Rockape Posted June 10, 2018 Posted June 10, 2018 2 hours ago, WSA said: I don’t walk outside at night, even just to walk to my truck without boots, or a flashlight if I am in sandals or barefoot. Same here WSA. My dogs like to go out front at night. I have no fence around my front yard so I always go out with them but turn on the light and stay on the sidewalk where I can plainly see for that particular reason. I have experience stepping on venomous snakes. When I was young, 11-12 years old or so we were camping at a lake. It was a family reunion type deal so a lot of folks there and they had the tents set up in rows away from the central camp, and ours had the back to the camp so it was pretty dark in the walkway between the tents. I needed something out of the tent one night and took a flashlight to retrieve it. I was barefoot with nothing on but some cut off blue jean shorts. I was standing there trying to unzip the tent door when I felt something under my foot moving. I shined my flashlight down and I was standing right on top of a young moccasin. My foot was right in the middle of his body so he could have easily bitten me. He was under the arch of my foot, so I suppose with my light weight being so young and him being under the arch of my foot their wasn't enough pressure to cause him to react. I was lucky that night, god was with me. It was a very long way to a hospital from there. I can still feel that **** thing, it's muscles squirming under my foot. I learned at a young age to always watch my step. Back when I was a surveyor I always wore snake leggings. Some of the other guys would make fun of me, but when we ran across a poisonous snake, they always wanted me to be the one to kill it.
norseman Posted June 10, 2018 Admin Posted June 10, 2018 At my daughters graduation yesterday (Iam now an empty nester after four) I had a buddy tell me, that a guy had a 800-900 lbs Griz in his yard at Cedar lake up by Northport, Wa. He tried to chase it out of his yard and it was having none of it. For our Canadian friends that is just south of Trail, BC.
SWWASAS Posted June 10, 2018 BFF Patron Posted June 10, 2018 29 minutes ago, Rockape said: Same here WSA. My dogs like to go out front at night. I have no fence around my front yard so I always go out with them but turn on the light and stay on the sidewalk where I can plainly see for that particular reason. I have experience stepping on venomous snakes. When I was young, 11-12 years old or so we were camping at a lake. It was a family reunion type deal so a lot of folks there and they had the tents set up in rows away from the central camp, and ours had the back to the camp so it was pretty dark in the walkway between the tents. I needed something out of the tent one night and took a flashlight to retrieve it. I was barefoot with nothing on but some cut off blue jean shorts. I was standing there trying to unzip the tent door when I felt something under my foot moving. I shined my flashlight down and I was standing right on top of a young moccasin. My foot was right in the middle of his body so he could have easily bitten me. He was under the arch of my foot, so I suppose with my light weight being so young and him being under the arch of my foot their wasn't enough pressure to cause him to react. I was lucky that night, god was with me. It was a very long way to a hospital from there. I can still feel that **** thing, it's muscles squirming under my foot. I learned at a young age to always watch my step. Back when I was a surveyor I always wore snake leggings. Some of the other guys would make fun of me, but when we ran across a poisonous snake, they always wanted me to be the one to kill it. I had a similar experience in my teens. Stepped on the tail of a rattle snake that was trying to get away from me. It swung around to strike but I was quick enough at that age to jump backwards and avoid the strike. Now it would likely nail me.
Midnight Owl Posted June 10, 2018 Author Posted June 10, 2018 From what I have read, the copperhead snake is a pit viper just like the rattle snake and water moccasin. It inflicts the same hemotoxin poison, to what degree nd concentration I'm sure is relative. Although it may be considered less deadly than it's cousins, I have friends who went through hell recovering from a bite from them. The dying flesh in the area of the bite, circulation issues formed other serious complications.
