Reptile & Amphibian Forums

(Well that's if you live in the South East)
I'm currently overseas, but my wife called me today to share this information with me: Yesterday, it was a cold, cloudy day in North Carolina (ANY temp under 75 is considered cold for most snakes here in NC). The high temp only reached 67 and now it was (15 Nov), 7pm and 61 degrees (she always checks the temps) and my wife was heading to Wal-mart, and about a half mile from our house (we live out in the country), she thought she'd seen a snake on the road. Being married to me for 22 years, she has developed a habit of turning the car around, like I do, to confirm any possible hunches. Well, this time it wasn't a stick, but a real live young cornsnake. I have to be honest when I say this, but, well, first of all, I wouldn't have turned around. There's no way a snake of any kind would come out on a crappy day as that,lol. Well, my wife has always believed anything is possible, so she turned around and proved me wrong! I can say this: I have found hundreds of cornsnakes in the wild during my time field herping and living in the southeast for over 20 years, but never have I found one when it was this cool! I just thought it was kind of unique. Maybe the poor little thing got plowed up out of the field he was coming from? Or an animal dug him up by accident? He is a lucky survivor (around 2 years old according to the wife), and just to assist in his time of need (I usually let nature take its' course unless I think man has interferred, which I think "he" has) I told my wife to let him brumate with one of my other WC corns from the same county... At least this way he'll make it through winter, without being flattened by cars or killed by the weather... My wife said she'll take some pics of him so I can post them ....
Anyone else ever seen a "corn-in-the-cold" (not quite like a corn-on-the-cob, lol! Early Thanksgiving humor)
???

Zee
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"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

Well, that's kind of funny (weird). I live in the soutwest part of NC (Murphy), also in the country, and the day before yesterday I was on my way to town and could've sworn I saw a small snake in the road but I was going too fast & didn't turn around to see, like I usually do. It was in an area that had no trees hanging over or near the road so I ruled out the likelihood of it being a limb/branch.

On my way home I was on the lookout for it but didn't see it. Of course, it wasn't quite as cool that day as it was yesterday, though. But it was still pretty cool.

With this crazy weather we've had I don't think the snakes have taken shelter yet. Several years ago my wife caught a copperhead in the woods about the 1st or 2nd week of December. And it was cold that day. That's quite an amusing story I'll have to share in the "Venomous" forum one of these days.

Take care!
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

Im from North Alabama..Anyways on Oct. 1, we had a cold front, and it was a cool cloudy day, and I found an adult female out in the road at dusk, on Nov. 9 I was comming home, it was late at night and about 40 ish somthing degrees maybe, when I saw what I thought was a snake, I turned around to see a flopping adult male cornsnake ! Also that night, After that I caught a black rat, black king..strange to see them at night, and two copperheads, and TONS of Dor snakes, for what reason ? I do not know.

WOW! Your wife caught a copperhead??? That itself is a story, since most women won't even touch a nonvenemous snake. Here's a pic my brave wife holding "Big John" when he was a 6'2" (Eastern Kingsnake - the big brute died at 6'5"!). He had a habit of biting rarely ,but unexpectedly - and when he got a hold of you, boy you'd know it, lol!

Zee

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"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

I as well live in NC. I live in cleveland county.. more on the south western side..(1 hr from charlotte) We have a lot of farms around here and fields. Last week it was around 65 deg on mon. I found a black rat snake and a smaller corn on the same peice of tin behing a barn sunning themselves. Wish i had a cam.. 2 rat snakes co-existing side by side.
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My herps..
0.0.9 amel hatchling corns
1.1 reverse okeetees
1.0 normal corn
1.0 Anery
1.2 Amel corn
0.1 Jasper county Okettee
2.0 American alligator
0.1 Copperhead
0.0.2 Timber rattlesnakes
2.3 black rat snakes
1.1 Eastern box turtles
0.1 shtc leopard Gecko
0.1 Red tal boa

whats with the sexism?!!!! I am a woman and I am more into the snakes than any of the guys that I know.
Just teasing you.
Although I do agree that many women are not into creepy crawlies. I just happen to be the exeption to the majority of those "Most women..." things.
Hey, Eve must have liked snakes as well, or how else would the snake have talked into picking that apple!!!
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****Misty****

www.sneakyserpents.com

"Time flies when you can't remember what you did yesterday!"

