New arrivals...

[Billy]

As a hobby, I keep and breed several species of snakes. Probably my favorites are amazon tree boas and this morning, one of my females delivered this litter of six happy, healthy little snappers! Just thought I'd share... :)

[mrappraisit]

They're cute. It's funny how much bigger the heads are when they are born. Congrats!
So, when you have new baby snakes do you still get a cigar?

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Dear Friend,

My Lady and I ran what eventually morphed into practically a snake rescue here in WV - we had all types brought to us, generally ailing in one way or another (we had 19 at one time). We would get them healthy and find them good homes. We only bred them once, Ball Pythons (Python regius), and it was kind of an accident. I had probed them and knew we had mixed sexes in the tank, buy had never seen any activity before them.

I sort of miss keeping them sometimes, but for a while the time just wasn't there to really handle them. I still keep a snake pole in the car at all times. Just in case. You understand. :p

You have some wonderful little knuckle-biters there! :cool:

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Hannibal

[Billy]

Hey Shawn, maybe one per litter, but not one for every baby! Sheesh, that would be rough on the ol' lungs! :D Oh, and their heads stay in that proportion to their bodies their entire lives - it's an adaptation to arboreal life. Big head with lots of long teeth to grab and hang on to heavily furred or feathered prey and long, lithe, slim bodies to get around in the trees easily. Very cool animals indeed.

Hannibal, I applaud your efforts for the snake rescue. Too often these wonderful animals are purchased on a whim or an impulse and once the novelty wears off, or they get too big, or the owner gets bit once, or any other host of reasons, they are ignored, neglected or worse. And yes, I know what you mean about keeping a pole in the car - on many occasions I have slammed on the brakes yelling "SNAKE!" and jumped out to grab whatever happened to be crawling or sunning on the road. :D

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Dear Friend,

Hannibal, I applaud your efforts for the snake rescue. Too often these wonderful animals are purchased on a whim or an impulse and once the novelty wears off, or they get too big, or the owner gets bit once, or any other host of reasons, they are ignored, neglected or worse. And yes, I know what you mean about keeping a pole in the car - on many occasions I have slammed on the brakes yelling "SNAKE!" and jumped out to grab whatever happened to be crawling or sunning on the road. :D

A lot of them were also "Mom won't let me keep it in the house" scenarios. Surprising the other members of your household with your new pet snake is unwise. :eek:

My wife thought I had finally lost my mind when I slid the car off onto the side of the road last summer while vacationing in the Outer Banks of NC. In the middle of the road, sunning himself, was the largest, most vibrant Northern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) I had ever seen. He gleamed like polished metal and was about 46-48 inches long, which is huge in this part of the world. Given the fact that the locals on the sound kill every snake on sight (due to the proliferation of Water Moccasins (A. piscivorous) there), after observing him for a while I cut a small branch and shooed him off the road before someone decided to run him over (I didn't have a snake pole with me - I won't make that mistake again).

And to answer your question no, I don't fiddle with venomous, or "hot" species. It would be too easy for me to get so caught up in their beauty that I would get tagged, and I like my fingers where they are, as in attached.

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Hannibal

[LowSpeedHighDrag]

Gave me the shivers just lookin at em. There arent many things in this world that can make me scream like a girl, but snakes do a good job at it.

[pc154]

Gave me the shivers just lookin at em. There arent many things in this world that can make me scream like a girl, but snakes do a good job at it.

I'm 6'8", 260 lbs and I bet I can scream like a little girl better then you!!! Hate em!!!! :mad:

[dialex]

... Very cool animals indeed...

You may say it again. What do I say cool, they are really cold

[The Mastiff]

Dr.Hannibal, I too had a run in with a copperhead here when I was in my 20's. For some silly reason I actually brought it home and kept it for awhile.

After the novelty wore off, and I looked at the odds of my spouse making a mistake of large proportions with it, I loosed it in the woods about a half mile away.

Quite a personality, those copperheads. :) Joe

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Dear Friend,

Quite a personality, those copperheads.

Copperheads are an unpredictable species by most accounts. Some specimens seem incredibly docile, while others are quite irascible. They are also known to be a curious snake, actually intentionally approaching stationary individuals who have invaded their habitat.

I also consider them one of the most beautiful snakes in the United States.

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Hannibal

[LowSpeedHighDrag]

Copperhead question: I was hunting hogs in North East Oklahoma in the thick woods. Had my 870 loaded with 3" Slugs. I stepped over a leaf pile and right under my foot was a snake that very closely resembled a reddish rattlesnake. I quickly shrieked and jumped away and the snake coiled in the pile of leaves. It rattled, but it just sounded like leaves rattling. Do copperheads rattle to sound like rattlesnakes or was I dealing with a rattlesnake?


And no, I didnt kill it. I may hate em, but they serve a great purpose on this earth. And yes, I did get a pretty nice sow.

[Billy]

It was most likely a copperhead based on your description. Yes, copperheads and many other snakes will rattle their tails in the leaves to simulate a rattlesnake.

[GlenD65]

I'm 6'8", 260 lbs and I bet I can scream like a little girl better then you!!! Hate em!!!! :mad:

Sounds like we could have three part harmony...!

[amen74]

Amazing Billy! Congrats on the new additions!