This will hold true for most of the SE give or take one or two. I kind of like the attitude of a local guy who says “There are two kinds of snakes, chicken snakes and cobras. If it doesn’t have a chicken in its mouth, it’s a cobra.”[b]
NON-VENOMOUS SNAKES IN GEORGIA[/b][ol]
[li]Eastern Green Water Snake[/li][li]Brown Water Snake[/li][li]Red or Yellow-Bellied Water Snake[/li][li]Banded Water Snake[/li][li]Northern Water Snake[/li][li]Banded Water Snake[/li][li]Striped Crayfish Snake[/li][li]Glossy Crayfish Snake[/li][li]Black Swamp Snake[/li][li]Brown Snake[/li][li]Red-Bellied Snake[/li][li]Eastern Ribbon Snake[/li][li]Common Garter Snake[/li][li]Smooth Earth Snake[/li][li]Rough Earth Snake[/li][li]Eastern Hognose Snake[/li][li]Southern Hognose Snake[/li][li]Ringneck Snake[/li][li]Eastern Worm Snake[/li][li]Pine Woods Snake[/li][li]Mud Snake[/li][li]Rainbow Snake[/li][li]Racer[/li][li]Coachwhip[/li][li]Rough Green Snake[/li][li]Corn Snake[/li][li]Rat Snake[/li][li]Pine Snake[/li][li]Eastern/Black Kingsnake[/li][li]Mole Kingsnake[/li][li]Scarlet Kingsnake/Milk Snake[/li][li]Scarlet Snake[/li][li]Southeastern Crowned Snake[/li][li]Eastern Indigo Snake[/li][li]Central Florida Crowned Snake[/li][/ol]VENOMOUS SNAKES IN GEORGIA[ol]
[li]Copperhead[/li][li]Pigmy Rattlesnake[/li][li]Canebrake or Timber Rattlesnake[/li][li]Cottonmouth[/li][li]Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake[/li][li]Eastern Coral Snake[/li][/ol]
You know there are people next state below you who do. Personally, I abide with snakes, we have a deal, I leave them along, they leave me along, with the exception of Cottonmouths. I dispatch Cottonmouths if I have the ability at hand.
Wife and I were hiking in Tennessee when a beautiful yellow phase timber rattlesnake came out of the brush on the side of the trail. We stared as it crossed the trail and disappeared in to the brush on the other side. By the time it disappeared there were several people (about a dozen) standing from both directions watching the snake. Several of us had cameras. One person asked," Did anyone get a picture?" To our amazement not one of us had.
Here in Ohio, we have just 3 venomous snakes…timber rattler, massassauga rattler, & copperhead. In all my years of fishing & as a kid going on many snake hunting adventures, I have YET to see a venomous snake in the wild. Seeing one, while they fascinate me, is NOT on my bucket list.
Someone asked the question about how do fish get into pond that are not stocked by the owner. I am wondering how do snakes get into ponds. I don’t believe snakes leave one body of water and crawl significant distances across land search for that new pond to explore. But in the south if you dig a pond, which are usually for watering cows or some agricultural related use, sooner or later you will have cottonmouths appear. How do they get there?
By hitchhiking on the shells of snapping turtles? The flaw in your theory that snakes don’t travel long distances over dry land. Cottonmouths and snapping turtles do travel over significant areas of dry land to move between patches of water. In that regard, they are like mink, fly anglers, and other semi-aquatic animals.
Thank you for your informed opinion Edward. Mom always warned me about hitchhikers. Although I have caught snappers out in the countryside, I had never heard of anyone finding a cottonmouth out away from water. Several years ago, I caught a snapper in my yard, got it into a milk crate and was going to take it to a creek and release it. I went in the house for a minute, when I came out it had climbed out of the milk crate and boogyed out of the yard. Of course, down where Mom lives it would have end up in somebody’s skillet.
US soldiers in the Vietnam War used to say that there are 100 types of snakes in Vietnam[SIZE=5]. 99 were poisonous, and the last one could crush you to death. The real numbers are more like 140 species, around 30 of which are poisonous, including the famous King Cobra. The danger for tourists is low, but nearly 30,000 Vietnamese rice farmers get bitten every year, mostly by stepping on hidden snakes. If you’re walking through national parks or rice paddies, make sure to wear long pants and appropriate shoes; if you see a snake, maintain a respectful distance. If it has a triangular head (as many poisonous snakes do), simply leave the area. Snake bites, even poisonous ones, aren’t usually life-threatening if treated quickly and properly. Don’t bother snakes, and they shouldn’t bother you.[/SIZE]
Only snake I am actually scared to get bitten by here in CA is the Mojave Green Rattlesnake. Seen 2, ran the other way both times. Thank God they live in places I don’t go much anymore.
Mike if you want to see one in the wild and are in North Alabama in late May or early June I can introduce you to some cottonmouths. Jimsnarocks the theory if you don’t bother them they won’t bother you doesn’t work with cotton mouths. I had one look my way one time and go under and I left the creek and he came up where I had been standing.
I had two converge on the point where I had been standing and casting at Camp Shelby, MS on day. Definitely not shy snakes. My late friend Pete, BAR man w/ the 82nd Airborne on D-day, no sissy, had one drop into his alumninum semi-V boat fishing on the TN River around Muscle Shoals area. Pete said “The next thing I knew I was on the bank, don’t know how I got there, my feet weren’t wet.”
Won’t help for the one that sneaks up on you. Turned around one day and a water snake was a foot and half away with his head about a foot off the water. Glad it was just a water snake.
Run across many a copperhead while fishing here in North Carolina. Just walk around them. Learned to be careful where I step though.
Haven’t seen a rattler but have heard them several times off the side of the trail…needless to say my pace quickens, as well as my heartbeat!
Most folks here say “kill it, kill it”…they’re put here for a purpose and I leave them alone.
