Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I live in Bloomington IN and took my puppy to the dog park today. It is at the base of a dam with a good size lake behind it. There is a small creek with lots of rocks surrounding it by a smaller dam to cross over to the woods.

Ok, sorry had to set the story up. I was watching my pup play with other dogs as a guy and his girlfriend were cutting across the park to go hiking. The guy stopped to see my pup and I guess thought he would be cool by telling me he had killed a copperhead yesterday"right over there". He said he had to drop a big rock on it a few times but the third time"the head came plumb off". I just kept my mouth shut and didnt say anything. He walked off towards the small dam. I told the girl I was with that I was the last person to be telling that story.

Well when the d*ck got to the dam he started looking around. He yelled to me "here's the snake." I went over and it was barely sticking out from under a rock but was moving. From everything I know the pattern did not look right for a copperhead, but I still didn't say anything. He ask me and another guy if we wanted to help him kill another one. We both said no so he went on his way.

I still thought something was not right. I have no field herping experience and know most from just reading about every forum on here daily(work has it's slow times). So I went and got a large stick and managed to pull the snake out. And just as I thought it was a juvie black rat. It had a lot of pattern so had not started to darken like most do around here. And the best and worst part was that it had a bad injury around it's head. This was the same snake whose "head came plumb off". I moved the snake further off the path into the the rocks.

I was just happy that I could help the snake get away because of course the guy comes back with a stick. I walked over to him and told him I pulled the snake out and moved it. I told him it was not a copperhead and that it was a baby black rat snake. He seemed surprised and said"well do they bite?" I told him if you messed with it any snake would but this was harmless. I told him I had a couple at home as pets. He then went into how he just sees a snake and thinks kill it so no children get hurt. I told him snakes don't attack people and he hurt an innocent snake. Nothing was better than the look on his face knowing he looked like an a**.

I'm sure you have all had experiences like this but I was so happy to have atleast made this guy feel guilty for doing what he tried to do. I guess we can just educated them one at a time.

Here is trhe pup that put me in a position to tell this guy what was up.

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0.0.1 Amel Motley Corn (Cosmo '03)
0.1 Baird's ratsnake (Sugaree '04)
1.1 Shepherd mix (Dylan 5yrs, Porter 7 months)

damn those people piss me off. Can I say that on here?
Well, anyhow, I know how you feel. I deal with those people here too. Even harder when you see the kids out in front of the house looking around the canal for snakes to kill with thier sticks, when half the snakes out tehre I put there! If they werent kids I'd release a few rattlers out there and see if they come back again! lol
the snakes would thrive so well out here if it weren't for those kids and thier never ending need to kill them, along with all the frogs, and birds and whatever else they can find out here.
Least you got that snake out before he got to it again. You think it was going to survive? I've found snakes hit by cars out here, still alive, but died in a few days time. They dont take head beatings so well. Hope that one pulls through. And hope that guy changes his thoughts next time he see's a snake.
Must have been great to see that look on his face.