What's amazing is he "knew" enough to think it was a king snake, but didn't know it was/might be a coral. How do you know about the king but not about the coral?

Advice on snake handling-You pick up a coral snake very carefully with a long handled shovel-after shooting it in the head with a 12 gauge.

I've still not seen a coral snake in person, but sure grew up hearing about them in NC with the little saying and stuff. didn't figure they were all that common though.

I saw more cottonmouth snakes on hikes and camping trips more than any other - second only to the generic garter snakes around the house.

Ah coral snakes dainty, pretty and so temping to pick up. We would see several each spring in the Texas Hill country.

Upon seeing one, my father would have his ranch hands sweep the house grounds each evening & morning to locate the mate. Generally successful with the finder getting $25.

EasyFire

Just learned something new. Googled the coral snake and apparently they have the second most deadly venom of all snakes on earth



" Coral snakes are small, vibrantly colored, highly venomous snakes. They have the second-strongest venom of any snake (the black mamba has the most deadly venom), but they are generally considered less dangerous than rattlesnakes because coral snakes have a less effective poison-delivery system.

Coral snakes are separated into two groups: the Old World coral snakes [found in Asia] and the New World coral snakes [found in the Americas], according to Sara Viernum, a herpetologist based in Madison, Wisconsin. "New World coral snakes are considered some of the most toxic snakes in North America because their venom contains powerful neurotoxins," she said."

Just remember...you CAN put scarlet king snakes in your shirt pocket without incident ...Been there, done that...

I can hurt you...ima coral snake...I have a black snout...


I can only make you hurt yourself...ima scarlet king snake...I have a red snout...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bisleyblackhawk,

It's been awhile, so forgive me on dates and numbers.

Back in the early 90's, a Richmond, VA amateur herpetologist got bitten by a cobra he had as a pet. He was trying to use tweezers to remove the eye caps that had been left when the snake shed.

It didn't go over well. He was bitten, and since it wasn't a common snake in the area, it took awhile to get the anti-venin for him.

I recall reading he had to pay out of pocket for all the doses he received (something like 35+), and pay for the LifeFlight to the hospital.

quote:

Originally posted by rusbro:
What's amazing is he "knew" enough to think it was a king snake, but didn't know it was/might be a coral. How do you know about the king but not about the coral?

"I thought it was a king snake" is the story you tell people when you've just been bitten by a coral snake you've purposely been messing with. It falls in the same category as "No officer, I have no idea why you've pulled me over" and "I was cleaning it and it just went off". BS

There is sometimes a steep price for ignorance.

I am a Florida native too. I remember being taught to watch my step from a very young age. This included the steps into the garage, as well as being alert walking in a field, or anywhere when the light was low. And always give snakes a wide berth, no matter what.

The coral is a shy snake and normally has to be really harassed to make it waste venom on a human.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
I grew up in Fla, we had all kinda deadly critters.
Copperheads,
Rattlers,
Moccasins
Coral
Gators...

I learned, red next to yellow will kill a fellow, red next to black is a friend of Jack.

....we got real good at identifying them after my mom beat us kids for killing a black snake.

Seems like this guy was fucking with the snake who was minding his own business.

quote:

Originally posted by Bisleyblackhawk:
Just remember...you CAN put scarlet king snakes in your shirt pocket without incident ...Been there, done that...

I can hurt you...ima coral snake...I have a black snout...


I can only make you hurt yourself...ima scarlet king snake...I have a red snout...

Don't see how one could confuse those 2! I grew up in N. Idaho where the only snakes we had to worry about were rattlers. Saw a few of them. Even had one on the street in front of my grandmother's place, right in the middle of town.

A neighbor girl child saw it and was riding her bike over it, repeatedly, but was smart enough to raise her feet up out of snake range. Don't know if she killed it, or the woman who came out with a hoe and decapitated it.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
Ever notice how many snake bites on humans are because the human was fucking with the snake? I'm sensing a pattern.

quote:

Red on yellow, kill a fellow.
Red on black, venom lacks.

I don't want to get close enough to find out which is which.

True, and especially with a coral snake. They are very shy and really want nothing to do with people. Leave snakes alone, and almost all of the time, they will leave you alone.

Don’t coral snakes have to gnaw a webbed portion of your hand (between fingers) or loose skin to inject venom in you because their mouth is small and they lack fangs?

I had one of those "guardian angel" moments involving a coral snake in 2009.

Not-Quite-Yet-Mrs.Burton and I were on our first trip to Costa Rica. We were hiking through the jungle on a trail winding along the side of a hill. The rise was on my left, the drop was on my right. The trail was a bit uneven and muddy and I was a few paces behind Not-Quite-Yet-Mrs.BurtonRW and our guide.

I began to reach out to steady myself on the jungle-covered dirt terrain to my left when I thought, "dumbass, you're in the jungle, better look first". So I did. And yep - I would have put my hand directly on a coral snake. Double checked to make sure red/black/yellow was in order. Definitely a coral snake. It was scrambling to get deeper into the leaves it was hiding under so I didn't get a really good picture, but I do have a couple blurry ones as proof it was a legit coral snake.

I love snakes, but I hate to die.

-Rob

quote:

Originally posted by roadkill:
Don’t coral snakes have to gnaw a webbed portion of your hand (between fingers) or loose skin to inject venom in you because their mouth is small and they lack fangs?

No, they do have small fangs, and they are in the front of its mouth. The fangs in a coral snake do not rotate into striking position like a viper's. Coral snakes are not as effective at injecting venom as vipers are, but they don't have to gnaw you.

But again, they are really timid. You really do have to pester one to get it to bite.

They are shy. I've lived where they live for much of my 55 years and have only seen one once.

The black nose snake will kill you.

I treat all snakes the same way I treat all guns; ALL snakes are poisonous and ALL guns are loaded.

quote:

Originally posted by roadkill:
Don’t coral snakes have to gnaw a webbed portion of your hand (between fingers) or loose skin to inject venom in you because their mouth is small and they lack fangs?

I think they can latch onto any skin and they do sort of "gnaw". Their fangs are short and they do not have an efficient delivery system for their venom, so they do try to hang on and "chew" their venom into the bite. The poor delivery is offset by a venom that is much more toxic than anything produced by the pit viper family we see in the US.



.

The amount of Coral Snake venom injected is related to contact time. They bite and hang on to allow the venom to flow, instead of quickly biting, injecting, and releasing like a viper.

Prayer sent to him but I love snakes... I have eaten a few and they are delicious...don’t get me started on snake wine.