You mean a snake like this! This rattler was in a wood pile at Okefenokee NWR.
Most snakes are harmless, and the few that are venomous mean us no harm, only wanting to be left alone. The more I’ve learned about snakes, the more I appreciate the important role they play in the environment, their amazing adaptations, and their beauty.
I get to handle nonvenomous snakes frequently as a part of one of my volunteer jobs, educating people about snakes. Education dispels many fears, and I recommend Whit Gibbons’ Snakes of the Eastern United States.
As a paddler in Florida, I see snakes just about every time I paddle. But I’m looking for them, as one of my hobbies is photographing snakes. Most people I saw on the Silver River yesterday probably did not see a snake. I saw over 30. Here are four of them: Peninsula Ribbon Snake, Yellow Rat Snake, Brown Water Snakes
@sissy103 said:
Peninsula Ribbon Snake nice one there. Great photos too! Here are a couple of Brown Water Snake shots in trees.
@sissy103 said:
Most snakes are harmless, and the few that are venomous mean us no harm, only wanting to be left alone. The more I’ve learned about snakes, the more I appreciate the important role they play in the environment, their amazing adaptations, and their beauty.I get to handle nonvenomous snakes frequently as a part of one of my volunteer jobs, educating people about snakes. Education dispels many fears, and I recommend Whit Gibbons’ Snakes of the Eastern United States.
As a paddler in Florida, I see snakes just about every time I paddle. But I’m looking for them, as one of my hobbies is photographing snakes. Most people I saw on the Silver River yesterday probably did not see a snake. I saw over 30. Here are four of them: Peninsula Ribbon Snake, Yellow Rat Snake, Brown Water Snakes
The Silver is a great place to paddle in spring. Newborn critters of all kinds around every bend.
Snakes are cold-blooded so they will be least active early in the morning when all they want to do is find a good rock in the sun and warm up. You could also get snake gaiters or chaps to wear for peace of mind.
Sissy is the snake whisperer… I have paddled with her. While I blithely drift by unknowing she hones in on the best camoflaged snake… then asks me… “Did you see that”?
I feel inferior.
She may well have gotten interested by actually handling them. Seems like in a safe environment with mentors ensuring your safety this is a good way to overcome fears.
Hey muddybunz your plan to learn about kayaking with a friend is perfect.
A pfd that is designed for paddling does not interfere with your movement so it will not get in the way of a kayak re-entry. In addition it’s essential that you wear a pfd so that you don’t create a safety risk for other people that now need to worry about the one without a pfd.
Ladies don’t get in the way if a group capsizes. In my experience ladies are more safety conscious than men and are generally a good influence on group paddles but more generally this just isn’t a gender topic. Best to take classes than listen to some confident guy tell you the wrong thing to do.
Kayamedic is right in that it appears that one can desensitize fear of snakes through exposure. You might contact your local nature center…ours has snakes and experts that would be happy to meet with you. According to Google fear of snakes affects a lot of people. Although my wife’s brother keeps snakes and was president of Chicago Herp Society I choose not to handle snakes. But I’ve had lots of encounters including stepping on one, stepping very close to a few, finding one hanging on a branch right over me, and nearly bumping into a big black rat snake that was climbing down our landscaping. I’ve never seen any aggression so my desensitization came from personal experience. it can be startling to see a snake but remember they have very short arms and legs so they can’t reach very far or run very fast…plus (just like snapping turtles) they simply are not looking for trouble since that is not a good survival strategy.
Rat snakes, black and red, are usually pretty docile. I have handled se
@string said:
Rat snakes, black and red, are usually pretty docile. I have handled se
Several that showed no inclination to bite.
This is the guy I almost bumped into last year…about 5 feet. I am told that black rat snakes are endangered and protected. For sure they are magnificently beautiful creatures. For some reason they are common here (one of the reasons may be plentiful chipmunks). I’ve protected a couple from curious neighbors since I’m worried that some folks might harm a snake for no reason.
I came close to a fight defending a king snake in a state park. He scared Bubba’s girlfriend and our hero was going to whack him.
I was bigger than Bubba so it ended peacefully.
Tom, where do you live? Sounds like we’re close.
@string said:
Tom, where do you live? Sounds like we’re close.
Hi String. We’re in St Joseph, Michigan. I thought you were in SC. We’re 11 hours from Clemson. You’re always welcome to visit…we have extra room and my Swift Shearwater is available to you. We have Bubba’s up here too. I appreciate your state park story.
Tom, we’re 45 minutes from Clemson near Greenville,SC. I had to convince my neighbor to stop whacking garter snakes which are our most common variety. One day I heard the snake scream across the street and rescued a black snake.
Same here on the visit as long as you don’t mind cats and dogs.
That’s a lovely area and thank you for the offer String. I was pretty happy to survive three long drives recently with no apparent after effects. We’ve also got quite a few garter snakes and there’s apparently often one in the front garden that would startle the coonhound when I was loading her into the car to go paddling, so now she pokes her nose in the plants and tries to find and startle the snake before it can startle her; coonhounds are smart and they like games. But it’s going to be a while before we see any snakes or turtles around here. Cheers.
