Question for Florida PetTalkers

[Pam]

Yesterday on the news there was a story about someone being bitten by a snake at a Florida Walmart in their garden section (the person is suing Walmart BTW). Now I just heard that a little child was killed by a python in Florida. The report mentioned just how many snakes there are in Florida but unfortunately I forget the number . Have any of you PetTalkers run into snakes in your day-to-day lives? I just can't imagine that.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

I don't live in FL but I have seen several stories on pythons that used to be people's pets getting loose (or released) and overpopulating parts of Florida. They thrive in the heat and are a real threat to natural wildlife and pets.

[Pam]

Well I guess they aren't as much of a problem as the reports would indicate - at least among Florida Pet Talkers!

[BitsyNaceyDog]

We see a lot of snakes in our yard, not daily though. We've only seen one venomous snake in our yard and that was a coral snake. It's not unusual for us to see black racers, rat snakes, or Florida water snakes in our yard. We've seen a couple hognose snakes too and a few others. I've seen rattlesnakes on a few occasions, but never in our yard.

We live completely surrounded by woods though, with water nearby, so we probably have more than the average yard has. We're always keeping a look out for snakes. We really enjoy seeing the non-venomous snakes in our yard. We're always cautious though and keep an eye out for venomous snakes, especially with Nathan and the dogs.

Here's a yellow rat snake we've seen in our yard.


Florida has 37 non-venomous species and 6 venomous.

[Daisy and Delilah]

I see a snake now and again but it's pretty rare within city limits. When I used to live out in the country, I saw alot more.

I'll never forget some of the rattlesnakes I saw many many years ago close by my Grandmother's house. Some of those rattlers were the size of a human leg. Pretty scary. I don't mind snakes at all as long as they're not poisonous.

Pam: sorry I'm just seeing this. It does seem like we hear snake stories all the time.

[Pam]

Tonight I was watching ABC News and they again had a story about Florida and the snake situation. Apparently pythons are more of a problem than the other types, at least at this point. They stated that cats and, lately, alligators have been prey. I went to their website to get a link (so that you don't think I am imagining that I see this stuff on TV ) but they don't have it on their site. Honestly, snakes seem to be pretty rare here in NJ. I don't know what I would do if I ever saw one, no matter how large (or even small...haha!)

[beeniesmom]

Yes, my husband usually sees snakes every time he works in the yard.
I've had one in the garage and several just hanging out near the front door step. Once a poisonous one in the mulch bed and a few times pigmy rattlers in the driveway between the cars 'sunning'. I don't care for them and I am sure they don't care for me. My neighbors dog got bit in the face last year. Her dog is fine but not without some serious worry.

[Logan]

I seriously would have to move. I about had a heart attack when I found a black snake (aka king snake) in my garage years ago. I have seen several non-poisonous snakes in our yard since then, but it never gets any easier for me, even with the massive cleanup we've done to keep down the ground cover.

[smokey the elder]

A lot of Burmese pythons escaped from a hatchery after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Some of the snakes are huge! They have no enemies other than man, so there's in effect an open season on them. Invasive apex predator: not great for the ecosystem.

[Catherinedana]

We have a resident black racer snake in our backyard that we named Snakie (original, hunh?). We see him go for his daily slither around the yard looking for lizards. Last year we saw him and Mrs Snakie do their mating dance which was very cool. I also found snake eggs in my friend's yard when I was helping her plant some things. One of them was dried up and torn open so that's how we knew they were snake eggs. I put the rest of them in a safe place and told her that I threw them away because she was petrified of them. I don't kill snakes. . .

We also found a nest of small snakes by our shed about 3 years ago. . .I forget what they are called but they don't get much larger than about 6 inches. They were beautiful.

Also saw a pygmy rattlesnake in my friend's house - he lived by the Hillsborough River and it got in somehow. We swept it into a paper bag and I took it to a deserted part of the river and let it go.

There was an orange rat snake living in a crevace above the track of the sliding door out to my patio in my first florida apartment and last year saved a glass lizard, which looks like a snake but it is actually a lizard with no legs, from being mauled by a stray cat in my yard.

Enjoy your Wild America!

[Alysser]

You've never seen snakes around Jersey, Pam? I've seen quite a few garder snakes. I live by the Manasquan Watershed, that's where I've seen them. I should ask my brother about it, he lives in West Palm. Many pythons are released into the wild by there owners who didn't think before they got them.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

We also found a nest of small snakes by our shed about 3 years ago. . .I forget what they are called but they don't get much larger than about 6 inches. They were beautiful.

A ringneck snake, maybe? The get a bit longer than 6 inches, but they stay really small. I believe usually under a foot. We had one on our back porch last week.

[Catherinedana]

A ringneck snake, maybe? The get a bit longer than 6 inches, but they stay really small. I believe usually under a foot. We had one on our back porch last week.

Absolutely! I looked it up on the internet and found the attached pic. They were much smaller, however, and since there was a whole pile of them, I guessed they were a nest of babies. Never saw any again after that though.

One exciting thing I saw last year was a Cooper's Hawk in a tree in the yard next door with a snake and she was footing it and it would rear up to fight back and then she would foot it again. It was crazy!!!

[smokey the elder]

Aww, what a cute little snake! I wonder what they eat. Insects, maybe?

[BitsyNaceyDog]

One exciting thing I saw last year was a Cooper's Hawk in a tree in the yard next door with a snake and she was footing it and it would rear up to fight back and then she would foot it again. It was crazy!!!

That's awesome! We have a few red-shoulder hawks that come around often. I saw one footing a snake (didn't know it was called "footing" though) in my front yard.

Aww, what a cute little snake! I wonder what they eat. Insects, maybe?

I'm not sure what they eat. My guess would be small frogs and lizards. Maybe some insects too?