Mr No Shoulders is no more

[gsganzer]

I was filling deer feeders at the lease and found this guy coiled up near the feeder. He was quickly introduced to a .308 pill. He was about 3 1/2 feet long.

And yes, the stick I picked him up with after killing, still felt 10 feet too short.

 

[scootr]

Good size one indeed. How many rattles?

 

[Joel/ak]

Snakes have their place but as far as I'm concerned all snakes should be dead. Hate them. Luckily MI isn't bad.

I'd rather deal with a pissed off brown bear or moose than a snake

 

[Jstpssng]

I'd rather deal with a pissed off brown bear or moose than a snake

Agreed.
I've dealt with the first two up close and personal, although mine was only a black bear. There is a reason why I live in a state where the only snakes are non poisonous.

 

[scootr]

Good size one indeed.

 

[ponytug]

Agreed.
I've dealt with the first two up close and personal, although mine was only a black bear. There is a reason why I live in a state where the only snakes are non poisonous.

Hmmm...I am not wild about rattle snakes, but I have chosen them over grizzlies and moose.

Now if we are talking cobras, or black mambas, or brown snakes, I would take a grizzly and two moose any day, and twice on Sunday!

All the best,

Peter

 

[AWSubie]

I think copperheads are worse but maybe because I come across more of them.

 

[ponytug]

Kraits, aka cobras, have local names along the lines of "seven step krait", "twenty-one step krait", "thirty step krait". The local consensus was that there wasn't time to say goodbye. The venom is all neurotoxins, unlike most North American snakes that are hemotoxic (blood clotting), coral snakes (neurotoxic venom), while Tiger rattlesnake ps and Mohave rattlesnakes have a mix of neurotoxic and hemotoxic venom, are the exceptions.

Australia's 10 most dangerous snakes

Australia is known for its dangerous snakes, and we have many – but in reality few people die from bites. Here are Australia's most dangerous snakes.

www.australiangeographic.com.au

The article points out that India gets something like a million snake bites a year, and 50,000 deaths.

I figure that I have better odds with moose and grizzlies...

 

[jaxs]

I figure that I have better odds with moose and grizzlies...

I figure I can out-run snakes and the moose or grizzle will probably slip-slide and lose footing on what I leave behind as I flee.

 

[Thomas]

Dang...

 

[oosik]

We have the Timber rattler and Western rattlesnake here. I've never seen either- on my property - in the 40+ years I've been out here. That's just super fine with me. I'm still "on alert" when busting around in my brush stands.

 

[EddieWalker]

A few years ago we where over run with snakes. They where so bad that you couldn't stand on the driveway without one coming down it. Sitting on the back porch, they would come across the lawn. Our dogs where killing them, we where shooting them, and they just kept coming. I think we killed around 50 that year. I know I got 24 myself.

Then we had a pregnant cat show up and have her babies. Then another cat showed up and she had some more babies. In about a year, we had 20 cats!!! They ate all the mice, which where feeding on the chicken food, and bringing in the snakes. No more mice, no more snakes. Almost no snakes. We still have a few, but now it's just a couple a year.

Same thing with mowing out on the land. I was never able to get all of it mowed before, and I usually saw a snake somewhere while out there, but since getting the 12 foot batwing, and being able to mow everything a couple times a year, I haven't seen a single snake while mowing. It's very odd to go from snakes everywhere, to not seeing very many at all.

 

[ponytug]

A few years ago we where over run with snakes. They where so bad that you couldn't stand on the driveway without one coming down it. Sitting on the back porch, they would come across the lawn. Our dogs where killing them, we where shooting them, and they just kept coming. I think we killed around 50 that year. I know I got 24 myself.

Then we had a pregnant cat show up and have her babies. Then another cat showed up and she had some more babies. In about a year, we had 20 cats!!! They ate all the mice, which where feeding on the chicken food, and bringing in the snakes. No more mice, no more snakes. Almost no snakes. We still have a few, but now it's just a couple a year.

Same thing with mowing out on the land. I was never able to get all of it mowed before, and I usually saw a snake somewhere while out there, but since getting the 12 foot batwing, and being able to mow everything a couple times a year, I haven't seen a single snake while mowing. It's very odd to go from snakes everywhere, to not seeing very many at all.

Yup! That's why we have cats. Our neighbor across the street doesn't and he is in a constant battle with rattlesnakes. We had a cat that loved to play with rattlesnakes (!).

We use cows as mowers since a big chunk of the property is not mowable due to slopes of 45+ degrees. My Power-trac can mow to about 30 degrees, but gopher holes or a rock are good for an adrenaline rush.

All the best,

Peter

 

[oosik]

Beside the rattle snakes we have one very unusual snake. A rubber boa. I see one almost every year. About two feet long - shiny, steely gray color - about big around as your thumb. They eat bugs and move about as slow as molasses. Lying out in the lawn around my tool shed.

The head is shaped like a fine Cuban cigar. The tail is blunted and rounded off. I keep a sharp eye out for this one. Will move him to already mowed area so he doesn't get hurt.

I've had barn cats too. At times - close to a dozen. But - slowly but surely - the hawks by day - the owls and coyotes by night. I haven't had barn cats for over ten years now.

 

[lman]

All we have around here are harmless garter snakes like the one pictured. They do reduce the mouse population.

 

[Jstpssng]

All we have around here are harmless garter snakes like the one pictured. They do reduce the mouse population.

Not as much as people think. I mentioned this to a biologist once and he told me that they really don't eat many mice.

 

[Hay Dude]

I hate snakes, but all the snakes in our area are beneficial in that they are non-poisonous and kill rodents which carry diseases, but still don’t like them. We even have black snakes, which I believe eat other snakes.

 

[ponytug]

Not as much as people think. I mentioned this to a biologist once and he told me that they really don't eat many mice.

I believe that they feed on newborn mice in nests, rather than adults, though they are more of an insectivorous and a consumer of young amphibians.

Garter snake | Habitat, Diet, & Facts | Britannica

Garter snake, any of about 35 species of nonvenomous snakes having a striped pattern suggesting a garter: typically, one or three longitudinal yellow to red stripes, between which are checkered blotches. Forms in which the stripes are obscure or lacking are often called grass snakes.

www.britannica.com

The rattlesnakes here prey on ground squirrels by raiding the babies.

Still, there is nothing like a badger for making a dent in ground squirrel populations.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Jstpssng]

I believe that they feed on newborn mice in nests, rather than adults, though they are more of an insectivorous and a consumer of young amphibians.

Garter snake | Habitat, Diet, & Facts | Britannica

Garter snake, any of about 35 species of nonvenomous snakes having a striped pattern suggesting a garter: typically, one or three longitudinal yellow to red stripes, between which are checkered blotches. Forms in which the stripes are obscure or lacking are often called grass snakes.

www.britannica.com

The rattlesnakes here prey on ground squirrels by raiding the babies.

Still, there is nothing like a badger for making a dent in ground squirrel populations.

All the best,

Peter

I wondered if they went after the babies. Just before posting I did a quick search, information I found agreed with what the biologist had said.

We had a heavy mouse population last year. In late fall I started noticing a lot of fox scat in my field. Hopefully the mouse population was reduced... especially since she killed most of my hens one day last summer.