FUD I may have an answer to your ghost. I say MAY.

J

JCH

New member
After reading all of the responses to your "ghost" topic I may have come up with an answer. A snake. Yes, a snake. Nothing to be too alarmed about. The reason that I say this is that whole supernatural movement thing just happened to me. After many bumps, thumps and (light) things being moved, I found it in the tub last week. A three foot long black snake. It shocked me. It didnt scare me at all (I grew up with a six footer in the storage room that I played with) I picked it up and took it to the woods and let it go. It did take a wack at my face when I was "playing" with it. No noise since then.

That's just a thought that I had. From what I gather you are living in Florida and thats prime black snake country ( its in the South) so just a thought. Don't stress out if it is a snake! I've seen a ton of snakes that come into houses and ALL of them were not posinous(sp?)

By the way I now have a bachelor pad again. Since I told her, my girlfreind won't come near my place. Go figure! She would rather have rats (cute) gnaw on her face than a snake (slimy) slither AWAY from her

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DUM SPIRO SPERO
While I Breath I Hope
 
Okay. That makes sense to me as I frequently an hearing things fall down and later am finding them. Now two questions:<OL TYPE=1><LI> I've got a little one at home just over two years of age. Are these things dangerous? Do I need to worry about her safety as far as the snake is concerned? Poisonous bites? Strangulation? Etc.?
<LI> How do I capture the darn thing and get rid of it (assuming that it is a snake)?</OL>Thanks for the idea/suggestion. I await ideas on how to proceed from here. FUD.
 
Woohoo! Sounds like its time for a .22 and some rat shot!

Happy shootin' FUD! :D

(Naw, actually, I'd just pick it up and take it out too. :()

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God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!

oberkommando sez:
"We lost the first and third and now they are after the Second!(no pun intended)"
 
if it is a Black rat snake it is a non poisonous constrictor engineered for rat hunting

not much of a threat to a toddler

Now if it is a cotton mouth it would be waiting for you at the front door.

Water snakes are the Mr. T of the snake world

dZ
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by FUD:
dZ, how do I tell the difference? FUD.[/quote]


A water moccasin has a short and stubby body, a black rat snake is very long with a narrow head and the tail tapers to a point....
 
Don gloves, catch mouse, make harness for mouse out of fishing line, give mouse all the brandy it can consume and still live, tether mouse in house, snake eats mouse, snake has low tolerance for alcohol. Fud catches snake.

Headline...Soused house mouse snags stupified snake.

Sam
 
Black Rat Snake.
black.gif


bratbw.gif

Notice the slim elongated head.


Water/Cottonmouth Moccasin.
mocc3.jpg



This is Copper Head.
copper.gif

Notice the triangular shaped head. The Water/Cottonmouth Moccasin head is shaped the same way.

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Guns are not dangerous! People are! RKBA!

homes.acmecity.com/rosie/happy/307/

[This message has been edited by Jerry45 (edited August 25, 2000).]
 
FUD, Scooter is right on in his descriptions,
but if thre is any question, don't pick it up and call animal control. Those cotton mouth bites are really nasty. It's much better to play it safe than to risk a bite. Even if it is a black snake, it may decide to bite you anyway and while not poisonous, the bite will be prone to infection and you'll need a tetnus shot.
In my former life as a surveyor here in Florida, I've seen more than my share of snakes, both venomous and non.
Like a gun, if you are uneducated and don't feel comfortable.. don't touch, go away and tell an adult..mark / Fl
 
My ID test. If it's THIN and black (or brown or just dark in general) with a small head you are ok. If it is fat and has a triangle shaped head, get the shotgun ASAP. Better yet have someone else get the gun while you keep your eyes on it. If you don't want to use a gun then a garden shovel or hoe works wonders.

I might add that it took me a month to find the little booger. I really did think I had a ghost.

