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I have found out that there are many many copperheads in Durham in my future neighborhood, and I'm afraid to go in the yard. Not kidding. And I actually like snakes.
I grew up on a little place near Wake Med on Sunnybrook Rd. that was crawling with copperheads...still is today. Some of my family still live there and this summer they have already killed over a dozen copperheads. All three of my nephew's dogs have been bitten at least one. One of his dogs just had her second overnight stay at the emergency vet...one bite to the paw and three bites to the inside of the mouth. Visualize that
That's fairly close to the area I mentioned. I was just a bit north. The five years I was there I saw two black snakes and hundreds of copperheads. Never heard of a person being bit - but people were good about warning each other of sightings!
Many snakes, even copperheads are nocturnal. You're more likely to see them in your yard at night...if you've got night vision goggles! Do not walk your dog at night, while barefooted!
I grew up on a little place near Wake Med on Sunnybrook Rd. that was crawling with copperheads...still is today. Some of my family still live there and this summer they have already killed over a dozen copperheads. All three of my nephew's dogs have been bitten at least one. One of his dogs just had her second overnight stay at the emergency vet...one bite to the paw and three bites to the inside of the mouth. Visualize that
UGH! That's what worries me (I have a dog). I'm on the neighborhood listserve and I keep reading about copperheads. Poor dogs!
They like to come out and lie down in the middle of the road at night to capture the warmth from the asphalt, especially as the nights start cooling off a little. Just make sure you've got a flashlight or headlamp to spot 'em. We had a big one in the road maybe 5 years back when I was walking the dog. The snake coiled up in strike position and I immediately pulled up about 15 or 20 feet away from it, but the stupid dog wanted to go investigate. I had to yank him back and high tail it back to the house. We didn't get any further on our walk that night. That was just a month or so after someone I know got bitten by a copperhead so I was extra skittish.
I don't know if I've seen a live one this year or not, but I know we saw a small dead one on a walk and the spouse saw a live one on the greenway.
And a copperhead bite is much less serious for a dog than it is for a human. They're in pain, but usually fine the next day if not before. If you take them to the vet they will get some antibiotics and pain meds, but they don't do much else unless the bite is in a particularly bad place or the dog seems to be having a particularly bad time of it. Our older border collie-ish mix got bitten last summer or summer before last (when he was 12 or 11, he's 13 this year) and we did take him to the vet. I was leaving town that day and the spouse had to work so he stayed at the vet so they could watch him, but he was clearly ready to go home well before he got picked up. Our younger indestructible pointer mix got bitten later that same summer (she was 1 or 2) and was clearly in pain, but we had just been through the thing with the older dog and it was Friday night when the young dog got bitten so I called a friend who is a specialist vet and she said while she would bring her dogs in (she is a vet, after all) she had a vet friend who lived out in the country and just let their dogs get over it on their own and maybe learn a lesson. We opted to give Benadryl (I've heard there is actually some evidence that it doesn't do much good in dogs) and watch until the next morning and then we might take her then. She was completely fine—like it had never happened—the next morning.
Contrast that with the humans I've known who have gotten bitten. One had to have emergency surgery on his finger (the bite site) because the doctors feared nerve damage. One was give anti-venin. One had his whole leg turn black and blue after stepping on one after dark. A boy in my child's class had to miss the first week and a half of school and use crutches for a period of time following a bite to the leg.
Many snakes, even copperheads are nocturnal. You're more likely to see them in your yard at night...if you've got night vision goggles! Do not walk your dog at night, while barefooted!
And yet, another reason to stay inside the house at night!!!
Contrast that with the humans I've known who have gotten bitten. One had to have emergency surgery on his finger (the bite site) because the doctors feared nerve damage. One was give anti-venin. One had his whole leg turn black and blue after stepping on one after dark. A boy in my child's class had to miss the first week and a half of school and use crutches for a period of time following a bite to the leg.
So, don't worry about the dogs too much!
Also, keep in mind that anti-venom is typically NOT covered by insurance and is very expensive (think new car or SUV cost expensive) for the amount needed to treat someone. This is reason enough to be extra vigilant, especially when the children insist on playing manhunt at night throughout the neighborhood.
Have lived here for just over a year. My yard backs up to a tree line with a small stream running through. My neighbors have spoke of copperhead encounters, but the only snake Ive seen was a black snake. I just know they're out there and keep an eye out, especially with our dogs. Our young female Golden will go after anything that moves.
Snakes, no problem, it's the black widows that I dont care for. 5 in my new garage. I think they took up space there during the heat, though they are gone (dead) now.
Ya know we get the snake question so often on this forum it makes me wonder....aren't there snakes everywhere?????
Do people really think you can't have snakes with all the beautiful trees and lakes and lush landscapes? Maybe if you've lived in a high rise in NYC your whole life you would wonder if there are snakes in N.C. but it baffles me when we get this question about every 4 months or so.
Two weeks after we moved here I stepped on a huge black snake who was resting on our black foot mat at the back door. I wasn't paying attention and actually thought it was a deep wrinkle in the mat and started kicking at it when I realized it was a snake. He just moved away very quickly. We then discovered he was feasting on the mice we found in the garage and we hoped we hadn't run him off.
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