reporting of, and proof of, their whereabouts over the life expectency of the animal be implemented.   Huge fines may make people think twice before they buy some brainsnap fad pet and then turn it loose to wreak havoc when they can't handle it any longer.

Grump over.


----------



## Ozarkgal

Anne said:


> I've seen documentaries of those pythons, and how they round them up.  But, aren't they just moving them and not killing them??  If that's true, I don't understand it.



 Rounding them up and moving them...huh? Never heard that. What bleeding heart do gooder group or government agency thought that would be a good idea? 

Several months ago there was a sponsored hunt for them that went on for a month with prizes for the most snakes killed.  I assumed there was open season on them for all the devastation and danger they are causing.



> People wanting trendy pets should be looked at really closely and some form of licencing, annual reporting of, and proof of, their whereabouts over the life expectency of the animal be implemented. Huge fines may make people think twice before they buy some brainsnap fad pet and then turn it loose to wreak havoc when they can't handle it any longer.



Yes, Yes, Yes.  I can't understand why this isn't regulated, when just about everything under the
sun is legislated and taxed, including family dogs and cats.


----------



## Warrigal

What Diwundrin said. Australia is a large island and as a result of long term isolation our native wildlife is  quite unique and has not evolved defences against animals that have been imported from Europe and other parts of the globe. Most of our feral populations have developed from domestic animals that have escaped and gone wild - cats, dogs, goats, donkeys, camels, horses and water buffalo to name a few. Others have hitched a ride on ships - black rats and some marine life like Pacific oysters. Still more were deliberately introduced by well meaning pastoralists including the cane toads which were supposed to eat pests in the sugar cane. They didn't but they breed well and have taken over the northern parts of the continent. The English brought rabbits and foxes to hunt. All of these species are either bad for the environment or for the native wildlife.

Burmese pythons in the Everglades are feral, as are Australian possums in New Zealand. They do not belong there.


----------



## dbeyat45

What Warrigal & Di said ....


----------



## Katybug

Warrigal said:


> What Diwundrin said. Australia is a large island and as a result of long term isolation our native wildlife is  quite unique and has not evolved defences against animals that have been imported from Europe and other parts of the globe. Most of our feral populations have developed from domestic animals that have escaped and gone wild - cats, dogs, goats, donkeys, camels, horses and water buffalo to name a few. Others have hitched a ride on ships - black rats and some marine life like Pacific oysters. Still more were deliberately introduced by well meaning pastoralists including the cane toads which were supposed to eat pests in the sugar cane. They didn't but they breed well and have taken over the northern parts of the continent. The English brought rabbits and foxes to hunt. All of these species are either bad for the environment or for the native wildlife.
> 
> Burmese pythons in the Everglades are feral, as are Australian possums in New Zealand. They do not belong there.



Totally agree and it's more than Burmese, there are several different types of pythons here now and we'll never get rid of them no matter what efforts are made.  But relocating them is a bad joke and far from the answer!   Impossible situation! 

Not a lot, but we have 'em here in NC too.  A lady who lives a few blocks from me found a big python on her patio a couple wks ago attempting to get inside and away from the cooler weather I suppose... sounds like Di's post w/the brown snake trying to get in!  Far worse, a small child was attacked by a Ball Python at one of the parks last year, a park I can walk to.  The mom was lifting her small baby out of the carriage, looked down, and the darned thing who had just arrived on the scene, I suppose, was wrapping around her toddler's leg.  No bite, thank goodness!!   Some hairbrain had probably ditched it as so many do.  We can imagine how grateful she was for the fearless runner who immediately rescued and killed it.  I don't flinch one bit about that.  What else could he have done with nothing to put it in? (JMO, but wish more would do that!)   I so wish we could get the easy access to buying/owning these creatures heavily regulated, but we're already screwed -- too many here already!  

And those darned Tarantulas that hiked a free ride here via banana boat...love those, don't ya know??!!  Tho I haven't heard an issue about them as I have the exotic snakes being dumped and mass reproducing on a daily basis.  aarrrgghh!!!!!


----------



## Warrigal

Katybug, it has always amazed us down here that people are allowed to keep all kinds of exotic pets.
The keeping of exotic animals and most native animals is subject to very strict licencing laws.

I hope that is the case over your way by now.


