Snakes in North Carolina?

[LLN]

To quote Jesse Jackson, "I'm too stunned to comment."

I do not want to call anyone out, for posting ignorant posts, but c'mon boys and girls, lets deal in facts not "lore." I am scared to death of snakes, but i have enough cools to learn the facts, not rely on bizarre estimates or what someone's sister's boyfriend's cousin said he saw.

Recommend you check the facts at Mike Dorcas's web site at the Davidson Herp Lab:

Snakes of North Carolina

Mike is a real person, He will answer no-nonsense questions if you have them. He is also pretty conservative in where he lists the ranges of the snakes in question.

My only comment is that Charlotte/Meck has a lot of copperheads. I do not know about Raleigh, but yes, they do come into subdivisions, and they do quite well there.

Three things for you folks that are not familiar with snakes to think about:

1) You walk around outside at night without shoes and a light at your peril.

2) Once snakes start to stir, they will lie on the roads, SUBDIVISION roads too, in the evening if it is cool, since the roads will retain heat. We had a near bite and near heart attack one evening when a family almost walked across a large snake (non venonmous) taking in the heat, just after sunset. Right in front of my house, by the way!!

3) One more thing, bird feeders attract rodents, and rodents attract snakes. I have lots of birdfeeders but I look very close when I fill them up. You should too.

lln

[NCis4me]

Originally Posted by Ann in Oriental

Last summer our Bichon was killed by an Eastern diamondback right in our backyard! The vet said by the size of the fang marks it was probably 8-10 ft. long. Needless to say we no longer live there. We know there are lots of snakes in our new location also but it's not as rural so we feel a little safer. We use leashes on the other dogs now even in our yard.

We lost a pet cat to a snake bite. She was a great snake killer, but one finally got her.

[BxRosie]

Originally Posted by LLN

To quote Jesse Jackson, "I'm too stunned to comment."

I do not want to call anyone out, for posting ignorant posts, but c'mon boys and girls, lets deal in facts not "lore." I am scared to death of snakes, but i have enough cools to learn the facts, not rely on bizarre estimates or what someone's sister's boyfriend's cousin said he saw.

Recommend you check the facts at Mike Dorcas's web site at the Davidson Herp Lab:

Snakes of North Carolina

Mike is a real person, He will answer no-nonsense questions if you have them. He is also pretty conservative in where he lists the ranges of the snakes in question.

My only comment is that Charlotte/Meck has a lot of copperheads. I do not know about Raleigh, but yes, they do come into subdivisions, and they do quite well there.

Three things for you folks that are not familiar with snakes to think about:

1) You walk around outside at night without shoes and a light at your peril.

2) Once snakes start to stir, they will lie on the roads, SUBDIVISION roads too, in the evening if it is cool, since the roads will retain heat. We had a near bite and near heart attack one evening when a family almost walked across a large snake (non venonmous) taking in the heat, just after sunset. Right in front of my house, by the way!!

3) One more thing, bird feeders attract rodents, and rodents attract snakes. I have lots of birdfeeders but I look very close when I fill them up. You should too.

lln

Great info, great link!

When I 1st moved from NYC to Carmel, NY (50 miles north of the city line), I contacted a local herpatologist. We lived in a very wooded area with lots of lakes & streams. I had a newborn, so I wanted to know what was out there that could possibly harm him or our pets. The guy I spoke with was very nice & appreciated the fact that I took the time to get educated about my new surroundings. When we moved to NC in '06, I did the same research. I also got alot of good info & links (like yours) on the forum.

Yes, copperheads do come into subdivisions. DH ran over a copperhead with his motorcycle in the street, last summer at night, 3 doors down from our house. Several have been spotted in our section of the subd. We have woods, stone outcroppings & walls & a small brook in this section. The weather's starting to warm up, so we'll be starting to see them again soon.

Be careful!

BxRosie