Oh yeah, if you aren't sure then leave it alone and call animal control. I don't suggest playing Crocodile Hunter. "Krikees! Ain't she a beaut. If she bit me I wouldn't have time to pee in my pants!"

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DUM SPIRO SPERO
While I Breath I Hope

[This message has been edited by JCH (edited August 25, 2000).]
 
If it bites you and you die, it was a cottonmouth......


Dad once caught a cottonmouth out of a local creek when we were picnicking--that was a surprise. Dad is deathly afraid of all snakes, much less cottonmouths, and he had no idea what he'd hooked until it broke the surface. It was snagged halfway down the body and a tad pissed. Luckily, the bank was steep and about 6 feet high so we simply cut the line and let it go on its merry way.
 
I've got a razor sharp Ninja sword from the days when I use to study the martial arts ... will cutting it just below the head take care of the problem or is there some law in Florida against killin snakes (like there is against killing alligators)?
 
I would just say that it tried to bite me. Then again who the h#ll is going to find out unless you tell them.

So, the ninja sword, is that for when the triad comes after you. ;)

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DUM SPIRO SPERO
While I Breath I Hope
 
More news for you, FUD. It can be against the law to kill snakes here (okay, that was Georgia, but it's a federal law.

The Florida Museum of Natural History has an exellent site on indigineous snakes and the "Guide to Florida's Venomous Snakes" section offers a great set of identification features.

The Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta) doesn't range into Florida. It should also noted that although adult Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorous conanti) are black, juveniles are brown, striped, and have yellow tails. The Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix) is found only in extreme northern Florida. A small black snake in south Florida is almost always going to be a Eastern Black Racer (Coluber constrictor priapus). I've evicted a couple of them that found their way inside, myself. They are innocuous but rather fiesty and keen to strike (I've been bitten by captive examples). Another possible, but unlikely, black snake would be the Eastern Indigo (Drymarchon corais couperi), which is a federal Endangered species. However, unlike those pesky alligators, it's actually quite rare, and moreover, about the calmest snake one can imagine. The Southern ringneck snake (Diadophis punctatus punctatus) is also black, but has an easily seen neck ring.

The best rule for those unknowledgeable of snakes is, as stated above, avoid contact, for more reason than the danger of a snakebite. One response by a clever fellow in Palm Beach County upon sighting a "water moccasin" retreating to its "nest" in some bushes, was to fetch bottles of lighter fluid, and in an attempt to kill the "evil" snakes, proceeded to immolate himself. So perhaps practicing your Iaijutsu draw with flashing katana might not be the best of ideas. Also, take note of this recent story (what's a "gardener snake", anyway? Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis), perhaps?). Most bites are from handling (the moral perhaps being that spitting cobras and canebrakes aren't ideal house pets).

Anything is possible to come across in South Florida. Many non-native species have been dumped in the area. I had a 7-foot Burmese Python show up in my backyard one day. A breeding population of Cuban Knight Anoles (Anolis equestris) has also moved in. A baby "attacked" me a few weeks ago, running up and jumping on my leg (not particually astute survivial behavior)!

As anyone can see, I've got way to much time to fiddle with looking up this stuff.

[This message has been edited by RepublicThunderbolt (edited August 25, 2000).]
 
I noticed that no one asked how the snake got into the house. One guess is the toilet. I always make sure and leave the seat lid down when I can. You can never tell what might crawl up your toilet lines and invade your home day or night. If it is big enough to pick up the toilet lid and get out I am in deep trouble anyway. ;)
 
Sounds like it is time to get the .45 out with some some CCI shotshells. All this talk about snakes is giving me the willies. Ever since my time in the Phillippines I can't stand snakes. One encounter with a Python or Boa, wrapped around the toilet out at our Crow Valley training facility and encounters with Cobra's in the washouts and at the base of my perimeter watch tower, then there is them darn Monitor lizards. But , anyway back to the subject at hand, AHHH forget I got goosebumps now.
 
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