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¡Snek!


Patricio Swayze

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On 5/8/2020 at 5:37 PM, Patricio Swayze said:

Nice catch on that coral.

Another goofy watersnake today. I think it’s time for me to go looking for some speckled kingsnakes and rattlesnakes. Wouldn’t mind a rough green snake either.

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THAT's what I saw mountain biking.  I didn't get a good look but it was that coloration and had a wedge shaped head.  

Diamondback water snake?  I was thinking moccasin after I saw it because of the pit viper head, though I know a lot of snakes can affect a wedge shaped head.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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THAT's what I saw mountain biking.  I didn't get a good look but it was that coloration and had a wedge shaped head.  

I am guessing 90% of the snakes people kill because they think they are vicious water moccasins are actually various non venomous water snakes. I saw this one on a very popular mountain bike trail in NW Houston.
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I give Swayze a lot of credit for looking for these critters, turning over rocks and logs and whatnot.

Snakes don't frighten me, even venomous ones, at range.  I'll handle em if I can do so safely.

But even harmless rodents and things can startle the shit out of me and snakes with their camouflage and odd movements are quite capable of giving me an "oh shit!" moment.

Even if I was prepared to find something under a log or rock, I have to admit that flipping them would give me a bit of the willies.

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I give Swayze a lot of credit for looking for these critters, turning over rocks and logs and whatnot.
Snakes don't frighten me, even venomous ones, at range.  I'll handle em if I can do so safely.
But even harmless rodents and things can startle the shit out of me and snakes with their camouflage and odd movements are quite capable of giving me an "oh shit!" moment.
Even if I was prepared to find something under a log or rock, I have to admit that flipping them would give me a bit of the willies.

Haha, I definitely get that “oh shit” feeling even when I am actively looking for them.
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6 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:


Haha, I definitely get that “oh shit” feeling even when I am actively looking for them.

A few months ago, I was riding on a really rural trail in the Trinity River bottom in SE Dallas.  It's by far the most boonies trail in the Metroplex, but I havent seen a whole lot of critters, unfortunately.  I'm sure they've seen me.

However, I did catch a weird movement to my right, several yards away and it was a well-camouflaged racer about 3-4' long and he was hauling ass on a path roughly parallel to me.  I had a momentary freak out until I realized what I was looking at and then watched it til I couldn't see it any more.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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May have shared this story before.  Spending weekends with the grandparents on their boat was a Summer time tradition for years.  All the boats were berthed in a series of connected, huge covered sheds. We'd run our skiffs under the docks between the boat sterns around the whole complex.  The underside of the docks were 3-5' above the waterline depending on the tide, so at times you almost had to duck into the hull as you skimmed along the water.

We're in a friends skiff pulling ourselves along by the joists and as we come to a piling I reach up to grab the next joist, and about 12-16" away, and just above my head is a about a 20' long (looked like it was that big at least) 2' black snek actually.  His tongue flicking out, beady little black eyes, each scale in vivid detail as he coiled up, and pulled back like he was ready to strike. Talk about a kid freaking out. I'm not sure how I didn't piss my pants.  Single scariest moment of my young life till I got caught out in the middle of a very long, tall, railroad bridge over the river when I was 12 with a train coming along at a pretty good clip.

Edited by Onboard 2.0
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2 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

So, what did it feel like getting killed by a train?

There are 3' tall x 10' wide x 2' deep u shaped concrete piers along the concrete trestle top every 50' or so (a really very pretty, concrete structure).  They let you get a couple feet away from the track. We hunkered down in one as the train ran by.  Still scary being that close to a running train, figuring they're gonna call the train cops to come arrest us as we walk off the bridge.

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11 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

THAT's what I saw mountain biking.  I didn't get a good look but it was that coloration and had a wedge shaped head.  

Diamondback water snake?  I was thinking moccasin after I saw it because of the pit viper head, though I know a lot of snakes can affect a wedge shaped head.

Vertical black strips on the lower jaw is the easiest way to know its not a water moccasin.  

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10 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

Vertical black strips on the lower jaw is the easiest way to know its not a water moccasin.  

Well, I was boogying down a hill on a slope loaded with roots and ledges when I came across it.  I got a glimpse of it from above, "essing" furiously first toward me then away from me.  I didn't have the opportunity to examine its lower jaw.  And, in the event it was a bitey, poisonous bastard, I didn't want to spend any extra time in its proximity.  It was uninterested in spending any time in proximity to me, as well.

