Pygmy Rattlesnakes

[Cil]

heh
I found a scorpion in the house during our first couple weeks here. I was horrified yet fascinated.
I think I am more scared of snakes.
What about putting that yellow sulphur stuff at the perimeter of your yard? That's what somebody told me to do.

 

[DBOldford]

I guess the development has displaced a lot of the local wildlife, if people think there are no snakes in the area. We are famous for snakes, always have been! Diamondback rattlesnakes, pygmy rattlers, copperhead mocassins, coral snakes and others are in abundance. They were a daily event in the old days, before the palmetto dunes were disturbed. My brother actually saw a sea snake crawling from the dunes toward the water's edge at Grayton, just last year. The pygmy rattler and copperheads are quite aggressive and will give chase if provoked. Coral snakes are hard to differentiate from the more common king snake, but for their colored bands. This is one thing that always gave me the shivers about FL, as I am not fond of reptiles of any sort. Cannot even stomach the idea of frogs legs.

We have rattlesnakes out here, too. They are all in the rocks of the canyon behind our house and are prolific in producing the deadly baby rattlers. Their babies are born with the same amount of venom as an adult snake, but they chew rather than strike. One afternoon, I was coasting rather fast on my bicycle downhill on the road and there was a rattlesnake at least six feet long stretched across the road; it was en route from the rocky area to the creek. The choices were to try and stop on the bike, possibly wiping out right next to the snake, or to keep riding and pass over it. I just kept going, felt the big bump in the road and kept riding until the snake was at an appreciable distance. Watched him slither on across the road and very nearly lost my lunch. I have no affection for reptiles.

 

[Camp Creek Kid]

Alligators and scorpions and snakes...oh my...alligators and scorpions and snakes...oh my...we not in Kansas any more Todo

Gee, thanks for the info jhbeebe

SJ and twt515...you are very brave indeed!

You forgot the sharks and the jellyfish . We've lived here 5 years and I've only found 1 scorpion in my house--it was dead--smashed under a laundry basket and I've seen 1 scorpion outside. As far as snakes go we used to have a lot of coach whips, but they're gone. I've seen about 2 live pygmys and several dead ones. They're around, but they don't bother you. I do not allow my children to walk through brush (live oaks, palmettos) in the summer because there is a high probability that they will come across snakes.

Oh ya, DON'T look under your boardwalk--thats where the black widows live and while we're talking about pests, be careful of the ticks in the live oak trees.

 

[pgurney]

Are the snakes bad around the lakes and creeks? The only snakes I've seen in the area are dead on the roads and seem to be black snakes.

Oh, and speaking of sharks, we ran into one while kayaking in the surf last weekend. And of course that was right before my friend decided the kayak was too tippy...and over she went.

 

[shakennotstirred]

Yikes! This is going to give me nightmares. I'm hoping that I forget about this thread prior to my next visit!

 

[Smiling JOe]

We also have Stingrays and Dolphin, both of which I saw today. The Stingray was huge, and the Dolphin were on the second sand bar. They caught my eye as I saw one clear the water completely. That was the first time I have seen that in the wild. It is a good day.

 

[beachmouse]

Bass Pro Shops stocks snake boots.

Steve Irwin has shot a couple episodes of Crocodile Hunter out in the wilds of Eglin Reservation, with most of the focus being on the snakes out there. (He also did a little bit of black bear) Eglin's Jackson Guard conservation office also has a travelling reptile exhibit where they'll cart out assorted poisonous and non-poisonous critters they've found creeping too close to human habitation. Since there's glass between you and them, it's actually pretty cool.

The only time I can verify seeing a pygmy rattler down here was one on the trail to the beach at Deer Lake SP a couple years back.

 

[pgurney]

We also have Stingrays and Dolphin, both of which I saw today. The Stingray was huge, and the Dolphin were on the second sand bar. They caught my eye as I saw one clear the water completely. That was the first time I have seen that in the wild. It is a good day.

That does make a good day! We saw that right before the storm (either Bonnie or Jeanne) that hit east of us in 2004. There was a small school of them swimming west, all jumping to clear the water. I thought at the time they were running from the storm. Dolphins...my favorite! :clap_1:

 

[Smiling JOe]

That does make a good day! We saw that right before the storm (either Bonnie or Jeanne) that hit east of us in 2004. There was a small school of them swimming west, all jumping to clear the water. I thought at the time they were running from the storm. Dolphins...my favorite! :clap_1:

They are one of my favs too, unless I am trying to catch fish.

 

[ShallowsNole]

We also have Stingrays and Dolphin, both of which I saw today.

Don't forget coyotes, panthers, brown recluse spiders, and occasionally, bears.