I received this in an email this week. It would seem that pythons are not the only “big snake” problem some Florida residents have.



I don’t know if this is made up but it’s interesting.

The diamond pattern on its back is not as sharp as western diamondbacks, I think someone is pulling our leg but I’ve never seen an eastern before. Is it a python or a rattler?

Well it has a spade head of a Viper.

It's a big Eastern Diamondback, but would bet money it's only 7 1/2 feet or less.

P.S.
Here's the news-story:
http://www.news4jax.com/news/21162885/detail.html

That and the very narrow throat area makes me wonder. I wish I know how long that knife was too.

We don't see its tail which make me wonder.

It's an Eastern Diamondback 6' max length on that guy. Remember how people hold fish, this is a classic example. The picture of the snake head with it's fangs showing is a picture of a Gaboon Viper, I've handled captive Gaboons(Bitis Gabonica) and no doubting those fangs.

I know of a $25,000 dollar reward for a live 8' Rattlesnake of any species. Those stories you here of monster 8-12' rattlers are never true.

I think it may well be the head of the diamondback.
the Gaboon has a very distinctly marked head:


As does the diamondback:

The picture is doctored somehow. No way do they get that big down here. I have seen tons of them. We used to "hunt" them when I was a kid and catch them.. 6 1/2 feet is the biggest I have ever seen and that is a hell of a rattlesnake.

I see the facial stripe, just have never seen any Crotalus with that long of fangs. The Gaboon I had, had very similar fangs with the same curvature. Regardless that is a very nice specimen, too bad they killed it.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
The picture is doctored somehow. No way do they get that big down here. I have seen tons of them. We used to "hunt" them when I was a kid and catch them.. 6 1/2 feet is the biggest I have ever seen and that is a hell of a rattlesnake.

I've seen bigger down south...Seen several pictures of 7-8ft snakes caught within the last few years...

I am sure there are bigger snakes than the biggest we caught. I have heard of them and/or seen pictures. But 15 ft? No way.

I just did a little research. The largest ever recorded was in 1936 and was 8'3". A famous herpetologist offered a reward for an 8 footer for many years. He got a few over 7 but never paid the reward. No one ever brought him an 8 footer.

I'm with larryshores. Frankly, the markings look so spectacularly colorful as to make me wonder. I saw Eastern diamondbacks quite often in the wild and never remember such spectacular coloring. I also question the close up of the face and wonder if it's not a Gabon viper. (It has a large head and the diamondback has a sloping head that is not at all so huge) Just my thoughts - but I feel that it's just impossible for an Eastern diamondback to reach a length of 16 feet. They are bigger than the Western variety -but that just seems off the charts.(The biggest I saw was about 6 feet)

quote:

Originally posted by Brando:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
The picture is doctored somehow. No way do they get that big down here. I have seen tons of them. We used to "hunt" them when I was a kid and catch them.. 6 1/2 feet is the biggest I have ever seen and that is a hell of a rattlesnake.

I've seen bigger down south...Seen several pictures of 7-8ft snakes caught within the last few years...

Here you go, find one of those suckers at 8' and bring him in alive. Easy 25 grand to pay your way on a good ele hunt with Buzz.
http://www.reptilegardens.com/rewards/

I will bookmark that page...I have seen some big boys laying in holes in WV and NC. 8ft is going to be tuff though...I seen pictures of some that would probably take it from farmers and such just who killed them and took a photo with there polaroid!

Yup, 8 ft would be an absolute monster.

I have looked at the pictures again. I do believe it is a rattlesnake. The marking it has are very similar to most of the snakes in this area.

It may be some sort of optical illusion with no attempt to deceive. I just shot a lion last October and I was struck at how the lion seemed to be a different size depending on which picture it was.

I tried to check this out on Snopes without luck.

larryshores:

Like you I tried to look at the pictures again. I do think that the picture of the head is distorted -taken so close up? (That's what made me think of a Gabon viper) Still, do diamondbacks have such spectacularly obvious white colorings in Florida? In NY, where I saw them, they just don't. Of course, the white is there, it just doesn't stand out so much as in these pictures. (A 6' diamond back rattler in my neck of the woods was extremely difficult to spot until you heard the rattle -unless you were smart enough to stay away from rock piles (the glaciers deposited a lot of rocks in my county) Please look again because I do value your opinion.

I can't tell much about the one picture of the head. However, the picture of the snake being held up definitely looks like a rattler to me. In my twisted youth, we caught hundreds of them in what is called "rattlesnake roundups". I have seem an awful lot of them. However, I am a Florida cracker not a trained herpetologist. What do I know?