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33 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

Vertical black strips on the lower jaw is the easiest way to know its not a water moccasin.  

 

19 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Well, I was boogying down a hill on a slope loaded with roots and ledges when I came across it.  I got a glimpse of it from above, "essing" furiously first toward me then away from me.  I didn't have the opportunity to examine its lower jaw.  And, in the event it was a bitey, poisonous bastard, I didn't want to spend any extra time in its proximity.  It was uninterested in spending any time in proximity to me, as well.

The only snek hunter I know is @South Austin's mom (Happy Mother's Day, btw!). I for one, would not expect anyone to stick around long enough to give a snek a dental exam with the intent of noting the presence or absence of vertical black strips on the lower jaw.

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Patricio what’s your approach to hunting snek? I have woods behind my place that slope down to a creek, so I’m sure I have plenty back there. Wouldn’t mind taking the kids to safely observe. We usually just crash around back there so they likely hide or run away for the most part.

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Patricio what’s your approach to hunting snek? I have woods behind my place that slope down to a creek, so I’m sure I have plenty back there. Wouldn’t mind taking the kids to safely observe. We usually just crash around back there so they likely hide or run away for the most part.

Well, you are basically doing what I do, put myself in their habitat. Time of day, year and some luck are the other factors. Also training your eyes for them.

Where are you located?
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3 hours ago, Patricio Swayze said:

Well, you are basically doing what I do, put myself in their habitat. Time of day, year and some luck are the other factors. Also training your eyes for them.

Bullshit. What @Patricio Swayze won't admit is he lures his subjects out from hiding with delicious bottles of ice-cold Big Red.

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At my place in the country, we put out sulfur around the house, snake repellent in the yard and moth balls in the storage sheds. Now after all that if I see one it's shoot first no questions. In the woods I leave them alone as long as they leave me alone.

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On 5/10/2020 at 2:27 PM, Patricio Swayze said:


Well, you are basically doing what I do, put myself in their habitat. Time of day, year and some luck are the other factors. Also training your eyes for them.

Where are you located?

25 miles north of Atlanta. Lots of black, king, rat etc. Copperhead is the most common venomous, followed by cottonmouth and the occasional rattler. Would love to see some big black snakes (TWSS). 

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25 miles north of Atlanta. Lots of black, king, rat etc. Copperhead is the most common venomous, followed by cottonmouth and the occasional rattler. Would love to see some big black snakes (TWSS). 

I’m not real familiar with Georgia snakes. By black snake, do you mean black racers? If so, the best place to find most racers is in fields just adjacent to a forest. They will hang out in the fields within 10 yards or so of the forest basking in the sun or hunting. At least that is how I have found most racers here (yellow bellies racers).
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We call those Blacksnakes in Kansas but they are actually a species of Rat snake, Pantherophis obsoletus. They can get well over 6' long and as big around as my wrist. They are probably the most common snake in these parts. That looks like the same snake we have here.

ETA, wiki says that they are found west of the Mississippi. Not sure what you have there.

Edited by Shoxthemonkey
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I don’t know, I’ve just always called them black snakes and they can get big. Took a pic of this one at a buddy’s house near the river last summer:

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Yeah, as soon as I saw the climbing pictures I knew it wasn’t a racer. Definitely a rat snake like shox mentioned.

However, many rat snakes I come across are in the same habitat as racers. On the edge of woods. You will also find them under old tin and boards around abandoned farms and such. I’ll do a bit more reading up on that particular kind in Georgia.
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1 hour ago, Patricio Swayze said:

Racers are cool. Hard to catch. I have flipped Coachwhips and grabbed them. Also managed to grab a couple of yellow bellies racers in fields. But it wasn’t easy haha. They are all up thread but can repost.

If you're taking requests, I'd love to see another speckled king whenever you can find one on your hikes. First encountered this species while on a date in Flint. It was hanging out near a burrow at the foot on an oak tree. Its speckles were more variegated than examples I usually see, but my mind might be embellishing it.

1 hour ago, Zepol87 said:

Still one of the coolest and informative threads on the site. I am still a pussy with snakes but less of one than a couple years ago

For our resident ophidiophobics, I would like to introduce you to the Idaho's rubber boa, quite possibly the world's most docile snake. They have no bite reflex (worst they'll do is musk if you handle them improperly), they rarely exceed 30 inches in length, they are crepuscular and one of only two true boas in North America, they look and feel like a toy rubber snake, and they are usually content to coil up on your arm and chill.

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