that was a close one!

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Galapoheros

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So I was at the project house watering a few things I planted. I'm not there often but I've lucked out, it's been raining there, that's almost a miracle in July. The Kiwi vines grew 2 inches each day. I have a lot over there but I think I'm most fired up about the Kiwi vines, I grew some from seed and ordered others. They came in the mail only 3 or 4 inches high. They've grown 3 or 4 feet this year. It was getting dark, time to turn off the water. I reached for the faucet as my headlamp spotted the faucet and a copperhead on wrapped around it. I saw the cicada on the siding. I had read they each cicadas but I've had my doubts for over a few decades over that. But, it looked kind of like that's what it was after. I put the copperhead on the ground, grabbed the cicada and put it in front of the snake. Well son of a diddly, they do eat cicadas.





 
schmiggle

schmiggle

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Lucky indeed, in more ways than one. I did not know they could climb like that o_O

I've wanted to see one of these for a while, but out here venomous snakes are very rare and you have to go to specific places to even have a chance of seeing them. But in rural Texas I imagine you see venomous snakes on a regular basis.
 
The Snark

The Snark

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Glad you were using a light. Like scorps and doorknobs at night here.

And a little tidbit about eating insects I read. It had been conjectured that pit vipers detect prey by the infrared signature. Recent tests have shown they form an infrared background image then when something interrupts this image, be it hotter or cooler, the reptile uses the interrupting profile to determine if the prey is suitable. Thus their eating amphibians or insects.
This is more effective than infrared 'eyesight' as anything moving in the strike zone leaves some sort of interruption in that background. Similar to human eyesight that detects a digital pixelized disruption on an image even if the pixels are a color temp match to the background.
 
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mickiem

mickiem

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Yikes! Copperheads give me the heebie jeebies. Glad you had your head lamp.
 
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NYAN

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Jmanbeing93 said:
I don't think you can keep copperheads in the US. I could be wrong though.
Click to expand...
Many states allow you to keep certain native venomous snakes without permit. Some allow you to have any venomous snake without permit.
 
The Snark

The Snark

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NYAN said:
Many states allow you to keep certain native venomous snakes without permit. Some allow you to have any venomous snake without permit.
Click to expand...
The State of Ultimate Stupidity comes to mind. AKA, the cleansing of the gene pool.
 
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NYAN

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The Snark said:
The State of Ultimate Stupidity comes to mind. AKA, the cleansing of the gene pool.
Click to expand...
I disagree. People who keep venomous snakes do it for the same reasons people here keep inverts. As long as they are responsible doing so, there should be no issue. Also my opinion is that exotic venomous snakes especially vipers are so
beautiful.
 
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Galapoheros

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The Snark said:
The State of Ultimate Stupidity comes to mind. AKA, the cleansing of the gene pool.
Click to expand...
Maybe that's the strategy, let nature take it's course haha.

NYAN said:
I disagree. People who keep venomous snakes do it for the same reasons people here keep inverts. As long as they are responsible doing so, there should be no issue. Also my opinion is that exotic venomous snakes especially vipers are so
beautiful.
Click to expand...
I don't keep most hots just for that reason, I know I'm careless enough to leave a top off, done it too many times. I'd keep a copperhead though, I have kept them before, not so potent. But I won't keep a rattlesnake, "I'm" an accident waiting to happen there. I've kept coral snakes but they are too hard to take care of, such an awesome looking snake.
 
mickiem

mickiem

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NYAN said:
I disagree. People who keep venomous snakes do it for the same reasons people here keep inverts. As long as they are responsible doing so, there should be no issue. Also my opinion is that exotic venomous snakes especially vipers are so beautiful.
Click to expand...
I'm against a lot of regulation, but I don't think just anyone should be able to keep venomous snakes. I have been in the pet trade for over 30 years in one form or another and have seen many things I wish I hadn't. I certainly think this is a place for study and I respect those who do it. I have a good friend that used to have a pretty large snake operation and he milked the snakes and sent the venom to a lab to make antivenom. I just think there should be some sort of licensing and recordkeeping when animals are kept that could pose a threat to other human beings. One of my few soapboxes!
 
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NYAN

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Galapoheros said:
Maybe that's the strategy, let nature take it's course haha.



I don't keep most hots just for that reason, I know I'm careless enough to leave a top off, done it too many times. I'd keep a copperhead though, I have kept them before, not so potent. But I won't keep a rattlesnake, "I'm" an accident waiting to happen there. I've kept coral snakes but they are too hard to take care of, such an awesome looking snake.
Click to expand...
I would also love a copperhead.. they are pretty beautiful snakes with that Hershey’s kiss pattern. Need to get a permit here to own one first though. Yeah I’ve not heard good things about keeping coral snakes. They tend to just randomly die apparently? Also they eat other snakes.
 
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NYAN

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mickiem said:
I'm against a lot of regulation, but I don't think just anyone should be able to keep venomous snakes. I have been in the pet trade for over 30 years in one form or another and have seen many things I wish I hadn't. I certainly think this is a place for study and I respect those who do it. I have a good friend that used to have a pretty large snake operation and he milked the snakes and sent the venom to a lab to make antivenom. I just think there should be some sort of licensing and recordkeeping when animals are kept that could pose a threat to other human beings. One of my few soapboxes!
Click to expand...
Well, many states do require permits for non native species. As for the native species, it could be argued that a captive snake is less dangerous to the public than one that’s out in nature. From what I’ve seen people who keep highly venomous animals are usually responsible and take precautions to not endanger themselves or others.
 
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Galapoheros

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NYAN said:
I would also love a copperhead.. they are pretty beautiful snakes with that Hershey’s kiss pattern. Need to get a permit here to own one first though. Yeah I’ve not heard good things about keeping coral snakes. They tend to just randomly die apparently? Also they eat other snakes.
Click to expand...
Other snakes and ground skinks work. I used to be one of those "snake hunters" that drove around at night in the desert. A snake that everybody was after in the good ole days was the transpecos copperhead. I finally found one but I couldn't get that thing to eat, really nice looking snake though. I'll never forget when and where I found that snake. At the time, this girl wanted to go out there with me, all she did was fall asleep in the car. Then I found that snake and put it in a 5 gal bucket. That girl fell asleep again, then we went over this river in the desert and one of those big Dobson flies flew in the window and bit her leg. I never saw somebody freak out so much, she thought the snake got out and bit her leg.
 
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