Oh, man... More snakes in Dallas or Houston? (San Antonio, Austin: scorpions, live)

[ericeric]

I am deciding to move from Phily to Dallas or Houston. So I read each thread carefully and take them seriously. Oh, man... I just heard TX is quite exposed to having snakes. My understanding is, snake is cold reptile. Why do they like hot TX?

I guess Dallas is drier. So snakes shouldn't like there. But houston is much humidity and warm. So there are more snakes in Houston?

If there are many snakes in houston, I may be scared and will stop moving. I really don't want to see snakes suddenly when I walk on the road or walk in the yard after dinner.

[Rakin]

Texas passed a law 8 years ago against snakes and they've all left the state.

Watch out for those deadly Durango Black Scorpions and African Stinging Tarantula's that have been introduced years ago. They are becoming a real pest and can bring down a good size dog.

Seriously.... There are snakes everywhere but I live near an open field and river bottom and almost never see them. Occasionally you'll see one crossing a bike path. You'll also read about Coyotes, Bobcats, etc and they are all pretty much harmless. leave them alone and they leave you alone.

No need to worry about snakes.

But did I mention those blood sucking Vampire Bats in Austin ? Those are a problem.

[majicdonjuan]

Snakes??? Are you kidding me???

I lived in Texas for 20 years and maybe saw 2 or 3 in that entire time. And from what I remember, they were all in rural areas (NE and SE TX).

Are you Samuel L. Jackson by any chance?

"I've had it with these m*********** snakes in this m*********** state!"

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by Rakin

Texas passed a law 8 years ago against snakes and they've all left the state.

Yeah, In Texas snakes can only now be kept in pants

[Dallaz]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

Yeah, In Texas snakes can only now be kept in pants

Huh?

[elan]

Texas snow snakes are the worst! They are only up in the Panhandle though.

[kenshi]

Originally Posted by ericeric

I am deciding to move from Phily to Dallas or Houston. So I read each thread carefully and take them seriously. Oh, man... I just heard TX is quite exposed to having snakes. My understanding is, snake is cold reptile. Why do they like hot TX?

I guess Dallas is drier. So snakes shouldn't like there. But houston is much humidity and warm. So there are more snakes in Houston?

If there are many snakes in houston, I may be scared and will stop moving. I really don't want to see snakes suddenly when I walk on the road or walk in the yard after dinner.

You know nothing about snakes. First, the majority of them around here are harmless. There are only four venomous snakes in Texas, the rattlesnake, water moccasin, copperhead, and coral snake. It's not too hard to distinguish these from a lot of nonvenomous snakes like garter snakes and green snakes.

Second, poikilothermic animals generally prefer warm areas. Having no direct means to regulate their body temperature, cool temperatures could mean death.

Third, most snakes prefer dry areas. Water moccasins are an exception.

Fourth, snakes seldom make their way into the city. It's pretty common to see dead snakes on the road in rural areas, but not urban ones. Even if you did see a snake while walking down the road, it's likely to slither away before you get very close. They don't stick around waiting for an animal 100 times their size to approach. It would be much better to encounter one on the road than in tall grass where you can't see it and it can't see you.

[Lee W.]

I'd say East Texas...where it rains more. Certain snakes like it more wet. I lived in East Texas until I was 8 or so. Where I live now there are few snakes and I've only seen a couple snakes on my place that were poisonous. Actually, there were more snakes in San Antonio than out here in the hill country...but even in San Antonio, snakes weren't commonly seen.

[tebor79]

In rural east Texas I saw snakes all the time. Every few weeks my mom has a new story about killing a snake in her garden.

In Houston I've only seen them at the zoo.

[jtur88]

I've been in every county in Texas, I've spent many entire days in the countryside birdwatching all over the state, and I've lived here for five years. I've only seen one snake in my life in Texas. It was a beautiful violet-colored snake, non-venomous, about 8 feet long, a few yards from the Rio Grande.