SWWASAS Posted June 10, 2018 BFF Patron Posted June 10, 2018 Local news had a feature about a guy who chopped the head off a rattler with a shovel then picked up the head. It bit him badly. Showed his hand all black and swollen. News said experts say a snake head can bite up to an hour after it is severed.
dmaker Posted June 10, 2018 Posted June 10, 2018 Is it OCD of me that I simply cannot resist the urge to point out that those snakes are not poisonous, they venomous? Ah, I feel so much better now 2
WSA Posted June 10, 2018 Posted June 10, 2018 Man , you name a food source and we have it. Chipmunks especially. Frogs, toads, lizards, salamanders, palmetto bugs the size of poker chips, smaller snakes of all descriptions, baby birds, wood rats....it is a target rich environment with 57” of rain annually and a ten month growing season....fecundity writ large!
SWWASAS Posted June 10, 2018 BFF Patron Posted June 10, 2018 3 hours ago, norseman said: At my daughters graduation yesterday (Iam now an empty nester after four) I had a buddy tell me, that a guy had a 800-900 lbs Griz in his yard at Cedar lake up by Northport, Wa. He tried to chase it out of his yard and it was having none of it. For our Canadian friends that is just south of Trail, BC. Curious what the grizzlies response was to the attempt to chase it out of the yard.
Patterson-Gimlin Posted June 10, 2018 Posted June 10, 2018 4 hours ago, Rockape said: Mild is a relative term. Younger ones with concentrated venom can be more nasty than bigger ones. Even if it is not a big dose it can be problematic. Their venom can be like a spider bite and cause necrotic flesh around the bite. I had a cousin who spent quite a bit of time in the hospital from a Copperhead bite. He died from a different ailment several years later, but his doctors said the effect of the venom on his internal organs probably helped lead to the latter disease which killed him. He lingered for months in the hospital before his death. Sorry about your cousin. I was speaking based on by comparison to much more deadly snakes. There are several where I live and hike
norseman Posted June 10, 2018 Admin Posted June 10, 2018 1 hour ago, SWWASAS said: Curious what the grizzlies response was to the attempt to chase it out of the yard. He was having none of it.
SWWASAS Posted June 10, 2018 BFF Patron Posted June 10, 2018 Meaning he stood his ground? Bluff charged?
Rockape Posted June 10, 2018 Posted June 10, 2018 (edited) 5 hours ago, SWWASAS said: Local news had a feature about a guy who chopped the head off a rattler with a shovel then picked up the head. It bit him badly. Showed his hand all black and swollen. News said experts say a snake head can bite up to an hour after it is severed. Saw that story. I thought any fool knew a snake's head can still bite even after severed from it's body. 4 hours ago, dmaker said: Is it OCD of me that I simply cannot resist the urge to point out that those snakes are not poisonous, they venomous? Ah, I feel so much better now Poison is a generic term for toxic substances, so it's all the same. From Merriam webster Quote Definition of poison 1 a : a substance that through its chemical action usually kills, injures, or impairs an organism https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poison 1 hour ago, Patterson-Gimlin said: Sorry about your cousin. I was speaking based on by comparison to much more deadly snakes. There are several where I live and hike We have all four types of venomous snakes here where I live. I believe a Coral snake has the deadliest venom of all the species here in North America. Edited June 10, 2018 by Rockape
Midnight Owl Posted June 11, 2018 Author Posted June 11, 2018 Yes and its poison...ah, I mean venom is a neurotoxin. Bad, bad things happen all over the body.
hiflier Posted June 11, 2018 Posted June 11, 2018 (edited) 7 hours ago, norseman said: .........(Iam now an empty nester after four)......... You did the good work Norseman. And your spouse, too. That's what we are supposed to do. Care for and educate our offspring to the best of our abilities in order that they can safely make their own way. Yep, know about the empty nest thing but now there are grandchildren. A lot of the joy in that is seeing my sons doing the same thing to get their children prepared for the world as I did with them. That's the way of things. And besides, we all know that our guardianship doesn't end at the empty nest. Edited June 11, 2018 by hiflier
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