Cottonmouth (Page 3): :sm24: AMEN. They can be aggressive. I am relocating to Dunnellon, an hour south of you, and would love to see your snakes sometime next year after I get settled...

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Jul 5, 2020 12:32:23 #

Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida

SMPhotography wrote:

Nice shot of a cottonmouth posturing or "gaping".

I am licensed to keep (but not show) venomous reptiles in FL. For the last 30+ years I have had numerous different kinds of rattlers, copperheads and cottonmouths and when it comes to just plain nasty dispositions, the cottonmouth is in a league of its own. Copperheads are by far the most docile and slow to anger venomous reptiles in the US.

AMEN. They can be aggressive. I am relocating to Dunnellon, an hour south of you, and would love to see your snakes sometime next year after I get settled into the new homestead. I used to hunt them in my youth and also had a gator for a pet as well. Old habits die hard. Snakes are amazing animals.

Jul 5, 2020 13:01:06 #

SMPhotography Loc: Pawleys Island, SC

Blair Shaw Jr wrote:

img src="https://static.uglyhedgehog.com/images/s... (show quote)

I love ALL reptiles, venomous or not. I am up in SC right now with my fiance and I was at Huntington Beach State Park the other day taking photos. I heard a rustling in the grass and to my delight there was about a 2.5 foot gator heading for the water. I laid my camera down and snatched it by the tail and grabbed it behind its head, it was adorable! People were freaked out when they came by and saw me holding a gator. I asked them if they wanted to pet it, most cringed. I told them, "for God's sake, I have it behind the head and in front of its rear legs. Unless you do something GALACTICALLY STUPID like stick your finger in its mouth, you are perfectly safe!". I spent several minutes wondering how I was going to get it home without being seen, but figured that was pretty much impossible and decided to just let it be and let it go. They are so adorable at that age but they grow roughly a foot a year, and then what do you do with them?

Jul 5, 2020 13:05:50 #

will47 Loc: Indianapolis, IN

Longshadow wrote:

I didn't realize they went that far up the Miss!

They say, and I have never seen, these snakes in my state of Indiana. Supposedly in a small portion of one county. Who knows? We do have 2 types of rattlesnakes and copperheads. I have looked for those and never found one.

Jul 5, 2020 13:46:37 #

skylinefirepest Loc: Southern Pines, N.C.

"First instinct would be to flee"? You're talking about a water moccasin here and they rarely flee...they are big nasty varmints who would rather bite you than flee any day of the week! I've never seen a friendly cottonmouth and I've seen and shot a slew of them in the creeks of N.C. Because of their size they inject a large amount of venom through those large fangs and then laugh about it and bite you again just for funsies!

Jul 5, 2020 13:59:26 #

JRiepe Loc: Southern Illinois

Thanks all for your comments. I've heard from many people that they are aggressive and I've also heard that they are docile. I'm thinking maybe they're just moody.😁 One day not watching where I was stepping I nearly stepped on one and it fled under some rocks. On another occasion I saw one lying on the road and I stopped my car to get some pictures and as I got closer it turned away from me and rapidly crawled into the weeds. Most people I know think the only good snake is a dead snake but I have no desire to kill one UNLESS it's in my yard and then only if it's venomous. On our farm years ago my dad and I saw a black snake devouring a live copperhead.

Jul 5, 2020 14:27:13 #

skylinefirepest Loc: Southern Pines, N.C.

How about buying a lottery ticket for me? Sounds like you are one lucky man! I've had just the opposite experience with cottonmouths...I've NEVER had one do anything except get mad that I was in their neighborhood. A couple of years ago we had a pair of, over six and a half foot, black rat snakes that wiped out everything from mice to other snakes, venomous included, in our barn. You could pick them up and hold them and they didn't mind...but I ran into a five footer on a back street and when I stopped to pick him up to take him home he did the "cobra" thing so I just shooed him off the road so he wouldn't get run over. We have all four types of venomous snakes here in N.C. although the coral is almost non-existent now. We also have the country's largest venomous snake down near the coast, the Eastern Diamondback...they don't even need to bite you...they are so big that when they rattle you just die of a heart attack!

Jul 5, 2020 14:32:32 #

Bigmike1 Loc: I am from Gaffney, S.C. but live in Utah.

I don't play with snakes and I don't play with alligators. While at Fort Stewart, Georgia with my National Guard unit I had a gator swim right up at my feet, stick it's eyes out of the water and look at me. That's the closest I have ever been to one. I found it interesting that their eyes glow pink in the dark.

Jul 5, 2020 14:48:45 #

TheShoe Loc: Lacey, WA

JRiepe wrote:

... But I also believe had he been warm enough his first instinct would be to flee.

I don't know about that, they are frequently very aggressive.

Jul 5, 2020 15:11:14 #

Bigmike1 Loc: I am from Gaffney, S.C. but live in Utah.

skylinefirepest wrote:

How about buying a lottery ticket for me? Sounds... (show quote)

One of my buddies shot one of those things at Fort Stewart. It was as big around as my upper leg. Once at Fort Jackson they found a timber rattler and bashed it in the head with a rock, put it in a tow sack and brought it up to where we were serving chow. They dumped in on the ground in front of a jeep in front of where I was serving chow. I watched it slowly come back to life and it was moving around. One of my black buddies came through the line, walked over to the jeep and placed his plate on the hood and began eating. All of a sudden he looked down and saw the snake and jumped as high as the hood on the jeep. He quickly got his meal and went elsewhere to eat. When they came back to get their snake it had curled up with it's tail in the air and they had to fight it to get it back in the tow sack. They would cure the skins and make belts, etc out of them.

Jul 5, 2020 18:28:33 #