Snakes

[D_Tim McGnaw]

That site I linked is not quite correct. My apologies. Titanis was the heaviest terror bird but it wasn't the largest. That distinction belongs to the astonishing Argentavis magnificens. Imagine seeing the shadow of something like this flying over you!

Fuck me!!! That's gigantic, I wonder if it was a raptor of more of a scavenger like the Condor ?

Edit: Just answered my own question with the help of Google LOL

 

[SpeedoGuy]

Rikki Tikki Tavi was awesome...i was so scared of the two cobras...Nag and Nagaina

I remember that well from my childhood. I shared the same trepidation.

 

[SpeedoGuy]

YouTube - HUGE king cobra

Friggin' crazy video.

I can't understand why the cobra didn't really strike. It sure seemed ornery enough.

 

[D_Tintagel_Demondong]

I remember that well from my childhood. I shared the same trepidation.

The scene where Ricki stomped on Nagaina's last egg broke my 9-year old heart. There really is an acceptable dislike for snakes in N. America. This disturbs me: they are a vital part of the ecosystem and they are beautiful creatures.

For those who haven't had a proper Chuck Jones experience, this is for you:

YouTube - Rikki Tikki Tavi Part 1 of 3

 

[2322]

Thanks for that Rec! I haven't seen Rikki Tikki Tavi in ages. It's a great little film.

 

[D_Tim McGnaw]

The scene where Ricki stomped on Nagaina's last egg broke my 9-year old heart. There really is an acceptable dislike for snakes in N. America. This disturbs me: they are a vital part of the ecosystem and they are beautiful creatures.

For those who haven't had a proper Chuck Jones experience, this is for you:

YouTube - Rikki Tikki Tavi Part 1 of 3

Yeah I was conflicted about that as a child, I loved Rikki Tikki Tavi because he was so brave, but I too felt sad for Nagaina when he destroyed all her eggs.

 

[Flashy]

i hadn't seen the film in ages...forgot how great it was

 

[D_Portelay Porquesword]

Rikki Tikki Tavi. I love that little film. I always thought Teddy looked like he was wearing fake eye lashes.

 

[B_Nick8]

I've loved snakes since I was a kid. I think they're beautiful and fascinating.

 

[D_Tintagel_Demondong]

To Flashy, with love:

YouTube - Thousands of snakes in the Narcisse Snake Pits

Watch your step!

 

[SpeedoGuy]

There really is an acceptable dislike for snakes in N. America. This disturbs me: they are a vital part of the ecosystem and they are beautiful creatures.

Some attribute the increase of hantavirus to the loss of rodent predators such as rattlesnakes.

 

[Flashy]

To Flashy, with love:

YouTube - Thousands of snakes in the Narcisse Snake Pits

Watch your step!

i am not even going to look :tongue:

 

[ghb69]

Snakes around the yard keep mice out of your house. So garter snakes and black snakes always welcome in my flower beds.

 

[Flashy]

the only good snake, is mr.snakey :smile::biggrin1::wink:

 

[Autofellatio]

IMHO, snakes are beautiful and polite creatures.

Beautiful in the sleek, smooth design of their bodies, and polite in the sense that if you leave them be, they'll generally do likewise to you

Used to keep a Snow Corn as a pet... But one day, it vanished from its locked enclosure.

I still suspect mom of dumping her :frown1:

 

[B_Lightkeeper]

the only good snake, is mr.snakey :smile::biggrin1::wink:

Except any dead one.

 

[B_cigarbabe]

We've got three snakes: 2 King Snakes and one Corn Snake.

To me Reptiles are really the best type of pet:

1) They don't want or need to be held. They just want a heating pad to lay on when they are cold or finished eating.

2) They make zero to little noise. No barking in the middle of the night. No caterwauling when they are in heat.

3) You can go away for 2 - 3 weeks and they won't care. Leave out a larger water bowl and go. If you're reptile is properly cared for, it can go up to a month (sometimes) not eating because of the stored body fat. Some snakes in the wild can go up to a year without eating.

4) Reptiles are not slimy or scaly (sp). Reptiles have zero scales. They have folded skin. Fish have scales.

5) I forgot: They can and do eat pre-killed mice/rats. My boyfriend proved me wrong on this one. All of ours have eaten nothing but pre-killed. I don't think they'd even know how to stike and kill live food.

Thanks,

Sklar

Well said Sklar!
I like snakes and spiders also and as Sklar said they are pets
who won't be upset if you go away for 2-3 weeks!:biggrin1:
They most certainly are not slimy and I haven't known any to
stink unless you picked up a Garter snakes and he spewed his stink, as a defense mechanism on you to get away.
Garter snakes emit a musk which is probably what you are talking about when you said they stink.
They do have a stink gland near their vent.
Snakes are needed to maintain a healthy balance for the ecosystem as others have pointed out.
C.B.:saevil:

 

[silvertriumph2]

We've got three snakes: 2 King Snakes and one Corn Snake.