----------



## Diwundrin

We referred to Huntsman spiders as Tarantulas back a few years, they are a  far lighter weight, skinnier spider but bear a slight resemblance I guess.  They have very weak venom and I've never actually heard of anyone being bitten by a Huntsman. They're fast on their feet but a fairly laid back critter when caught.  I played with them as a toddler I'm told. Mum sprung me with one in my hand stroking the 'fur' on it's back.  I must have been behind the door when the arachnophobia gene was handed out. 



Those real, American Tarantulas aren't particularly dangerous are they?  I know a lot keep them as pets there, they're banned here (I presume) to the general public.  
As are lions tigers,  crocodiles, bears and monkeys etc, and all the other things that people haven't a clue how to handle safely.
Even Hamsters are banned.  I don't think even zoos have them.  I don't recall ever seeing one anywhere.

Native wildlife can't be legally kept as pets unlicenced either.  If they lob in at the door for a free handout that's okay but put them in an enclosure and you need a licence.  Seems fair to a point.  

It's suggested that if some endangered types were okayed as pets they would have a better chance of surviving but then who the hell would want a fangy, smelly, short fused Tassie Devil or Quoll sharing their house? They'll never replace the dog or cat as 'social companions' and that's for sure and certain. 

  Wouldn't want a wombat waddling through the house like a mobile boulder and doing bulldozer impressions in the living room either. Nor would it be smart to keep a roo in close proximity. They are nature's public transport system for fleas and ticks.  For some reason they are immune to ticks, but we aren't!

 People would only want to make pets of the cute little critters and that's not keeping a viable ecological balance, nor are they easy to maintain as most have very specialised diets.

btw:  One tiny feral doesn't seem to have spread.  Taronga Zoo had quite a population of escaped red squirrels running loose years ago but never heard of them appearing in Sydney suburbia. You'd think they would have spread by now.  Anyone else remember seeing those?  Maybe they 'offed' them all eventually?  Or maybe the food supply here is too different for them to make it in the bush.  Gum nuts wouldn't be as appetizing as acorns.  Then again possums are notoriously territorial and they may be cleaning up squirrel intruders for us.


----------



## Katybug

Diwundrin said:


> If they aren't a native snake then they should be culling them right out!  Believe me feral foreign wildlife will devastate your landscape and fauna quicker than all the worst pollution man can inflict on them.  I can't believe someone thinks rounding them up and moving them is doing a kindness for anything, it's moving and spreading the problem.
> 
> We get howling and hair pulling from Pollyanna protesters when we cull bumbies here.  But if they stopped to think,  they're doing it tough out there, despite the romanticised visions of 'living in freedom'.
> 
> They live in misery covered in ticks, and they break legs in wombat holes, starve in droughts, destroy vegetation which small native marsupials rely on for cover, and eat out and erode grassland that others depend on.  There a lot more horses around than rare and endangered marsupials so to me it's a no brainer to allow pros to shoot them kindly.
> Very few are ever worth the expense and training to domesticate so most are only going to end up being trucked to the dog food factory if they're mustered anyway.  Shooting them in situ is kinder than terrifying them by herding wild horses into trucks and confining them in slaughter yards.  It's simply dragging out the agony to the same ultimate conclusion imo.  How is that more 'humanitarian'?
> 
> I'm really down on ferals of all ilk.  Our rivers are ruined by carp that some idiot imported a century ago and got away when their dam flooded  and they've since spread and  taken out umpteen species of native fish types and muddied the waters causing more silt and less light leading to the  extinction of some aquatic vegetation that held the banks and riverbeds stable in floods... and... aaaghh!
> We had had one mental giant caught trying to import live piranhas!  Maybe to take out the carp?   Spare us!!!
> 
> People wanting trendy pets should be looked at really closely and some form of licencing, annual reporting of, and proof of, their whereabouts over the life expectency of the animal be implemented.   Huge fines may make people think twice before they buy some brainsnap fad pet and then turn it loose to wreak havoc when they can't handle it any longer.
> 
> Grump over.



AMEN, Di.  You said it extremely well and it's so true!


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## Katybug

Warrigal said:


> Katybug, it has always amazed us down here that people are allowed to keep all kinds of exotic pets.
> The keeping of exotic animals and most native animals is subject to very strict licencing laws.
> 
> I hope that is the case over your way by now.