Too Many Snakes to count or List!

LOL, correct you are. Remember, I DID say MOST women, lol!

But THIS event made me love my wife even more: I remember one evening we found the biggest rattlesnake crossing a highway (in South Texas), that I've ever seen. He was so big that my wife begged me not to pick "this one" up. He was way too big she said. Well, I had to (pick this one up), and when I tried to, I had trouble picking him up and my wife, waiting patiently in the truck noticed me struggling with it, so she hopped out and grabbed the back of the rattlesnake and actually helped me stuff it into the bag! Talk about TRUE GRIT!!! I was in shock! This was the same woman that when I first dated her used to run and scream at just a picture of a snake! If that ain't true love, then I don't know what is . . . . Now I know I married the right one!
Oh, when i got home I weighed & measured that beast: 11 lbs, and 74" and he had fangs that were almost an inch long!!!
To this day, he's still the heaviest snake I ever found in the wild.

Zee
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"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

....and it had better be her last.

****A word of caution - Please do not try this at home!****

This story is funny, now, but it sure wasn't at the time.

It was the 1st or 2nd week of December of '97 in southwest NC (Murphy area). Temperature was around mid 50's. My wife decided she wanted a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, you know, one of those litle scraggly but cute trees found in the woods.

I'm in the pasture shooting my bow and my wife takes off into the woods. About 30 minutes later I hear her calling my name and I saw her a few hundred yards away, holding something up in her right hand. I couldn't hear what she was saying so I started walking towards her to meet her half way.

When I got closer to her I saw she was holding a snake but I couldn't tell what kind, yet. She said, "I got you something!" as she held the snake up, holding it behind its head. I could then see what it was.

"What are you doing with that?" I asked her, in a mad-like tone, like a parent asks a child what they're doing with a cigarette lighter.

"I thought you wanted one," she said.

"I don't want that! And you ain't got no business messin' with it!" I told her.

"But you've been saying you wanted one," she said.

"I don't want that, that's a copperhead!" I told her.

She holds the snake out in front of her with her arm fully extended, starts trying to back away from it but she's still got a hold of it. The whole time she's say, "Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!" ***** PANIC TIME***** (Its funny as heck, now, but it sure wasn't then.)

I asked her, "What did you think it was?"

"A rattlesnake," she said.

I said, "Rattlesnake, copperhead. What's the difference? They're both venomous."

I was mad as all get it about her taking the chance to catch it, and she knew I was mad, too.

"What am I going to do with it?" she asked.

"Let it go!" I told her.

"What if it bites me?"

"Now's a fine time to be worrying about that," I told her. "Just toss it on the ground a few feet away from you & it will take off."

She did & it slowly crawled away. She was a nervous wreck for several minutes afterwards.

What happened is she had seen me catch several Eastern Diamond Backs when we lived in FL. I had told her that one of these days I'd like to keep one because I had one several years before I met her. She thought she had me an early Christmas present.

My wife grew up here in NC, around plenty of copperheads and plenty of scary old wives'tales about them. There are very few rattlesnakes in this area so what she knew about them she learned from me, while we lived in FL. She knew good and well that they are dangerous but watching me, she saw that they can be managed (caught & relocated) and there's no reason to fear them as long as the right precautions are taken. (Please do not try this at home!)

Once I finally got over my mad spell I got her to show me how she caught the copperhead. She did everything right and I was impressed, but still upset with her.

She's caught several corns,black rats and a few others since then but not another copperhead or any other venomous snake. I think she learned a valuable lesson. She likes reptiles and even holds my big Burmese Pythons while I clean their cages but she doesn't have as much passion for them as me & my son.