One of the things that effects the color and clarity of the markings is how close the snake is to shedding it's skin. The closer it is to shedding, the more the colors dull and the marking become less clear. Good colors and clear marking generally mean a snake with recently shed skin. There is a major variance from snake to snake because of that very reason.

I may well be wrong but I think it is a real snake that at minimum had a picture taken at a strange angle or at worst has a picture that has been doctored.

For what it is worth, I have 2 hunting camps not far from there. The general area is largely populated with the outdoors types. I got these same picture on the internet. I asked some of the locals if they had heard of it. None of them had. Personally, I think it would have been big news to those guys. I still say no way to 15 feet.

Damn, I hate those things. They scare the hell out of me. There is nothing worse than walking to your deer stand in the dark and hearing that rattle. It makes my skin crawl.

The devil is in the details, guys.

First of all, the size in the photos is GREATLY exaggerated because of the camera/lens perspective. Using my 20mm WA lens, I can make a 2-lb. bass into a 10-lber simply by placing it closer to the camera lens.

If the snake is supposedly 15', the pole would seem to be much longer. I doubt any snake handler would be using a catch pole that long.

Lastly, given the largest on record is 8' or so, you can bet the snake handler would have measured this one and claimed a new record for the species. That never happened.

Here's a snippet from the St. Augustine.com

******

Rattler found at Tuscany

CHAD SMITH
chad.smith@staugustine.com

Published Wednesday, September 30, 2009

An eastern diamondback rattlesnake found in St. Augustine over the weekend might have been the biggest ever found -- but scientists may never know for sure.

A resident at Tuscany Village Townhomes near the Interstate 95-State Road 16 interchange called police Sunday evening to report a "possible 6-foot long snake."

When deputies arrived, though, they realized that was a gross underestimation.

"It was just huge," said Sgt. Chuck Mulligan, a spokesman for the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office.

Mulligan only saw the snake in photographs but estimated it was at least 10 feet.

"It is without a doubt the largest rattlesnake I've ever seen," he said.

But the largest ever?

The longest eastern diamondback on record was 8 feet.

However, the deputies didn't measure the rattler in question before it was killed and removed by an animal trapper who was called by another Tuscany Village resident to remove it.

Joy Hill, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said herpetologists who saw the deputies' photographs Tuesday confirmed the snake was an eastern diamondback but couldn't say how big it was.

"I know since I've been with Fish and Wildlife it's the biggest diamondback I've seen," said Hill, a 15-year FWC veteran.

Mulligan said the deputies didn't write a report about the snake removal because there was no crime, and they didn't know the trapper's name.

"Once it was dead, the snake trapper guy just rolled it up into a bag and took it with him," he said.

Hill said FWC biologists would be interested in studying the snake, dead or alive.

But, she said, "What a shame to kill such a beautiful snake."

Eastern diamondback rattlesnake

Size: Average 3 to 6 feet (largest documented is 8 feet) in length; weigh up to 10 pounds.

Colors: Brown, tan or yellow covered by brown diamonds outlined by lighter scales.

Range: Mainly Florida and Georgia, though they are found in the southern parts of the Carolinas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

Habitat: They spend most of their time coiled in palmetto tickets, concealed by the vegetation and waiting to ambush prey like rabbits, rats and mice; during winter, they spend most of their time in gopher tortoise burrows or tree stump holes.

Threat: They are venomous and can strike from as far away as two-thirds of their length; the state of Florida requires anyone possessing or transporting them have a venomous-reptile permit.

Sources: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Museum of Natural History, and University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.

Gerrypeters375, remember, the close-up pic of the head in the original post is taken with the head upside-down. The fangs are pointing UP. The white coloration in the photo is the ventral (bottom) surface.

All the pics ARE of an Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake, and like RJohnson, I believe it is around 6 feet. This from a 16 year veteran of Game and Fish law enforcement in Alabama. Believe me, I have seen and handled MANY eastern Diamondback rattlesnakes, and MANY timber (velvet tail) rattlers.

wingnut:

I am embarrassed to realize that I missed the upward pointing of the fangs. (It explains why I found the whole head shot to be so puzzling -to the point that I could be thinking about a Gabon viper!) I'm embarrassed, truly! I understand that you are pointing out that the pics show belly shots and, to be truthful, I never shot an Eastern diamondback to be able to inspect him belly up. I'm grateful for your clarifying remarks. (BTW, to show you my ignorance - I never knew that diamondbacks were in Arkansas at all. I thought you Southerners only had contend with "cottonmouths" -another bad critter in my opinion!)

larryshores:

I read the last part of your reply. I,too, hate all poisonous snakes. (I was bitten by a copperhead when I was 6 and almost died from the bite) I felt a real feeling of sympathy about your remark about walking to a deer stand and hearing the rattle. (I never could be induced to hunt quail in the South because I dreaded running into a timber rattler.Fact. I regret it today and, yes, I know I was wrong -but fear of snakes can be lifelong)

Gerrypeters375:

That must have been painful. I have been bitten by non-poisonous snakes several times but never by a poisonous one. I have come close a handful of times. Luck has been with me thus far.