I read about it being enforced occasionally, Warrigal, but it's as impossible as gun control would be....too many already out there and impossible to get in control of it now.  The damage is done w/the way they reproduce. Strict licencing laws would be a joke at this point, but oh, how I wish we could go back in time before it became such an issue! 

And NO SLAM on guns, guys, just using it as an example.


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## Katybug

DI, the gene you missed out on more than quad dosed on me....:frown-new:


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## Diwundrin

Okay everybody can relax. 
 Forget the snakes and spiders and sharks and killer jellyfish and the drop bears,  it's now officially safe to live here.

I heard on QI last night that the most dangerous animal that has caused by far the most fatalities and injuries in Australia ain't what you're thinking.

It's the horse!


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## Ozarkgal

You must have a lot of pretty rank broncs or some really stupid riders there to out do all the varieties of poisonous snakes and spiders.  LOL


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## Diwundrin

> pretty rank broncs or some really stupid riders there



All of the above apparently.


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## Katybug

Surely this is a joke for Australia, where venom prevails!


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## dbeyat45

Katybug said:


> Surely this is a joke for Australia, where venom prevails!



Yep .... I horse with a snakebite is very dangerous.


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## Warrigal

No joke. Here is a breakdown of the statistics

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/dangerous-wildlife/2008/07/04/1214951042706.html


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## dbeyat45

I also hear that Soccer is the most dangerous sport for _*serious*_ injuries.  ????


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## Phantom

dbeyat45 said:


> I also hear that Soccer is the most dangerous sport for _*serious*_ injuries.  ????


No or hardly any protective gear


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## Diwundrin

Soccer eh?  Well I'd like a photo of the debris after Barry Hall or Plugger had run through their team. 

No protective gear on them either Phants.


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## terra

Left my Tanaka brushcutter outside the garage on the grass for a while last Friday.  When I went to pick it up, a black snake wriggled out from beneath it and bared his teeth at me.  




Yep !.... knocked his head off with a hoe, works every time !


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## Jillaroo

_Good onya Terra_


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## Diwundrin

I bet the snakes think OZ is a pretty dangerous place to live.



Wonder if there's any stats on snake fatalities from hoe wielding gardeners?


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## dbeyat45

Diwundrin said:


> I bet the snakes think OZ is a pretty dangerous place to live.
> 
> 
> Wonder if there's any stats on snake fatalities from hoe wielding gardeners?


I'll apply for a research grant ... see if I can get Chris Turney _on board_.  

I hear he has some time on his hands and, if we go somewhere where there is no chance of encountering ice, he should jump at the idea.


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## rkunsaw

terra said:


> Left my Tanaka brushcutter outside the garage on the grass for a while last Friday.  When I went to pick it up, a black snake wriggled out from beneath it and bared his teeth at me.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yep !.... knocked his head off with a hoe, works every time !



But black snakes are good snakes. We never kill them.


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## Jillaroo

_If a snake is too close to the house it's him or me that goes_


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## Diwundrin

Our Black snakes have red or yellow bellies and are venomous Rky.  (but they're usually fairly timid, Tezza must have met it on a bad day.)


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## rkunsaw

Our black snakes ( also called rat snakes ) are constrictors. Non venomous and very mild mannered. They get up to 8 feet long and are excellent climbers. We see them more often than any other kind of snake. We had a young one in the house last spring.


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## Katybug

rkunsaw said:


> Our black snakes ( also called rat snakes ) are constrictors. Non venomous and very mild mannered. They get up to 8 feet long and are excellent climbers. We see them more often than any other kind of snake. We had a young one in the house last spring.



I've never seen one in the wild, RK, but have always heard you never kill one.  They're way too important to the ecology.

Just me, but if I had to list 1,000 things I'm afraid of in Australia, a horse wouldn't be on the list.  I'm having a really hard time with that one, no matter what the report says.


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## Diwundrin

This is ours, lookin' sleek and shiny.  They coil up tight in compost  heaps and warm spots and imitate cow pats in paddocks.  You don't  realise it isn't one until the damned thing takes off at speed.


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## Katybug

Diwundrin said:


> This is ours, lookin' sleek and shiny.  They coil up tight in compost  heaps and warm spots and imitate cow pats in paddocks.  You don't  realise it isn't one until the damned thing takes off at speed.



Now, this critter would be on my list of being scared to death of!  Gawd, he's vicious looking!


