Is there a herpetologist or -phile in the house?

haha, I was just kidding... I stay away from all of them. Damned garden snake will still bite. I did have a rather close encounter with something that looked really really nasty golfing in the South Carolina swamps/intercoastals.

Tam, you should feel guilty about not throwing yourself on the snake and killing it. (p.s. no snakes in Hawaii)

 

Nah, it wasn't acting hostile toward me or Madeline. So I chose not to engage.

I figure it probably nearly peed itself too. :grin:

Quoting the link Jon gave: " Like most Masticophis this snake will strike repeatedly and bite viciously when threatened or handled. "

 

Sometimes head shape can also fool you.

A few examples...

Viper Boa,


Solomon Island boa,


Amazon Tree Boa, (this species can be very diverse in color and pattern)


Red Tail Boa, (this is a brazillian)


Another popular misconception has to do with the pupils, Some people say/think that if a snakes pupil is a slit that its venomous and round pupil is non venomous. Here is a quote from http://www.kentuckysnakes.org/how2.cfm "An easy method of telling the difference between a venomous or poisonous versus a non-poisonous snake is to look at the shape of the pupil. Non-poisonous snakes all have a round pupil (in the center of the eye) whereas all poisonous snakes have a vertical elliptical (cat-like) shaped pupil." This too can be very misleading. Considering snakes do NOT have eye lids that have the ability to expand and contract their pupils to control the amount of light it lets in,for example...

The Gaboon Viper (personal favorite)

With its pupil closed,


And pupil open,


Ok for a non venomous we have a Borneo Blood Python,

Pupil open


Pupil closed

 

boas and pythons are still dangerous and can be very aggressive, thus the diamond head would still remain true. i didnt mean just poisonous.

 

Steve, they can be dangerousfor someone who does not know what they are doing, or people who abuse the snakes, and neglect (this holds true for all pets)

Nothing dangerous about my Python (haha this ones for you Jon)

 

if your python hadnt eaten for a month, it to would be very dangerous haha.

 

Someone once asked me if a snake would bite, so I asked them if it had a mouth. Anything with a mouth can and will bite, I however would rather get bitten by a non venomous snake then I would a dog or cat!

You should get back into snakes Ron, Things have changed a lot since that picture was taken! btw Burms are to small

Try a retic!

 

lol, yeah, a bite is a bite......

somehow i would rather get bitten by this:



than this:



not to mention the vast amount of disease that snakes carry.

 

By the time you can see their pupils it's a bit too late isn't it? Or is that just so you can say "yup, I'm going to die".

 

haha yup, Casper was right around 11 feet in that picture.

A friend of mine back then had several Reticks, the longest was 24' if I remember correctly. haha Took 8 of us to move her out of the cage for cleaning. lol

I have been thinking about getting another snake...

 

Ok before I start on this one let me say IM NOT trying to start a fight. Comparing a 20+ foot snake to what looks like a beagle is not the fairest of comparisons even though the teeth are about the same size. Also snakes are not known for having jaw pressure, the only use their teeth to grab on to an animal so they can wrap around it to suffocate it. Disease and reptiles 101, Snakes and all other reptiles are COLD blooded and the only thing other then venom any reptile can spread to a warm blooded mammal would be salmonella. With all that said I'd still rather be bitten by a snake then a dog or cat, Most snakes that are under 10 feet generally have teeth about this size...

Most of your venomous snakes would take several hours to kill you excluding the top ten most toxic that are native to Australlia which could kill you in less then an hour.

Retics can be a handfull thats for sure, Biggest one I've ever handled alone was 18 feet but really under weight. I would love to get another Retic but with my 3 year old daughter running around its not a great idea for now. I have been seriously considering some of the new dwarf retic's they are breeding now.

 

I thought about getting a little ball python, but now that I have Madeline, no reptiles until she's much older or out of the house. I do miss my iguana...

 

Ball pythons around babies aren't that big of a deal honestly, I had my niece holding ball pythons when she was 2 years old. Given the proper cage there would be nothing to worry about at all for even the most nervous mom's. Right now my 3 year old daughter is exposed to my blood pythons in a controlled scenario and they are much larger then ball pythons. If you are nervous about it though then it might be better to wait.

 

Oh I'm not so worried about them hurting her as I am about her hurting them. She's a bit of a destructive force.

 

HAHAHA...that's what I was thinking.