There are a heck of a lot of them in certain parts of Florida. I live on a golf course, complete with water hazards. I once killed a 5 foot cottonmouth in my drive way.

I once had a climbing stand on a pine tree close to the ground. I walked up in the dark and put my foot on the stand. When I did, a rattler sounded off right underneath it. That was a real shock & fright.

They don't bother me so much when I know they are there. It is the snakes that surprise me that frighten me.

That big rattler was taken just miles from my house.

quote:

Originally posted by Gerrypeters375:
larryshores:

Like you I tried to look at the pictures again. I do think that the picture of the head is distorted -taken so close up? (That's what made me think of a Gabon viper) Still, do diamondbacks have such spectacularly obvious white colorings in Florida? In NY, where I saw them, they just don't. Of course, the white is there, it just doesn't stand out so much as in these pictures. (A 6' diamond back rattler in my neck of the woods was extremely difficult to spot until you heard the rattle -unless you were smart enough to stay away from rock piles (the glaciers deposited a lot of rocks in my county) Please look again because I do value your opinion.

Gerry, I don't believe there are diamondbacks of any type in NY. There are several species of rattlesnake there, with the Velvet-tail Timber Rattler being the largest.

We have occasional Western diamondbacks and plenty of timber rattlers, canebrake rattlers, pygmy/massaugua in Arkansas, and occasionally an Eastern diamondback will swim or hitch a ride across the Mississippi.
The picture in the news is in St. Augustine, Florida.

SDESHAZO:

Did you hear anything about the length of the snake from someone who might know the truth?

Thanks.

SGraves155:

After reading your post I went and read up on the "velvet tail rattler". I do, indeed, stand corrected because the rattlers I saw must have been timber rattlers and not diamondbacks. My only defense is that I read that they are often mistaken for diamondbacks. (Any chance that diamondbacks once were found in southern NY? -say, 60-70 years ago?)

larryshores:

My recollection is that I felt sudden sharp pain but just for a second or so -like a hypodermic needle going in(The snake bit me right on the ankle bone and while one fang went into me the other broke off on the anklebone.(My father, an old tropical hand, always believed that had saved my life because small as I was for my age and being so young, a full "jolt" might have killed me) I reeled and staggered down a slope to a neighbor's house and collapsed in the field.My Skipper,(a German Shepherd)apparently barked and barked and drew the neighbor's attention.I really knew nothing after collapsing but was in hospital for about 6 days. (When I was a grown man, my mother told me that my father,with tears in his eyes,told her that I kept saying:"Daddy, I'm sorry. I stepped over the log without looking". He had emphasized to me to be like a mule that never puts it hoof down without being able to see the ground -because I had been allowed to roam at will in the countryside. It was high,dry ground and in early May so a female was probably protecting the young under a rotten log) BTW, I always heard that the bite of a non poisonous snake was very painful. Probably, because like a horse bite they clamp down on you. The copperhead is about 2 feet long (at most) and to give it credit is not an aggressive snake by any means. When I was bitten the hospital in Danbury (CT) very fortunately had antivenin on hand. Looking back, I would say that most hospitals in copperhead country probably didn't stock antivenin -that's how rare copperhead bites were. To this day (and I'm pushing 80)I have never met anyone who was bitten by one.

Brother you sound lucky to me. Especially at that age.

quote:

Originally posted by RJohnson:
I know of a $25,000 dollar reward for a live 8' Rattlesnake of any species. Those stories you here of monster 8-12' rattlers are never true.

Must have been around `95 my buddy John and I were headed in to Cameron, S.C. on Hwy 33. Going along and I spotted a large dull brown "Limb" laying across the road. It was close to the right edge and nearly reached the center-line. Figured it had dropped off a Loggers truck and that John would slow down so I could move it off the highway. Looked to be about 6" in diameter.

Just as he got to it, he sped up and we bumped over it. Then he stopped, went in reverse, and ran over it again while trying to slide on it. Back into forward and over it again and stopped.

Then he said, "Do you have your 357Mag?" It was behind the seat, but I could not see the snake in the mirror and asked him if he could see it? He couldn't spot it either.

