taurusfan
Regular Member
imported post
RIP to all snakes killed by this evil open carrier.
Snakes are good! Leave 'em be.
RIP to all snakes killed by this evil open carrier.
Snakes are good! Leave 'em be.
RIP to all snakes killed by this evil open carrier.
Snakes are good! Leave 'em be.
DTOM--How common are canebrake/eastern timbers down that way? How far north and west? I do environmental work and am often in snake habitat. Have never seen a (confirmed) water moccassin in VA but know they are around. Seen 'em on lake gaston, and my sources say they are down in Colonial Heights. Almost never see a copperhead in the wild, sometimes in the spring but very sparingly otherwise with a few exceptions. Lots of timbers along the blue ridge, but have never seen or heard one in goochland, fluvanna, or new kentfor example.
You're dead on with the area I was talking about. Mine Mountain,St. Mary's River gorge those areas of the GWNF are crawling in the critters.thx for the maps, I have seen them before. Chesterfiedl shows wm, I think there is a colony around city point or the mouth of the chickahominy. More rattlers in Vesuvius area along the st marys river than i have eve seen. prolly ought to make it a preserve. was hoping the fella from the beach would chime in about canbrakes. my field work is taking me eastward.
I'm just delighted we don't have many Cottonmouths.The cotton mouths/water moccasins were a whole different story. With the exception of the dredged boat lanes, the end of the lake got real shallow most summers, 'bout like a swamp with all the deadfall, stumps, etc. We'd run up on them on the front porch, on the sidewalks, in the yard, and in the water. These guys what a snake hater has nightmares about. They are very thick for their length, with four footers being forearm thick. When they are in the water, most snakes breathe normally with just their snout out of the water. Mocs hold their breath and breathe shallow, as you would when treading water. Consequently, they ride very high in the water for most of their length. They have little or no trouble getting into bass boats and ski boats, but most sailboats and cruisers are too high.
Generally, if they are on the move when you see them, I recommend that you either put them down or leave rapidly. They are very agressive and unlike the rattlers, they will pursue a threat rather than head to safety. I have been chased on land, in my boat, and while swimming. They can easily keep up with a jon boat and trolling motor, and they don't give up easily.
Cal
Edited for spelling.
You sure run a quiet camp ground mister. Whats yer secret?The funny thing is the next morning after I got up I found out from one of my friends that someone in a nearby camp site appologized for making noise during the night. Theyhad sat on their picnic table to tie a shoe to go to the outhouse and had tipped the table. The pans I heard was theirs hitting the ground. They thought I was shooting paintballs at them when I started firing at the Racoon. :what:
DTOM--How common are canebrake/eastern timbers down that way? How far north and west? I do environmental work and am often in snake habitat. Have never seen a (confirmed) water moccassin in VA but know they are around. Seen 'em on lake gaston, and my sources say they are down in Colonial Heights. Almost never see a copperhead in the wild, sometimes in the spring but very sparingly otherwise with a few exceptions. Lots of timbers along the blue ridge, but have never seen or heard one in goochland, fluvanna, or new kent for example.