Monday, May 10, 2010

Good Snakes, Bad Snakes.


I know that there are snake people out there that think all snakes are good snakes. So if you're one of those folks, you may just want to look at the nice picture of the huge gopher snake (a good snake) and then stop there...

This is going to be a bad year for rattlesnakes (bad snakes). We've already had two encounters this year and one was a very close call for me. I'm still shocked I didn't get bit but the snake was pretty lethargic. It had probably just come out of hibernation. Lucky me, not so lucky for the snake. Last week a child was bitten by a rattlesnake at Lake Pardee. We found out that he was taken to the local hospital and then airlifted to UC Davis. Hopefully he'll be ok. Our local hospital treats an average of six people a year for rattlesnake bites. That's a lot more than I expected and I bet they get twice that this year.

3 comments:

  1. Glad you didn't get bitten. I like animals in general but stepping on a snake just wouldn't be a happy encounter. One of the teachers I used to work with had pythons. They occasionally bit the kids. When I was asked how I would remove the snake if it bit me I told them I'd hit his head on the cement wall first. They kind of kept the snakes away from me after that.

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  2. I like snakes. We get some pretty big garter snakes where I live. One time, I had a garage sale. It was up at the barn (more room) and one elderly lady was looking at things for sale inside the barn. As she exited the barn, a huge garter snake slithered between her feet. She let out a yelp and leaped really high in the air, and continued yelping and leaping all the way out of the barn. For an old broad, she was really spry, and she got a lot of air with each leap. After she left, I and the other garage salers laughed until we cried.

    One time, I was lying on a chaise longue in the sun and I saw this bright iridescent green snake coming toward me through the tall grass. He came right up to the chaise and reared up to peek at me over the grass. I told him he was a pretty boy, and he stayed upright, peering at me for the longest time before finally leaving. I wish I knew what kind of snake he was. I've never seen one so bright green.

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  3. woww you've got lots of dangerous ones too up there !
    We do have here (in Australia in the Blue Mountains NSW) some brown snakes and black snakes... they say to stay away from brown bcos they are agressive and wouldn't be scared to attack if you see one, however the blacks ones...eventhough both could be leathel for children... are the more shy types.
    Thanks for sharing your interesting snake Amy :)

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