Now I was very reluctant to step out of the truck, but finally did. Got my hands on the revolver and was ready for the HUGE Rattler.

Eased around the truck - NOTHING!

John had his 30-06 and we both checked each side of the road, expecting to see the snake wrything around as they normally do when run over - still NOTHING!

Checked slowly under the truck - NOTHING!

If we had been drinking, I'd have a better excuse, but it was a Hunting Day, so nothing in the Adult Beverage line had been consumed.
-----

A couple of years passed and we were headed to the Wildcat Stand to do some limb trimming and limb tossing. Going down an old back road that had been paved, but the grass was encroaching. Not in a hurry and went by a LARGE pile of something "shinny Golden". Thank goodness I had my seat belt on, cause John hit the brakes. "Where is your 357Mag?", as usual for John. On my hip this time and I bailed out. Eased around the truck and - NOTHING!!!

"Which way did it go?" "Beats me!" Huuummm. We did not see the length on this one, but it appeared to be of a large diameter. Not sure of the size because it was piled-up when we spotted it, but it was HUGE.

Small pond about 25yds away on the same side of the road as this one. Cleared the fence and checked around - NOTHING!!!!

Fed by a creek that crossed under the road - still NOTHING!!!!!

Pitiful at snake tracking.
-----

But, the only part of the $25k that concerns me is the "live" requirement. If they would accept "dead-on-arrival and in ice + pay the shipping". I feel sure the money could be had in S.C.

Who do you contact to get the money?

Hot Core:

I do not like stories like this about snakes! You Rebs are tough, I know, but spare us fainthearted Yanks from nightmares! (Didn't you guys wonder where the devil he was? Just think - there's a couple of snakes out there who are waiting their moment of payback for having a truck run over them. Forget the 357 Mag. You will need a flamethrower to deal with them!

Hey Gerry, I always wear Snake Chaps when I’m in the woods, fields and swamps. And in addition to the rifle, I carry a 357Mag with #7 shot(not 7 1/2) loaded in the Speer Shot Capsules in the first two cylinders and Bambi Blasters in the other four. That does a fine job as long as I do not sneak-up on a snake without knowing it is there. I try to be as quiet as possible going in and coming out, the old Stealth Mode.

My good buddy John wore Snake Boots and would occasionally add Chaps if we had some particularly bad place we needed to go in and see if a Deer was laying in there dead. He is the only person I've known to wear out two pair of Snake Boots.

Don just won’t go into the fields when the crops are up, nor into the woods, and definitely not into the swamps. He carried #7s in all six cylinders and is really goosey around snakes. Two shots will calm a snake right down. But Don’s philosophy is since you have to reload anyhow, you might as well let him have all six.

We did not want any of the guest Hunters stomping around all over the woods/fields/swamps leaving scent everywhere. Plus we sure did not want to have to take one of them to the hospital with a snake bite. Bad for them and bad for us.

A few years ago, I was a good bit bigger/heavier than I am today. I do fine around the snakes as long as I know where they are. But, when sneaking along real quiet in the pre-dawn darkness, it is easy to get a bit too close to a snake before you realize it. And then I automatically go into the Snake Dancing Mode. Nothing is as funny as a large white guy Snake Dancing. It is hard on both the dancer and the snake.

Always felt I could have won some money on the Funniest Home Videos if someone could have filmed the Snake Dancing.

Now this $25k sounds real interesting.

Hot Core:

All you have done with your latest post is to make me wonder how the heck us damyankees ever won! I'm not sure I ever made it clear to a Reb - I HATE snakes. I really do. I missed a lot of chances to hunt quail because I was scared to death of running into a palmetto rattler. I was invited by an old friend to come fish for largemouth bass in Louisana's bayou country. I already knew how aggressive the cottonmouth was (I even read stories about them crawling up oars at rest in a rowboat and coming into the boat) You can guess what my response was to what was a very tempting invitation. (I really liked bass fishing) I do admire you Rebs for living at all with poisonous snakes. Fact. Regards.

Hey Gerry, When I was a young'un, I used to wade a lot of creeks to catch a mess of Bream and an occasional (small size) Bass. Even made my own Fly Rod from a 6 1/2' Spinning rod because all the Fly Rods in the stores were too long to use in the creeks. You would get hung up on every back cast in the trees along the narrow creeks.

Put a very small Single Action Reel on it which was $1.88 (I think) and some 9wt Cortland Level Line for $1, got a few Floating Bugs and I was ready to go.

Had graduated to Hip Waders from bare feet because of junk tossed into the creeks, an occasional sharp rock and crayfish. Carried a 22LR Colt Woodsman Target Sport in a 45ACP holster which gave me real incentive to remain right side up.

