SNAKES!

Limbrat

TreeHouser
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May 10, 2013
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Gulf coast, NW Florida
I came across this trio a couple of days ago. It's pretty rare in my experience to catch two snakes in the act. I watched the third one scent trail them down and try to join in on the action. Black rat snakes, just called black snakes by most folks.
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We blew a little snake out of the irrigation last night. I had to work hard not to mash it with a spade. I'm not a fan of snakes
 
When I was a kid there was a wildlife supply place in Florida that you could order an amazing assortment of creatures from, even foreign species. Snakes came in the mail in special packaging. If one died in transit or shortly after arrival, if you cut off the head and packed it in salt and sent it back, they would send a free replacement. I dig snakes, purchased a couple from that outfit.

Boas came in small, medium and large. When I sent back a small Boa after it died in a couple days, a much bigger package arrived. They said that they were out of small and sent me a medium. :O It was quite a large snake and it made my mom very uneasy. Big snakes put out a certain smell. I had to really scrounge around for the money to buy mice from the pet shop to feed the thing. Beautiful snake though...
 
Down Okinawa way that have a common poisonous species called Habu. They pay good money to people catching them. Many of the captured snakes get put in a large glass container containing shochu, an alcoholic beverage. The dead snake remains permanently in the container and the liquid grows darker. Drinking the extract is supposed to greatly improve sexual function. I was given one once by a friend whose wife refused to let him keep it in their house. Whether his sexual function was wearing her out or she didn't like snakes, I'm not sure. Anyway, I tried drinking a small cup full and the taste was about the most absolutely horrible thing that I have ever endured. I quickly found a buyer for it though, sold the big jar for a hundred bucks to a guy employed at the city office, people really believe it works.
 
I was doing a job at a fancy house and ran across a bunch of male Garter snakes chasing a female, doing just like those black snakes. It was at least 5 or 6 snakes getting their party on. I snatched all of them up and proceeded to chase the groundies, the yardskeeper and a couple of squealing maids. It was funny as heck and not one of them bite (which ain't shit) me.

I like snakes.
 
In the big town not far away there used to be a snake blood serving establishment. They had snakes in cages along a wall. It was kind of dark in there. You'd tell the proprietor what you wanted...or maybe he'd tell you want you wanted. He'd kill the snake and bring the blood in a whisky glass with an alcoholic chaser., I seem to remember it being whisky. Then he'd bring the grilled snake to eat. The establishment's sign had a big snake on it. It was the coolest place, the owner's wife was very attractive too....a snake in a former life? I figured that she must have drank a lot of blood, she was tall thin and her long black hair was very shiny, or maybe she put it in her hair? I was only in there once many years ago, but salary men wanting a boost in their energy to tackle their jobs frequented. Unfortunately, the owner died and his wife closed up.
 
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  • #14
How much do snakes factor into FL tree work? snakes, NO THANKS.
Not as much as you'd think. All the rat snakes climb like squirrels and are encountered in sabal palms fairly regularly but the only poisonous snakes I've ever seen in trees here are cottonmouths and they're not really climbers, they just crawl out on limbs overhanging the water so they can sun and make a quick escape by falling off. More hazardous to boaters than tree climbers.
 
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  • #15
When I was a kid there was a wildlife supply place in Florida that you could order an amazing assortment of creatures from, even foreign species. Snakes came in the mail in special packaging. If one died in transit or shortly after arrival, if you cut off the head and packed it in salt and sent it back, they would send a free replacement. I dig snakes, purchased a couple from that outfit.
If I remember correctly, Ross Allen did that, he had a "reptile institute" near Silver Springs, don't know if that's who you got 'em from Jay.
 
Ray, it was so long ago, I honestly don't recall the name of the company, though Silver Springs seems to ring a bell. That thing is, they also supplied some four legged creatures, so the place I bought from was more than just a reptile institute. It must have been well before the days when laws were implemented to prevent importing certain species. They might have even supplied zoos. I seem to recall that there were some animals on their sales list that might make the neighbors a bit concerned if they knew what was also living on the block.
 
Snakes are the devil! It says so in the Bible. It's even right in the beginning. Bad news. Can't stand them. Scream like a little girl when they sneak up on me.
 
Hahahahaaa. I laid a dead one on a napping groundie then made a sound to wake him.

He shot straight into the air!
 
I cut one to pieces that was in a hallow limb and that thing hissed at me when I hit the ground two hours later Devil don't die till sundown.
 
I used to hunt rattlers as a kid. But I don't like touching them. Bag em and freeze em
 
My wife hates snakes. We were shopping somewhere and the place had some rubber toy snakes. I put one in her shopping basket and gave her a little nudge to look down. She gave a shout, dropped her basket and did a little dance. Ha..mean...:D

Speaking of snakes or snake like, grilled freshwater eels make for some delicious eating.
 

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