THE DAILY (Decatur, Alabama) 07 May 06 If you play with snakes, expect a bite - If you’ve moved close enough to see the shape of its head, you’re too close (Paul Stackhouse)
While eating lunch at a local restaurant this week, a young man walked over to my table and asked if I was Officer Stackhouse.
I'm asked the same question several times a week as I was the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer for the Decatur Police Department and the Decatur City School system for four of my 16 years in law enforcement.
"I am," I replied.
With a big smile on his face, he then asked if I remembered the snake incident at Frances Nungester Elementary.
"Oh, yes," I answered. "How could I forget it?"
He then told me he was the student who jumped up on top of the counter in the school office with two of the female custodians.
Every year about this time, I write a column asking people to use common sense when it comes to encounters with snakes. Many experts I have consulted over the years say most of the severe bites from poisonous snakes come as the result of someone messing with or trying to pick up the snake.
With warm weather across North Alabama, snakes are coming out of their winter dens in droves. Recently, near a small creek on the border of Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, I spotted 11 snakes as I walked the creek's edge for about an hour. Of the 11 snakes, only one was venomous. It was a water moccasin, which is also known as a cottonmouth.
I've seen what the bite of a cottonmouth can do to a person. One day, a gentleman who was bitten on the calf while fishing showed me where a softball size chunk of skin and muscle was missing. He said if he hadn't received medical attention promptly, his injury would have been a lot worse.
He said he wasn't playing with the snake, but he accidentally stepped on it and it bit him.
A good rule to identify venomous snakes in North Alabama is to look for a triangular head. The copperhead, rattlesnake and water moccasin have triangular heads. The only other venomous snake native to the United States is the coral snake, which doesn't have a triangular head. The coral snake is not native to North Alabama.
But keep in mind this bit of common sense: If you are close enough to a snake to see what shape head it has, you are too close.
Common sense tells us to keep a safe distance and there will be no chance of a dangerous encounter.
The episode I was asked about at an elementary school was an exception to the rule. The diamondback water snake, which isn't venomous but does have a nasty disposition and many very sharp teeth, was kept in an aquarium at the school for study purposes. Students used to enjoy feeding day when live minnows were placed in the aquarium. The water snake would promptly make a quick meal out of a few while saving the others for a later time.
On this particular day, I was asked to assist in cleaning the snake den. I was an outdoor writer and I guess this made me an expert to snake handling.
Not thinking this was a good idea, I agreed to join the adventure.
The snake handler in charge was wearing a thin leather glove on his right hand, and he gave me a thin cotton glove to put on my hand.
"I just need you for back-up," he said. "I do this all the time, but, I feel better having somebody else around in case something should go wrong. Hey, don't worry about it, nothing ever goes wrong — it's really routine."
On this particular day, cleaning the snake's aquarium was anything but routine.
Opening the lid and reaching in to pick up the snake, the chief handler wasn't expecting the water snake to make a sudden dart for freedom. He grabbed the creature about midway down its 14- to 16-inch body.
The snake immediately reached around and bit the handler on his gloved hand and held on. From the way the man was yelling, I could tell the glove was not helping much as he was begged me to take the snake, which I did.
Relieved, he told me to simply push the snake's head gently into the opening of a large pickle jar and it would go on in peacefully. Wrong! The diamondback water snake reversed its course out of the pickle jar with the head and teeth crawling into my thin cotton glove.
Instinctively, I threw the glove and snake to the floor. It was at that moment the students and custodians jumped onto the counter in the main office.
The snake attempted a swift getaway down the hall toward the school cafeteria that was approximately 15 feet away with no doors to stop the serpent from entering. It just so happened at the time that the entire first-grade class and some kindergarten students were eating in the cafeteria.
Wearing a uniform complete with gunbelt and a bulletproof vest, I knew my only option was to dive onto the snake, which I did. I swiftly stood up, and the snake was attached to my hand. So I quickly removed the needle-sharp teeth that were dug deeply into my skin. I then placed the snake into the pickle jar using my own special technique, which worked without a hitch.
Eventually, the aquarium was cleaned, and the snake was returned to its home. Every time I would walk by afterward, the snake would wheel its head into a striking position. It remembered me.
This was one instance where I had to push common sense aside and take a bite for the team. Ever since then, I utilize the common sense rule whether the snake is poisonous or not.
A lot of people I talk with say the only good snake is a dead snake.
Randomly killing snakes is uncalled for as they have a special place in our ecosystem. If we just stay away from them, they will do their best to stay away from us.
If you play with snakes, expect a bite