You never knew what you would see while in the creeks. Might be a Ground Hog, Coon, Possum, Squirrels, Rabbits, various Snakes and of course the very rare stray dog. Thoroughbred and cattle country just dosen't bode well for strays.

Had waded Floyd's Fork and did right well. Almost ready to get out and I was standing under the branches of a tree which hung out over the water. Made a few casts and moved 6' to my right. Just as I moved, I heard something that sounded like either a limb breaking or something falling out of the tree and hitting limbs on the way down - toward me.

I looked up in time to see a right nice Cotton Mouth pass just to my left, or directly where I'd been 5sec before, and splash into the water, getting me wet. Realized what it was and started up the bank and into a bunch of grown-up Horse Weeds and shin tangle. Made a few BIG strides and it dawned on me that I had no idea what I was headed into, so I stopped to look around a bit.

Happened to look back and HERE COMES THE SNAKE!!!

Quickly decided to deal with the Cotton Mouth, because he was headed straight toward me. Thought about wearing it out with the Rod and thought as BIG as it was, it might ignore the Rod Flailing and keep coming. Dropped to my knee and the Colt planted the first shot through the roof or it's OPEN MOUTH and out the back of it's head. I bounced right back up and hoped I was not in a nest of them. Fortunately I did not see any more, and I guess even more fortunately, none saw me and decided to test their Fangs out.

I was pretty shakey the rest of that day. Just thinking about it right now does not give me a warm feeling. Fortunately it was a BIG enough Target and I'd shot the Colt enough that it all worked out well.

Seems like there are plenty of Snake Stories down here.

The biggest snake we got up here in Manitoba is a garter snake!!!!
While visiting clients in Charleston SC I seen a tanned snake skin that went from the ceiling to the floor.
Huge with brown diamond pattern they claimed was eastern Diamond back......they killed it when out on a deer or hog hunt.
I have never skinned or tanned a snake so I don't know how much they can be stretched..... but it was all of 8 feet with the head & rattler removed.

The part about the snake falling from a tree got my attention. I would never have guessed about cottonmouths being in trees until I experienced the same. This was in E. Arkansas back in stone age days when I was a teen. There was a group of us at an overnighter social function of sorts at this lake. For no logical reason excepting it seemed a good idea at the time, a few of us decided to get in a small johnboat and paddle out in the middle of the night where as best I recall we continued our partying.

As we went under some cypress trees there was this loud thump. Something hit the boat. Everyone thought it was someone else. There was a bit of confusion about it until somebody hollers "there's a SNAKE in the boat!". And sho enuf, there indeed was. A nice big ole cottonmouth moc.

Panic ensues with paddles crashing about. Some paddle blows hit the boat, some of us hit each other in the dark, some hit the water and some hit Mr. No Shoulders.

While all this is going down we hear ANOTHER loud thump with a lot of flopping around noises and discover there's now also a quite nice size largemouth bass in the boat, that apparently likes our company too.

The splashing around and hitting the water made it jump out of the lake and into our boat.

Anyhow, we survived but the snake's career of boarding without permission was tragically cut short, and the bass made for a nice lunch the next day.

I won't weary everyone with the differences of opinion I've had with cottonmouths over rights to possession of duckboats.

They do indeed frequent trees. One of the worst things about the cottonmouth is that you have to look everywhere for them. When you are fishing in bushes you have to keep your eyes open. I have often seen them in trees while fishing. Never had one in the boat thank goodness.

I have a recent snake story. I came home one night last week and decided to hit a few golf balls. I changed cloths, got in my golf cart and took off. I came home about an hour later. I pulled my golf cart in the garage. I took off my golf shoes and started to head inside. I happened to look down and there was a coral snake right by my feet. It wasn't big, maybe 14-15 inches. I have to admit it startled me a bit. It is amazing what a 3 iron will do to a snakes head!

larryshores

You have a way of starting out with a story -that ends up wih me getting a chill that starts with my neck hairs and ripples right down my back! Now I hear about the coral snake? - I never saw a coral snake, thank god! but always understood that it affected the nervous system and if bitten high enough up, death followed in minutes. And you also mentioned that cotton mouths frequent bushes on shore? Now, I realize you must be the Chairman of the Florida Tourist Board but I'll pass,thank you! (I always loved Alaska)

Gerry:


While coral snakes are in fact very poisonous, their mouths are so small that is it difficult for them to really hurt you. They have to get you on a small place like I finger. As a practical matter, they aren't much of a danger. They are however, a beautiful snake.