Hey gang, many of us hunt, fish, hike and hang out in rattlesnake country here in North America. This is a great little app to have on your phone if you or someone around you gets bitten. It was developed by the same folks at the University of Arizona who developed CroFab.

https://crofab.com/crofab-reso...Bite911/SnakeBite911

This is my favorite Crot species. In fact my favorite snake. This one lives in my vegetable garden, which is aptly deemed the 'Garden of Eden'.

I was working out there today when I discovered it. They are so mellow, not even a garter snake is as mellow as a copperhead. This one is medium sized, so it's a youngster and I am not able to determine sex.

I welcome them. They prefer to hunt at night and here in SWMO where it remains very warm and humid they do just that. I hope it gets the mofo chipmunks stealing my tomatoes!

The very rarely even move so I often don't notice I have been working right next to them. Yes, just do not step on them. In eight years of living here and trampling through my woodland and gardens I have never stepped on one (I wear flip flops). I seem to notice them and have been fortunate so far though the venom of a copperhead is generally painful but not a death sentence for 99% of the population.











Anyway, enjoy this beautiful thing. I really like having them around. They don't bother my chickens (everything is after my chickens but copperheads) and they eat rodents. Good in my book.

Every creature has it's place in the grand scheme, but I must confess to not having much use for Crotalus Horridus. They are much more aggressive than the copperhead. That being said, I'm glad you have a harmonious relationship with your resident reptile. You have some sense in your decision whereas a newby "city type" who moved in + decided to form an alliance + 'understanding" with poison ivy. She sat down in a patch + tried to communicate love + tolerance with the plant, that if it wouldn't hurt her she wouldn't hurt it. Well, guess what?

Randy, my first memories of wildlife were of toads and garter snakes. I was forever hooked. I still enjoy handling the critters and so wish I could handle 'hots' like this copperhead. Their beauty is mesmerizing. But like poison ivy, I wouldn't have that close a conversation.

I think copperheads rely highly on their cryptic coloration, hence they are not nervous snakes like rattlers and even most non venomous snakes. This one was definitely watching me for awhile before I noticed it. I had been working back and forth in those bins pulling up spent vegetable plants, cultivating and wetting down the soil.

At evening chore time it was still there but tucked under the old railroad tie border.

I'd love it if I found a timber or pygmy rattlesnake around here. So far I have not. I have some tall rock escarpment, ledge on the property that I frequently explore but have never found any rattlers out there.

Ann, I'll confess to finding the copperhead to be a gorgeous crotalid. I have never seen one except in a cage. Boy, they blend in among the leaf litter!
The only venomous snake I saw in Africa was a puff adder stretched across our path. I was so surprised when it was pointed out to me that I failed to take any photos.
I would have loved to have seen a Gaboon viper, but they are not present in most of Namibia, where we hunted.

I had an interesting encounter with a puff adder when hunting eland. I needed to use the bush based 'ladies room' and trotted off from my PH and tracker to take care of business privately. Found an appropriate shrub and squatted down to pee. Lo an behold I was face to face with a large puff adder. It never moved and I finished my business. My camera was at the truck and as I got back to the guys I told them what I saw and wanted to go back and get a photo. They wouldn't let me.

quote:

I welcome them. They prefer to hunt at night and here in SWMO where it remains very warm and humid they do just that. I hope it gets the mofo chipmunks stealing my tomatoes!

The very rarely even move so I often don't notice I have been working right next to them. Yes, just do not step on them. In eight years of living here and trampling through my woodland and gardens I have never stepped on one (I wear flip flops). I seem to notice them and have been fortunate so far though the venom of a copperhead is generally painful but not a death sentence for 99% of the population.

Copperheads are very pretty, we have them on the place I deer hunt. We have a cabin on the place and my wife and I let others enjoy our place. I have game cameras trained on the cabin and I have a very clear photo of Dr Scott here on AR levitating in his boxers after he stepped out of the cabin door onto a copperhead. That one went away, but the photo was pretty humorous.
I don’t like venomous snakes.

I think we need to see that photo.

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
I think we need to see that photo.

Nah… can’t do that, he takes too good care of my hound dogs to post that. He knows I have it, maybe that’s why he is such a good veterinarian?