Toilet snake attack: urban legend comes true?

[mjncad]

I've always been fascinated by snakes, I've caught many over the years (Arizona was fun). The largest was a 5 1/2 foot black snake (for Connecticut that's huge).

What kind of snakes are they mjncad?

In spite of liking snakes, finding one the hard way (see op) is most undesirable.

I have no idea what they are Irwin. Most people in the area I've shown the photos to think they are bull snakes. The large one looked like it could be a rattler; but I didn't see or hear rattles. It wasn't happy being caught, that much I can tell you. I actually watched it enter the basement as I was working in the shop. It just came right through the fiberglass insulation on the rim joist. After getting rid of the snake, I pulled the insulation down and found a nice big gap to the outside where the snake and the mice came in. I covered the gap with plywood to keep the critters out.

 

[tallyho8]

Yesterday when I went to my garage to get my lawn mower out, there was a 4' speckled king snake lying behind it. I've handled many king snakes before so I didn't hesitate to take a small stick to gently move him out the way. When I touched him he coiled up and started shaking the tip of his tail real fast like a rattlesnake does.

This action caused me to jump back and pause a moment while I tried to remember if there is any poisonous snake that resembles a speckled king snake. Not recalling any others, I removed him and put him outside but it really amazed me how a dumb animal can have defense mechanisms such as pretending to be a rattlesnake to scare off predators.

 

[farmboy12]

I've always been fascinated by snakes, I've caught many over the years (Arizona was fun). The largest was a 5 1/2 foot black snake (for Connecticut that's huge).

What kind of snakes are they mjncad?

In spite of liking snakes, finding one the hard way (see op) is most undesirable.

I saw a 6ft black snake yesterday. That's about as big as they get here. I would have grabbed it and played with it, but I don't touch any live snakes longer than my height.


Kyle

 

[Travelover]

............. When I touched him he coiled up and started shaking the tip of his tail real fast like a rattlesnake does.

This action caused me to jump back and pause a moment while I tried to remember if there is any poisonous snake that resembles a speckled king snake. Not recalling any others, I removed him and put him outside but it really amazed me how a dumb animal can have defense mechanisms such as pretending to be a rattlesnake to scare off predators.

Kingsnake Facts

Another defense the Kingsnakes use, is to rattle their tails. The belief of why they do this, is to mimic a rattle snake sound while they're in leaf clutter. My Albino California Kingsnake rattles her tail every time I try to pick her up, so it's not hard to imagine walking up on a hidden kingsnake rattling it's tail and maybe just leaving it be because it MIGHT be a rattlesnake.

Good to have around

Kingsnakes get their name because of the fact they eat other snakes. They are thought to be immune to the venom of some viper species, such as rattlesnakes, and copperheads. It is known that they will eat these snakes if given the chance.

 

[RalphVa]

One of the times when we lived in Singapore, the Straits Times told about a guy getting bitten on his scrotum by a python. There were 2 days of articles. The first article told how the ex-olympian tennis star used the Ladies room at a local tennis court. Guess there was nothing for it to bite when the ladies sat there. He got bitten on his balls for his trouble, and on his hand in trying to get the thing off.

Next day was the story with pictures showing workers getting the snake out of the toilet. Took them a while and a lot of effort. The thing was about 6 or 8 feet long.

Ralph