I've noticed these days there are a lot more females like xblackheart, Sonya and several others here that are into reptiles than there were 20 - 30 years ago. Back then I only knew of a few that were intrigued by them, thought they were neat, but still wanted nothing to do with them. They wouldn't dare hold them and very few would even touch one.

Welcome, ladies! Glad to have you on board. Guys, if you're blessed with a lady that likes reptiles, count your blessings. I'm grateful for my better half!

Ya'll take care!
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

Well Mike, I guess if she was going to make a mistake like that, better a copperhead then a Timber Rattler. And I have to agree, those of us that have snake friendly wives, are pretty lucky indeed.

Steve

That's funny, but sounds like you have a very brave wife! Thank you for sharing that story.
I once did something even more stupid than that. I had an adult, female Eastern King that didn't like mice, so it was time to feed her. I live next to a swamp, so it was time to grab another watersnake,lol. I had to hurry since it was getting dark. As soon as I got to the creek, there he was: A 2.5 foot banded watersnake swimming slowly into the creek. I ran up to it, he sensed me and high-tailed it under some overhanging weeds at the edge of the creek. I quickly grabbed him at mid body, so he wouldn't get away (and maybe crawl into a hole in the bank) and pulled him out of the weeds. Then I saw it (yes even in twilight you can't miss it): The white stripe running down the side of his face and the skinny neck, triangle shaped head and copperhead-like pattern! I'm holding a wild, young adult cottonmouth at mid-body!!! Like that song says: What was I thinking!!! I threw that sucker back into the creek as quickly as I could and thanked God that I didn't get nailed!!! Yes, I've been nailed once by a Western Diamondback and spent four days in the hospital and it wasn't fun, lol!

Zee
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"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

sounds like me... i was catching baby turtles when i was younger- you know for pets and then the parents would make you throw them back after a day. well, i caught a baby snake one day while netting baby turtles...i was soooo happy that i walked home with the turtles and snake in my bucket!!! the snake was just a hatchling, and it came from the water, so i thought it was just a water snake... when i got home and showed it to my dad he flipped!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH A COTTONMOUTH!?!?!?!? huh??
but its so cute!!! it couldnt hurt a fly!!! i reached in the grab it and my dad told me to let it outside and dont touch it. so much for my lil pet... i was bummed, but he wanted me to be safe. i still remember the lil thing...he had to be about 5 or 7 inches long. VERY cute. but then again when your in middle school, everything is cute.
~kin
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SNAKIES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corns:
.1 Normal (Gertrude) [just a pet...she started it all]
1. Orange normal (Romeo)
1.2 Miami Phase (Hector, Emily, Charlotte) thanks jeff!
2. Miami Phase part zigzag (Starkey, Mcvitty)[Emilys F2]
1. Amel het Blizzard (Dunesbury) .1 Blizzard (Detta)
1. Classic het Hypo, poss het Amel, Anery (Cobra)
1.1 Classics (Henry VIII, Cassy) [Emilys F1 babies]
.1 Amel (Pepperoni) .1 Reverse Okeetee (Lonna)
1.1 Hypo zig zags poss HET Caramel (Bernard, Abegail)
.1 Hypo HET Stripe (Gracie Lou) 1. Hypo Stripe (Gideon)
1.1 Anery HET Motley (Lleroy, Persia)
.1 Candy Cane (Peaches HoneyBlossom) [Just a pet]
1. Abbotts Okeetee (Albert) [Charlottes son]
1.1 Snow (Crickle, Isis) .1 Green Snow (Maya)
1. Caramel poss het butter (Topher)
.1 Anery stripe (V) [husbands snake...he named it]