Muddybunz, first off, welcome to the sport. I bet before the season is over you’ll be as hooked as your son. Getting into paddling opens whole new and delightful approach to the world, and your son is a fortunate lad to have you to share in the adventure.
But, yes, there are some snakes in it. They’re interesting creatures - fascinating and, at least to my mind, very “other”. That’s the attraction of them, Herps in general are fascinating. I spent a couple of years breeding and raising poison dart frogs, and yet snakes I just can’t see as pets. I’ve known plenty of people who have kept them and they don’t freak me out as they do some folks, but its because after enough exposure to them without incident, I’ve come to accept that they’re around. You will too, I’d wager.
(In fact, I had a friend who used to work at the psychology dept at the local university (UW Madison in WI) who held seminars teaching people to overcome their fear of snakes - by handling them.) I have a good collection of garter snakes and usually a western fox snake that hibernate under the slab that my mud room is built on and they’ve been there for all the 35 years I’ve lived here. I’ve seen many generations of them come and go… and yet they still often startle me when I come upon one, which can be almost daily in the summer. Once, maybe 30 years ago, I even encountered a rattlesnake on the steps in front of my house. Local collectors used to hunt rattlers on the hill across the valley from my house. And yet never have I had a situation that even remotely came close to problematic. Like Mr. Dylan says, “Most likely they’ll go their way and I’ll go mine.”
When I first started paddling in the Ozarks I was always on the lookout for copperheads and cotton mouths. Venomous snakes that climb trees were not, in those days, a part of my world view. But, after almost 15 years of going down there, usually twice a year, I’ve only seen one copperhead (rapidly seeking to escape me) and never a cotton mouth that I’m sure of. It’s not a thing to worry about. It can be a highlight of a days paddle, in fact. Just like seeing a new, or rare to you, bird.
Your post reminds me though - last time I paddled on the Buffalo River (AR) I went through a small set of rapids (Gray Rock shoals between Ponca and Kyles Landing - there will be folks here who are familiar with that spot - and took a bit of splash over the gunnel of the canoe. It wasn’t much, maybe a gallon or two. After getting through the drop I, of course, looked down to see how much humidity I’d acquired. Darned if I hadn’t picked up a snake. It made a beeline for my “unhappy bag” that was tied into the bow and immediately hid under that pack. It turned out not to be a copperhead or cottonmouth or bushmaster or king cobra as I had time to imagine before arriving at a decent spot to pull over… Banded water snake I discovered when we dumped it out a Kyles. If there are those who doubt this story ask theBob or Boyscout or vic. They were all there as witnesses. And, yes, they can be startling to almost anyone…
Ah snake stories.
I stepped out of my canoe on the Edisto River and a black snake wrapped around my foot because I was standing on his head. The Edisto is prime Cottonmouth country.
My paddling partners got a bit excited and got a photo.
I was a bit concerned about moving my foot but it gave me time to study my ankle bracelet.
Cottonmouths don’t have longitudinal yellow and purple stripes, so I “let” him go.
My only contact with a Rainbow Snake.
I was far more concerned about the huge spider next to my foot on the same river. But that’s another story.
And Ah, the Edisto… spent a few (too few) very fine days paddling there. I, being a northern guy, had gators on my mind but had some thoughts of snakes as well. But it is a beautiful river and very much like paddling another planet to me. Nothing like southern WI or the BWCA. Never get wrapped by a snake around here. That would be, ah, unsettling.
Brings to mind though, there is a whole lot of experience here. Perhaps it would help Muddybunz if we were to inquire, Has anyone here ever actually been bitten by a venomous snake? How many even know someone who has? Out of how many paddling days and how many miles between us all… doesn’t seem like a very reasonable fear.
I’ve been bitten by a dog, several cats, a squirrel, a couple of non poisonous snakes, a teething child or 2, and a woman, but no poisonous snakes.
My dog was bitten by a Cottonmouth and a friend’s mother by a Copperhead when she was gardening.
I had a situation that was worse than getting my ankle “wrapped” by a snake, but I had it coming. I found a medium-sized northern water snake in a parking lot at a backwater boat landing, and I decided to take it to the water and encourage it to swim across the little channel where there would be no risk of it being run over by a car or having an encounter with Bubba. Northern water snakes defend themselves aggressively once caught (up until being caught they only try to flee), so I very lightly stepped on it near the head, hoping to pin it down so I could grab it behind the head. In the blink of any eye it “snaked” the whole free end of its body up my pant leg. That sounds like no big deal unless you are familiar with water snakes and know what else they do when frightened. They empty their bowels, and to that mess they ad copious quantities of foul-smelling stuff designed to discourage predators. In the snake’s point of view, I had it coming, but I did carry it to the water and it did swim to the other side of the channel and safety.