Timber Rattler

Big Dave · #1 04/15/09, 12:56 AM

Killed the first posionous snake of the season right before dusk. Was it a timber rattler? It was dispatched by an excited 17 yr old and a twenty gauge

. I was tilling in the garden when the Westie pup saw it first. It had a head like a Spreading ADDER and had no rattles. Have been told by folks around here it is a dangerous snake. Found one a couple of years back on the deck about the size of a pencil. Just a reminder it is warming up BEWARE

Nature_Lover · #2 04/15/09, 04:41 AM

Sounds like a western hognose snake.

stranger · #3 04/15/09, 05:03 AM

timber rattlers are very dangerous

pheasantplucker · #4 04/15/09, 06:31 AM

Did it have two pits? Are the "pupils" in the eye round or verticle? Your family owes it to beneficial snakes to learn to distinguish...not trying to come down on you, but no sense in killing a snake if it's not a threat.

starjj · #5 04/15/09, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pheasantplucker

Did it have two pits? Are the "pupils" in the eye round or verticle? Your family owes it to beneficial snakes to learn to distinguish...not trying to come down on you, but no sense in killing a snake if it's not a threat.

Have to agree with PP here. Snakes ARE beneficial even the timberattlers so before you kill them just because they are a snake make sure of what they are. I was cutting grass last weekend and found a small garter snake in the grass. I knew what it was and left it alone because it served no harm to me.

farmmom · #6 04/15/09, 07:02 AM

I'm seeing garter snakes too. We also have alot of black snakes. These, I leave alone. The big ones to watch out for around here are copper heads. I killed 4 in a weeks time in my parents chicken coop last year. A couple were as long as the shovel I killed them with.

Old Swampgirl · #7 04/15/09, 07:21 AM

Yep! Tis the Season. Didn't see the snake, but one of my cat's front paws swole up bad & all the skin fell off, then it split. Vet says he thinks it was a snake bite. Gave him a new type of long lasting antibiotic & said that's all she could do. It's healing up now, but was a messy draining wound for quite a while. We have copperheads, rattle snakes, & cotton mouth moccasins around here in addition to the good snakes. They all scare me, but I only try to kill the poisonous ones. Last spring a baby speckled king snake was in my living room. Must have gotten in thru a crack in the door bottom.

fishhead · #8 04/15/09, 07:35 AM

The shape of the head and no rattles sounds like a beneficial hog nosed snake to me.

http://www.google.com/images?q=tbn:E...ix/hognose.jpg

If you don't want snakes remove the places where they rest like piles of boards.

mtfarmchick · #9 04/15/09, 07:42 AM

I'm so glad that we don't have poisonous snakes here. We get them so seldom that when someone sees one, it ends up on the news. I grew up in AZ where there are all sorts of creepy crawly things. It's not the part I miss about living there.

**Cabin Fever** · #10 04/15/09, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nature_Lover

Sounds like a western hognose snake.

That's what I was thinking, too.

MaggieJ · #11 04/15/09, 08:06 AM

No poisonous snakes here in Eastern Ontario, so I get to enjoy all the snakes we do see. Our cat Marilla found a tiny milksnake in the house the other day. Fortunately, we were able to rescue it before she did more than scare it. I think they must overwinter in the cellar and come up from there as the weather warms up. It's an old house.

big rockpile · #12 04/15/09, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cabin Fever

That's what I was thinking, too.

Me too!

Here in Missouri Rattlers are protected.

big rockpile

BobbyB · #13 04/15/09, 04:21 PM

Timber rattlers are on the endangered list in TX and I thought it was a Fed thing.

We have plenty of Western Diamondbacks here. I lost my best English Pointer to a 5 1/2 footer last October and a Brittany to a smaller one little over a year before that.

ksfarmer · #14 04/15/09, 08:40 PM

Every snake is deadly to me cause I'll have a heart attack if it strikes.

LOL. Therefore if it is in my garden or yard it is an endangered specimen......

Big Dave · #15 04/15/09, 09:23 PM

Grew up in the Heart of Texas.On the Bosque Mclennan county line. At night it sounded like you had a fan on. Been to quite a few round ups, even in Sweetwater. Had to wear snake legging all the time around our home. It may have been a Hog nose. Now it is a dead hognose or whatever. I guess there may be some benifits to having a snake around??? Caught a black snake last year in the chicken house. Relocated it in a trash can out by the lake. just the way I am and I sure dont want to offend folks, but I have to agree with ksfarmer. They are endangered around here

Yvonne's hubby · #16 04/15/09, 09:40 PM

I am a bit like ksfarmer, if I see a snake, its definitely endangered! Fortunately the wild turkey in the area here has all but eliminated snakes so I seldom ever see one these days.

mosepijo · #17 04/15/09, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ksfarmer

Every snake is deadly to me cause I'll have a heart attack if it strikes.

LOL. Therefore if it is in my garden or yard it is an endangered specimen......

Amen to that.. There is no living snake once I see them. Doesn't matter if it is 6" or 6' long. Grew up near Rattle snakes so every one is a potential one. Just plain give me the willies when I see one.

Iddee · #18 04/15/09, 10:04 PM

Big Dave, for someone whom grew up around them, you don't seem to be very familiar with what they look like.

Farmmom, how short is your shovel?

"North America has five different species of copperheads depending on the geographical location. Copperheads are medium-sized snakes and grow to be 24 to 36 inches long. The male is larger than the female and may grow 36 to 39 inches long. The largest copperhead measured was 43 inches long."

Or maybe you mis-identified???

99% of the "copperheads" I have seen killed were NOT copperheads.

Many supposedly "back to nature" people sure seem to act like city dwellers to me.

BamaSpek · #19 04/16/09, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cabin Fever

That's what I was thinking, too.

Thats my guess. We had a huge hog nose in our yard in the city...largest one I have ever seen. Made the mistake of showing it to the DW and she freaked. There was an immediate plan for relocation........either her or the snake. So i took the snake to the end of the street and let him go. Three years later the moles have just about taken over the yard and my pristine lawn looks like a weed patch in places. Also saw our first mouse in the house two years after the snake left....that was after living here 5 years with no mice.

The DW now has a better relationship with the "good" snakes. She still hates em, but appreciates their value.

Pony · #20 04/16/09, 08:59 AM

Yeah, snakes are really good for keeping the vermin down.

Killed one a few years back at the folks' farm. It was a rattler, though, and they had a beagle that wasn't smart enough to stay away from snakes.

Soon as that snake was gone, the mouse population in the house increased exponentially.

'Round here, we have a lot of wild turkey, not many snakes.

What bugs me more than snakes right now are those lousy Asian beetles.

My priorities have obviously shifted since we moved to the farm!