PEAX Equipment

Snake stories

Timely.
I went to town and found 2 gopher(bull) snakes and a king in the road. The 2 got away when I stopped but caught the king. Put it in a tool bucket.
A mile down the road there was a little Mojave green. He coiled up and hissed/struck at me as I drove by...all one foot of him.
Another mile away I came across 2ft. prairie rattler near the cattle guard. He went into the pit and as I drove over it the whole thing was buzzing...looked out my window and there was a half dozen in there buzzing away.

I let the king loose near a woodpile when I got home.
 
I have 6-10 snakes I take care of work. I usually have a black rat snake, a bull snake, a hognose snake, a fox snake, a milk snake and 1-3 timber rattle snakes and occasionally a rando snake that I think is cool.

A few years ago I was cleaning the cage of the black rat snake just after we opened to the public, 8 am or so. When I clean the rat snakes cage I just put him on the ground and he’s free to do his thing. This one was 8’ long. He doesn’t go far. Past the cage is a gift shop and a few offices and a small meeting room. The snake is stretched out across the path to the gift shop. About 8:10 a group of 7 women and 1 guy walk in. I did not recognize any of the ladies, but I just glanced out of the corner of my eye. They are dressed nicely but not of the ordinary for a group of women on a girls weekend. The guy is dressed in street clothes, but he’s of a muscular build. He is in back of the women and the last one in the building. All off the women go directly to the gift shop stepping over and not noticing the 8’ black rat snake they stepped over. The guy walks to the snake, stops, points down at the snake and says, “Governor, did you see this?” This perks my attention and I immediately notice one of the women is the governor of Iowa. She looks to see what the guy is pointing at. Upon realizing she just stepped over a 8’ snake she runs to meeting room, slams the door and locks it. The guy, her security guard, about loses it hysterically laughing. She did not come back out until I had the snake put away.
 
Gellar said:
I have 6-10 snakes I take care of work. I usually have a black rat snake, a bull snake, a hognose snake, a fox snake, a milk snake and 1-3 timber rattle snakes and occasionally a rando snake that I think is cool.

A few years ago I was cleaning the cage of the black rat snake just after we opened to the public, 8 am or so. When I clean the rat snakes cage I just put him on the ground and he’s free to do his thing. This one was 8’ long. He doesn’t go far. Past the cage is a gift shop and a few offices and a small meeting room. The snake is stretched out across the path to the gift shop. About 8:10 a group of 7 women and 1 guy walk in. I did not recognize any of the ladies, but I just glanced out of the corner of my eye. They are dressed nicely but not of the ordinary for a group of women on a girls weekend. The guy is dressed in street clothes, but he’s of a muscular build. He is in back of the women and the last one in the building. All off the women go directly to the gift shop stepping over and not noticing the 8’ black rat snake they stepped over. The guy walks to the snake, stops, points down at the snake and says, “Governor, did you see this?” This perks my attention and I immediately notice one of the women is the governor of Iowa. She looks to see what the guy is pointing at. Upon realizing she just stepped over a 8’ snake she runs to meeting room, slams the door and locks it. The guy, her security guard, about loses it hysterically laughing. She did not come back out until I had the snake put away.
Click to expand...
It’s sound decision making like this that has made Kim such a remarkable leader for our great state for so many years!
 
Gellar said:
I have 6-10 snakes I take care of work. I usually have a black rat snake, a bull snake, a hognose snake, a fox snake, a milk snake and 1-3 timber rattle snakes and occasionally a rando snake that I think is cool.

A few years ago I was cleaning the cage of the black rat snake just after we opened to the public, 8 am or so. When I clean the rat snakes cage I just put him on the ground and he’s free to do his thing. This one was 8’ long. He doesn’t go far. Past the cage is a gift shop and a few offices and a small meeting room. The snake is stretched out across the path to the gift shop. About 8:10 a group of 7 women and 1 guy walk in. I did not recognize any of the ladies, but I just glanced out of the corner of my eye. They are dressed nicely but not of the ordinary for a group of women on a girls weekend. The guy is dressed in street clothes, but he’s of a muscular build. He is in back of the women and the last one in the building. All off the women go directly to the gift shop stepping over and not noticing the 8’ black rat snake they stepped over. The guy walks to the snake, stops, points down at the snake and says, “Governor, did you see this?” This perks my attention and I immediately notice one of the women is the governor of Iowa. She looks to see what the guy is pointing at. Upon realizing she just stepped over a 8’ snake she runs to meeting room, slams the door and locks it. The guy, her security guard, about loses it hysterically laughing. She did not come back out until I had the snake put away.
Click to expand...
Come on down here and getcha some of this !
1778722764628.png
 
Outlaw99 said:
After some hard thought on this subject; I just want to say that I would rather fill my sleeping bag with mice and all types of spiders, get in and zip it up before I’d so much as pick up a 4” garter snake with my hand
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I don’t care for snakes… I get the absolute heebie jeebies from mice and their little presents and stink they leave all over, so that’s a hard pass for me. I think I’d rather crawl into a sleeping bag with a couple garters… but I wouldn’t be happy about it
 
Big Sky Guy said:
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I love snakes. Saw the first bull snake of the year just last night while out walking to pick asparagus.

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Pretty sure they den somewhere around us. Pretty much every May I see one or two, a few years back they were all over. Caught 3 in like 15 minutes, I was like a kid in a candy store. Few days later I found 2 more, maybe they were the same ones idk.

View attachment 408098
Townsend also has melanistic (black) phase garter snakes. Lewis and Clark wrote about them in their journal. Had the perfect shirt on that day.

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Both times we’ve floated the Smith River I’ve seen and caught a nice bull snake. Probably the biggest bull snake I’ve caught. Also seen a garter eating a fish both times.
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Hard no. mtmuley
 
I am a ‘live and let live” when it comes to snakes. That said, if we could “kill them all and let god sort it out”, I am totally fine with that as well.
 
Reading this thread makes me relieved I live in the cold northern climes of Ontario. I do not like snakes. Thankfully we only have garter snakes, water snakes, and the occasional milk snake. We do have Massassauga rattlers in a few small areas of the province - I’ve seen one. Thankfully I live nowhere near those areas!

I will happily share the woods with bears rather than being on high alert for snakes.
 
Just had an experience.
Dotti's running around the house and porch after whatever and I'm about to start footings for steps. Been out with her for a couple hours.

Right in front of the temp. steps is a 3.5 foot Mohave green stretched out and headed for the woodpile from underneath the porch.
Dotti is after a lizard or sumtin 30 ft away.
I grab the flat shovel right there handy and dispatched that mother. Took and tossed it onto the woodpile ,with the shovel.
Then go over and save the baby horned toad Dotti is playing with. Sit down and the broken up rattler is moving on the woodpile.
Went over and almost cut the head off against a chunk. Sideways. Fang hanging out. 7 buttons,bright fresh green.

I would have never seen it in the orchard and only did by it contrasting against pine needles.

Dotti gets the scent of it on the pile and starts after it. I call NOO!!!!!
She comes over and starts sniffing the shovel. I clap to startle her. She moves off with nose to the ground pretty much catches the snake scent and tracks the ground to the porch....where a snake would move.
Went over and made sure and tossed it on top of the pile with the shovel. For the ravens.

These Mojave green are aggressive and deadly.
5th one I have killed around the house in 17 years.
I would have tossed it alive away pre dog years. No more with these most common.

And she had just had a close encounter with a Tarantula hawk at her water bucket...............kids.
 
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