BIRMINGHAM NEWS (Alabama) 10 May 08 While snakes can benefit humans, beware the venomous varieties
According to Dr. Jim Armstrong, wildlife specialist at Auburn University, your son is in a fairly large group of people (especially kids). Here are some facts you can tell him to impress him - and to encourage him to keep his distance.
The mysterious and sometimes frightening behavior of snakes has resulted in many myths about these legless reptiles. In many of these myths, the snake's tongue and tail are said to have stinging capabilities. In reality, snakes use their tongues to help identify prey and other surrounding objects. In many ways, a snake flicking its tongue is like a dog sniffing the air. It uses the chemicals in the air and on the objects it touches to help identify potential food sources, enemies and other objects in its environment.
The tail of a snake is not a poisonous stinger. Some snakes, if held, will push the tip of the tail against your hand. However, it will not break the skin and there is no danger. When threatened, many snakes vibrate the tail rapidly. If the snake is on dry leaves, this sound may be similar to that produced by a rattlesnake.
Many snake myths are comical, such as the myth about the hoop snake (a name applied to rainbow snakes and mud snakes) and the coachwhip snake. As you might guess, the hoop snake is reported to take its tail in its mouth and roll after an intended victim in hula hoop fashion. When the victim is overtaken, the hoop snake is said to use its tail as a deadly stinger.
The coachwhip snake is said to chase a person and use its tail to whip them to death. While there is an Alabama snake called the coachwhip, it is non-poisonous and does not use its tail as a whip. While nothing will guarantee that you never meet up with a snake, there are some things that can be done to reduce the chances of a snake showing up around your home.
Some snakes, like copperheads, are fond of using old rock or wood piles as shelter and feeding areas. In addition, brush and trash piles provide habitat for snakes and rodents. Given these facts, keeping old piles of debris cleaned up around your home reduces the shelter for snakes and their food sources. This will reduce the likelihood of snakes being present.
Turfgrass lawns are poor snake habitat. A well-maintained yard without high weeds eliminates much of the cover or shelter snakes may be searching for. In addition, the mowed yard increases your ability to see a large snake should it enter the area. Snakes are less likely to be found when large dogs have the run of the premises. However, dogs are not a guarantee that snakes will not show up.
Many people wish a magical powder could be sprinkled around to keep snakes away. While several chemicals have been tested, their effectiveness varies greatly. If you use a chemical snake repellent, you should be cautious. The product may not be effective.
While expensive to erect, a snake-proof fence may keep non-climbing snakes out of an area. These fences should slant away from the home or dwelling at an angle of about 30 degrees and be constructed of small mesh hardware cloth. The bottom of the screen should be buried in the ground approximately 2 to 4 inches.
On average, about one person dies from a snake bite in Alabama every 10 years. This indicates that much of the fear over snakes is not justified. Try to learn to identify poisonous and non-poisonous snakes, so you will know when there is a danger. Most snakes are beneficial and desirable to have around.
Since snakes are helpful to humans, as well as being a part of our natural environment, it is important that we learn to distinguish poisonous and nonpoisonous varieties.
There are several general rules that are useful in field identification. Five of the six poisonous snakes native to Alabama are in the pit viper group. Pit vipers get their name from the presence of pits on both sides of the face between the eye and nostril. These pits are used to detect heat and improve the snakes' accuracy in striking warm-blooded prey. Pit vipers have vertical or "cat-like" pupils, thin necks and heavy bodies.
While all pit vipers have wide, triangular heads, some non-poisonous snakes share this characteristic. Pit vipers are also characterized by having retractable, hollow fangs near the front of the mouth. All pit vipers give birth to their young. This group includes the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, timber rattlesnake, pigmy rattlesnake, copperhead and cottonmouth.
The sixth poisonous snake native to Alabama is the coral snake. This fairly small, secretive relative of the cobra has black and red rings separated by yellow rings, and a black snout. Unlike the pit viper, the coral snake has a small head, round pupils, and a slender body.
The Alabama's non-poisonous snakes also have round pupils and small heads. Another distinguishing characteristic of all non-poisonous snakes is the double row of scales on the underside of the tail. All of the pit vipers have a single row of scales. However, like non-poisonous snakes, the coral snake has a double row.
If you find a shed snake skin, you can look at the underside of the tail and determine if the skin was shed by a pit viper, or by a non-poisonous snake or coral snake.
While snakes can benefit humans, beware the venomous varieties