To me Reptiles are really the best type of pet:

1) They don't want or need to be held. They just want a heating pad to lay on when they are cold or finished eating.

2) They make zero to little noise. No barking in the middle of the night. No caterwauling when they are in heat.

3) You can go away for 2 - 3 weeks and they won't care. Leave out a larger water bowl and go. If you're reptile is properly cared for, it can go up to a month (sometimes) not eating because of the stored body fat. Some snakes in the wild can go up to a year without eating.

4) Reptiles are not slimy or scaly (sp). Reptiles have zero scales. They have folded skin. Fish have scales.

5) I forgot: They can and do eat pre-killed mice/rats. My boyfriend proved me wrong on this one. All of ours have eaten nothing but pre-killed. I don't think they'd even know how to stike and kill live food.

Thanks,

Sklar

I have been away from the site for so long that I almost didn't get back in because I forgot my password, but here I am.

Sklar, I agree with you. They make great pets and are low maintance and are anything but slimy and definitely not scary once you learn about them. I kept lots of animals and reptiles at home all the way through grade school. I am sorry I do not have a place where I could have them again.

I was, for a couple of years, a counselor as well as the head keeper of the reptile section of the Boy Scout camp zoo. It was a great way of teaching the kids about nature and what was harmless and what was not. All of the kids (but a few) learned to love our reptiles and it was the most popular place in the zoo and we had to have a waiting list for all who wanted to be allowed to help feed and take care of them.

Our funds were limited so we milked the rattlers and sold the venom to a pharmacutical company which helped pay for most of the food and esentials needed for the entire zoo.

Btw, we always fed pre-killed mice/rats to the reptiles, except for the king snakes and boas, which for some reason preferred them alive.

 

[HUNGHUGE11X7]

I don't HATE snakes, that would be silly considering they are creatures living on the planet like all other creatures , including humans !
I am VERY scared of them though , always have been ! The phobia has lessened to a certain degree as I have gotten older but still I am rather fearful of them .


HH

 

[sdbg]

Snakes are a trip. I've been around a few of them. My roommate in Arizona acquired a 3' king snake that a postman found in his USPS truck in Paradise Valley back in 1978. We kept it in an aquarium in our dining room. It would always get out (snakes are escape artists), and if I came near it, it would coil up and hiss. By contrast, my roommate just walked over to it, picked it up, and placed it back in the cage with no drama. It was truly weird watching him put a live mouse in the cage and to see the snake do what snakes do. When we had parties, my roommate would take the snake out and let everyone touch it. Show and tell time! I didn't mind it crawing over my legs while seated on the couch if my friend was right there, yet I remained motionless so that the snake would not feel threatened. I know that it couldn't hurt me if it struck, but it still creeped me out. Several months later after much coaxing from me, we released the snake in Buckeye, AZ where the desert meets the farmlands on a road trip to San Diego. It had grown in the few months that it lived with us and would ultimately reach a length of 5'. We knew that the snake would have a good life there with plenty of food supply.

That same former roommate lives on a 5 acre desert parcel in Apache Junction near the foothills of Red Mountain with his wife and 2 kids. He has caught rattlers several times right near his house that were a threat to his pets and kids. His gold lab got bit and survived; his cat was not so lucky. One time while I was visiting in the early 2000s, he caught a western coral snake by his back French kitchen doors. He put it in an empty garlic container and froze it. The venom of a coral snake is twice as poisonous as a rattler's venom. The snake was tiny compared to a rattler, and it would have been easy to not see it. He has taught his kids to always look at their surroundings while playing outside, but how often do they get caught up in having fun and miss the obvious? So far, no problems.

I've encountered numerous rattlesnakes in the wild, both in Arizona and here in San Diego County. If you keep your distance, they'll leave you alone. Still, I respect their space and know what they can do. The last one I saw was a 5' rattler in San Clemente Canyon (right near 2 busy freeways I-5 and Highway 52). 4 of us were mountain biking in the heavily wooded canyon, and the snake was resting in the middle of a dirt road. One of the guys took a dried branch and touched the snake's tail. Nothing. He did it again, and I'll never forget the sound of the loud rattling as the snake took off. Snakes can move more quickly than I would have imagined, so never mess with one if you're not a fast runner. The next time that I needed tires for my mountain bike, I bought hybrid tires knowing that my trail riding days were over. I'm strictly a road bike guy now.