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["SISU!" <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Barb Troje wrote:
> I lived in Alabama for 4 years.A hotbed of reptilian diversity. 
> Plenty of rattlesnakes,copperheads and watermocassins. I lived on the
>  water.
>
> I saw more nonpoisonous king snakes. Big and scary if you dont know 
> what they are but the eat other snakes.All that said I saw one 
> copperhead that had probably been living by the house for years and 
> saw one timber rattler.Iused to pick up rocks in the woods too. They 
> will lay on hot surfaces after the sun is gone, avoid the heat of day
>  and probably dont start moving until its about 70 degrees.My guess 
> and must be pretty good because I used that in the back of my mind.

I concur with all of the above.
Kingsnakes are not likely to bite unless harassed, but their bite can
cause a nasty infection.  Any snakebite, poisonous or not, can can
infection.  Also, kingsnakes can "musk" you....they spray a very stinky
musk as a defense mechanism, so that's another reason to leave them alone.



> The timber rattler I saw could still strike about 5 feet even after 
> being run over by a car.

Yup, they get that big.....they often don't rattle, and they don't need
to be coiled up to strike.


> I now live in southern Utah. On my hands and knees working on the 
> fishpond pump I noticed a snake about 4 inches from my hand. It was 
> curled up partially under a rock. Head tucked back.No rattling. I 
> went somewhere else checking back every once in a while hoping he 
> would do likewise.He didnt, but as it got warmer he relxed and we 
> could see it was infact a rattler.,It never struck at us and only 
> rattled when we picked it up.We moved it away from our property.

You are braver than me.  I would have killed it as in my experience,
snakes return to an area of favorable habitat and you had food and water
there...


> I have seen a lot of shed snakeskins but rarely snakes.

I see a good number of sheds, too.


> Snakes do seem to have territory, especially rattlers.Timber rattlers
>  can be real aggressive.They like anything are looking for the
> easiest way to get a meal and to be comfortable.

IMO, copperheads are more aggressive than timbers...but there could be a
lot of variables that determine aggressiveness, such as the
hunger/thirst of the snake, time of year, time of day, outdoor temp, etc.
For me, aggressive means just likely to strike....poisonous snakes won't
chase you or anything like that.


Dont attraCT Rodents , keep
> your shoes on, keep your eyes open and dont stick your hands under 
> rocks. If you pick up something they might be under assume they 
> are.They serve a place in the web of life.They wont come after you 
> unless you make some bad choices.Read up on the species in the area 
> and learn their behaviors and you will be ahead of the game

Great advice.  Also, if there is a drought, be very careful around
water.  Even a small chicken waterer...rats and mice use it for
drinking, too, and the snakes will often ambush prey near waterers.

Bev

--
erthnsky AT bellsouth.net  BevanRon of EarthNSky Farm      NW Georgia USDA Zone 7
34.498N 85.076W