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## Diwundrin

Nah, not particularly Katy, they're pussycats.  They take off usually when disturbed, it's the Brown ones who get angsty if you surprise them.
Blacks seldom bite anyone and then only when provoked.  But caution over valour just the same.


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## Katybug

Diwundrin said:


> Nah, not particularly Katy, they're pussycats.  They take off usually when disturbed, it's the Brown ones who get angsty if you surprise them.
> Blacks seldom bite anyone and then only when provoked.  But caution over valour just the same.



You crack me up, Di!  They're pussycats?  Oh yeah, he looks every bit as sweet as any kitty I've ever seen.  You have seriously adjusted to what you have to deal with so well. Good that you have, what choice is there?  I admire your spunk, m' lady.

I was telling g'son about the brown snake being the most dangerous you have there.  He insists it's the Taipan...said he read it in the write-up they post under all the snakes at the Serpentarium we visit on vacation.  :dunno:


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## Diwundrin

Yes Taiipans trump Browns but we only have Browns around here, Taipans are in North Queensland. They're tropical and stay up there but the damned Brown ones are all the way along the East Coast.


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## Pappy

Looks to me, ladies, like the damn thing would eat the pussycat !!!


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## Diwundrin

They only dine on frogs and lizards,  cats can kill them, and do I've heard.  The poor Black looks more dangerous than it actually is. It's not one I'd want to see killed unless it was under the bed or something.

Anyway it's not the snakes we worry about, it's the horses.


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## Pappy

We have our good snakes here too. Corn snakes and Black racers keep the bug and rodent population at bay. I have only seen one Coral snake and a Pygmy rattler since I've lived here. The geckos take care of the fly population.


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## dbeyat45

We used to see many snakes at our old place at Strathpine;  this one is going up on the roof:



Spot the snake skin here:



They would wedge themselves in a fork and slither out.  This was just outside our kitchen window.


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## Jillaroo

_He was a big one DB_


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## Katybug

Diwundrin said:


> They only dine on frogs and lizards,  cats can kill them, and do I've heard.  The poor Black looks more dangerous than it actually is. It's not one I'd want to see killed unless it was under the bed or something.
> 
> *Anyway it's not the snakes we worry about, it's the horses.* Smizzy4444



I know it's those darned frightening horses, as they always have been a world wide terror!  (I don't want to make Di feel bad....I know horses headed the list she read, and that is who I'm questioning, those who put that list together!)


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## Katybug

Katybug said:


> I know it's those darned frightening horses, as they always have been a world wide terror!  (I don't want to make Di feel bad....I know horses headed the list she read, and that is who I'm questioning, those who put that list together!)



And if I looked outside my kitchen a viewed that thing, I would never draw a peaceful breath..knowing moving doesn't resolve the problem in Australia.


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## grannyjo

Saw in the news that a man was bitten, twice,  by a red-belly black after he had chopped it in half, near a  Newcastle cemetery in NSW.  Apparently they retain their strike reflex for about an hour.


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## Jillaroo

_They sure do i was watching a video of a snake that had been killed and put on a table, a girl went near it and put her hand close and he bit, i have watched them after killing them hanging on a fence and they twirl around and round for ages, they say they stop at sundown._


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## Diwundrin

grannyjo said:


> Saw in the news that a man was bitten, twice,  by a red-belly black after he had chopped it in half, near a  Newcastle cemetery in NSW.  Apparently they retain their strike reflex for about an hour.



Seems a fair enough payback to me. 

 It didn't kill him though did it?  They aren't all that lethal as snakes go.


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## boomer411

I have never had any fear of snakes, insects, or spiders. I was shipped off to the middle east where everything but the hedgehogs would bite and kill you, so I did develop a small phobia toward spiders and snakes. The camel spiders freaked me out with their huge fangs and gaping mouths. The snakes over there hide in the sand waiting for a meal to come along, and the fact that they are vipers they aren't the snake you would want to encounter. I am always cautious about devices such as this. It can often lead to a waste of money because most devices like this simply do not work. In addition, where I live there are snakes you want to have around because they fight and kill the venomous snakes.


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## jrfromafar

I hate snakes - and yes, afraid of 'em. Had more brushes with them in 2013 than ever before. At least rattlesnakes give a warning.


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## Phantom

heh heh looks like snakes but only seed pod ha ha ha ha ha


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