Random Comments (RH)

[Purplelady1040]

That's the only way I could deal with snakes too.....

People always say look at the snakes eyes and you can tell if they are poisonous or not. I just say kill them all but a black snake! Black snakes kill poisonous snakes.

[me]

Guess I'm gonna have to do some rethinkin' on the black snakes then. 

[Anne]

My grandson told me a rhyme one of his teachers taught them about telling poisonous snakes from nonpoisonous ones. "Black and yellow, he's a happy fellow, black and red, you are surely dead" Don't know if it is true. I just generally stay away from all snakes.

[Bo D]

My grandson told me a rhyme one of his teachers taught them about telling poisonous snakes from nonpoisonous ones. "Black and yellow, he's a happy fellow, black and red, you are surely dead" Don't know if it is true. I just generally stay away from all snakes.

That only works for coral snakes.

[Purplelady1040]

My grandson told me a rhyme one of his teachers taught them about telling poisonous snakes from nonpoisonous ones. "Black and yellow, he's a happy fellow, black and red, you are surely dead" Don't know if it is true. I just generally stay away from all snakes.

I had heard the same rhyme but thought that one pertained to the coral snake.

[Purplelady1040]

That only works for coral snakes.

We posted at the same time. Lol

[Bo D]

Here's a more general guideline ....

http://www.wikihow.com/Differentiate-Between-Poisonous-Snakes-and-Non-Poisonous-Snakes

1
Look at the head. Most venomous snakes usually have triangular shaped heads.

2
Observe the colors. Some venomous snakes such as the coral snake have bright colors.

3
Look into their eyes. Some venomous snakes have vertical eye slits, versus round pupils usually seen in non-venomous snakes.

4
Look for a pit between the snake's eyes and nostrils. A poisonous snake normally has a heat-sensitive pit there to locate warm-blooded prey. Non-poisonous snakes lack such pits.

5
See if there is a rattle. A snake with a rattle on its tail must be a rattlesnake, which is poisonous.

6
Notice the underside scales on the tip of the tail. Most venomous snakes have one row of scales there while non-poisonous snakes usually have two rows.

7
Check the bottom of the tail if you can. The bottom of the tail (behind the anus) of venomous snakes looks the same as the rest of the belly. If the snake has a cross pattern (like a diamond shape) it is non-venomous. However, this may not be easy to find out, unless the snake is dead.  (Ya think!!!!)

8
Watch water snakes swim. Only venomous water snakes swim with their entire bodies visible on the water.

9
Examine the bite marks in case of a snake attack. Two close-set puncture marks would indicate that the snake has fangs and is venomous. By contrast, a ragged bite mark means the snake lacks fangs, which only poisonous snakes have. (Too late! You're dead!)

[Henry Hawk]

My grandson told me a rhyme one of his teachers taught them about telling poisonous snakes from nonpoisonous ones. "Black and yellow, he's a happy fellow, black and red, you are surely dead" Don't know if it is true. I just generally stay away from all snakes.

I have heard it said, that "Red touch yellow kills a fellow.  Yellow touch black, a friend of Jack."

[Locutus]

That only works for coral snakes.

And actually, if you used that exact rhyme as she typed in on a coral snake, you'd be dead.  Black touches yellow on a coral snake.

[Locutus]

The above image is from Wikipedia, but the corals are definitely out there.  My friend ran across this one on a walkway at Cocoa Beach up in Central Florida a couple of years ago. 

[Bo D]

I had to laugh again when I re-read what I posted ....

Check the bottom of the tail if you can. The bottom of the tail (behind the anus) of venomous snakes looks the same as the rest of the belly. If the snake has a cross pattern (like a diamond shape) it is non-venomous.

Yeah, right! Just pick up a questionable snake and look closely at its rear-end.

[Locutus]

I had to laugh again when I re-read what I posted ....

Check the bottom of the tail if you can. The bottom of the tail (behind the anus) of venomous snakes looks the same as the rest of the belly. If the snake has a cross pattern (like a diamond shape) it is non-venomous.

Yeah, right! Just pick up a questionable snake and look closely at its rear-end.

NOT happening! 

[libby]

All I know is that as a girl growing up in the WV hills, in a hollow close to the woods with lots of rocks and places for snakes to hide, daddy taught us how to spot copperheads and rattlesnakes and run fast if we saw one. Don't remember the specifics now.

I was a fast runner; never took any chances since my sisters and I and most of the children we knew went barefooted all summer long -- except when we went to church.

[Locutus]

Here's an example of the 'friendly' kind from Hank's post.  This is a king snake.  He just likes to make you think he's a coral snake.  Note the differences in the patterns between the two and how they fit the rhyme that HH posted.

[Locutus]

All I know is that as a girl growing up in the WV hills, in a hollow close to the woods with lots of rocks and places for snakes to hide, daddy taught us how to spot copperheads and rattlesnakes and run fast if we saw one. Don't remember the specifics now.

I was a fast runner; never took any chances since my sisters and I and most of the children we knew went barefooted all summer long -- except when we went to church.

Copperheads are extremely dangerous in the woods.     They fit in so well with their surroundings and it's easy to step on them especially since they freeze as a defensive mechanism rather than slithering off.