Others:
1.1 Black rats (Willard, Cecily)
1.1 Striped Cal Kings (Dweezil, Skunky)
1. High-white Reverse Spotted Cal King (Wishbone)
.1 Albino Stripe Cal King (Eve)
.1 Bananna spotted/stripe cal king (no name) Thanks Jeff!!!
1.1 Thayeri (Giuseppe[MSP], Cheyenne)
1.1 Creamsicle HET Motley(Orangejello, Genevieve)
1. Creamsicle motley (no name) Thanks Jimmy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~LEOPARD GECKOS~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Normal het Midnight Blizzard (Mr. Spot)
.1 Blizzard (Blitz)
.1? unknown High yellow and brown spots... (no name)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~TURTLES~~~~~~~~~~~~
.1 white cheeked mud (Opel)
.1 snapping turtle (no name, ideas welcome)
~~~~~~~~~~~~OTHER~~~~~~~~~~~~
0.0.1 American toad

That's pretty funny. Good thing you didn't have to find out the "hard" way, lol!

Zee
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"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

How did we get off topic, going from "cold" to "women"?

Nope! Not me! I'm not going there!!!

Ya'll take care!
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

AWW THATS SOOO SWEET!!! i think i'm more tom-boyish but i'm still woman... and the only woman who works for the tow company.... also the only person out of about 20 in the whole lot who arent afraid of snakes!!! we have protected marshlands behind my work and i was tempted to go back there yesterday to see if i saw anything getting ready to sleep for the winter... a couple of the guys said "there are copperheads back there o i wouldnt go back there if i was you" i told them, i'm not afraid... they are just as scared of you as YOU are of them. plus its getting chilly and they just wanna find a place to sleep. now they think of me as one of the guys...
~kin
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SNAKIES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corns:
.1 Normal (Gertrude) [just a pet...she started it all]
1. Orange normal (Romeo)
1.2 Miami Phase (Hector, Emily, Charlotte) thanks jeff!
2. Miami Phase part zigzag (Starkey, Mcvitty)[Emilys F2]
1. Amel het Blizzard (Dunesbury) .1 Blizzard (Detta)
1. Classic het Hypo, poss het Amel, Anery (Cobra)
1.1 Classics (Henry VIII, Cassy) [Emilys F1 babies]
.1 Amel (Pepperoni) .1 Reverse Okeetee (Lonna)
1.1 Hypo zig zags poss HET Caramel (Bernard, Abegail)
.1 Hypo HET Stripe (Gracie Lou) 1. Hypo Stripe (Gideon)
1.1 Anery HET Motley (Lleroy, Persia)
.1 Candy Cane (Peaches HoneyBlossom) [Just a pet]
1. Abbotts Okeetee (Albert) [Charlottes son]
1.1 Snow (Crickle, Isis) .1 Green Snow (Maya)
1. Caramel poss het butter (Topher)
.1 Anery stripe (V) [husbands snake...he named it]

Others:
1.1 Black rats (Willard, Cecily)
1.1 Striped Cal Kings (Dweezil, Skunky)
1. High-white Reverse Spotted Cal King (Wishbone)
.1 Albino Stripe Cal King (Eve)
.1 Bananna spotted/stripe cal king (no name) Thanks Jeff!!!
1.1 Thayeri (Giuseppe[MSP], Cheyenne)
1.1 Creamsicle HET Motley(Orangejello, Genevieve)
1. Creamsicle motley (no name) Thanks Jimmy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~LEOPARD GECKOS~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Normal het Midnight Blizzard (Mr. Spot)
.1 Blizzard (Blitz)
.1? unknown High yellow and brown spots... (no name)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~TURTLES~~~~~~~~~~~~
.1 white cheeked mud (Opel)
.1 snapping turtle (no name, ideas welcome)
~~~~~~~~~~~~OTHER~~~~~~~~~~~~
0.0.1 American toad

Sounds like my wife, tom-boyish but still feminine, comfortable with being "one of the guys" and not afraid to out do them.

By the way, my wife says, "You go, girl!"

Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

I was hunting during late November while still in High School and came across a small black rat snake that was poking his head out of a hole at the base of a dead tree and there was a dusting of snow on the ground!!

Wow, that is interesting and I do believe you. Thanks for sharing. Just curious: What state (and what part of it), were you living in. I remember a couple of (creditable) guys mentioning to me that they had seen garter snakes crawl over snow drifts on "warmer" days in December up in Minnesota, and upstate NY. But NOT in January (yet).

Zee
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"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

I live in Hanover County, VA. 25 miles north of Richmond.

N/m
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"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-