Venomous & nonvenomous snakes in the same area

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:But will they occupy the same area? Just seems strange that when one showed up the others left. Or when I was in the feed barn today I haven't been seeing very much rodent sign - have the non venomous ones ate all there was to eat and moved on?

Interesting creatures those snakes.

Steve

Steve,
it's very common to see venomous and non venomous snakes in the same area. It basically depends more on the area in question as far as available habitat, variety of species, and then the abundance or lack there of in some cases of the species. In eastern NC you have a pretty good selection and also abundance of many species of reptiles. I was down in eastern NC a few weeks ago looking for snakes. What county are you in?

We are in Beaufort County between Chocowinity and Aurora. Yes we do have good selection of reptiles. We have fields on 3 sides of our property that they grow grain in - Corn, Soybeans, Winter wheat - in rotation so there is plenty of feed for rodents, plus the poultry feed. About 80% of our property is wooded and backs up to swamps, also we have a fireplace so there is a few cords of wood here and there. Plenty of good cover for snakes.

My Dad got us this sign a few years ago and I think it pretty much sums it up.

Steve

 

[codybird]

Poisonous and non-poisonous snakes will inhabit the same area.

Few people in the US die of snakebite every year, but be prepared for an ice cream scoop sized dollop of muscle tissue being digested around the bite.

 

[SouthernChick23]

Hi,

I am interested in your posting about snakes. I found and had a friend kill a copper head a few weeks ago where I created our chicken coop. It is connected to an old barn that is used for housing our Llamas a few days ago.

A few days later I see a black snake with a faint markings slinking under the plywood flooring in the Llama Casa.

Last night I got a better look and he is a chicken snake about six feet long. He climbed right over a 12" board I installed to keep dogs from digging under the wire. The rooster was not happy and hens are in a tizzy. (So am I) Then in the process of picking up a few sheets of metal that have only been on the ground for less than a week there is another copper head (bigger than the last one)

My guess is the copper head in venomous and the chicken snake is just ugly but not harmful - except for the fact that he wants my eggs.

Now, I have a question - how do I get rid of this charming fella? I have tossed golf balls inside the coop, sprinkled moth balls. Honestly, the idea of him sitting with my hens makes me nauseous.

I look forward to your suggestions.

 

[Uppity Peon]

They can and will occupy the same area when there is plenty of food. Non-venomous snakes compete for the same food as venomouse snakes, so I don't kill them. And some non-venomous species are also known to kill and eat venomous snakes.

But it's good to be aware that there are ways to reduce the overall snake population. Where you have lots of rodents, you have lots of snakes, so keep your property clean. Don't leave chicken feed out where rodents can get it at night. If you feed wild birds, don't scatter birdseed all over the ground; use a well designed feeder.

 

[Debi214]

Quote:We have those here (I also live in Virginia) and here's the info I found on them:

Eastern Worm snake (Carphophis amoenus)

Description: A small (up to 35 cm TL) and smooth wormlike burrowing snake with a brown back and pink belly. The pink color extends onto the first scale row. Habitat: Wooded areas, usually those with rocky soils.

We find them around here all the time, including quite a few in our compost bin. However, we've had a few Garter Snakes back there feasting on the Worm Snakes as they were feasting on our compost worms!

We are around 12 miles southwest of Richmond and our chickens love to eat those worm snakes!

 

[ivan3]

SouthernChick23 wrote:

Last night I got a better look and he is a chicken snake about six feet long. He climbed right over a 12" board I installed to keep dogs from digging under the wire. The rooster was not happy and hens are in a tizzy. (So am I)

Now, I have a question - how do I get rid of this charming fella? I have tossed golf balls inside the coop, sprinkled moth balls. Honestly, the idea of him sitting with my hens makes me nauseous.

Take a Dramamine, pull on some gloves, poke around in the coop with a stick until you find it, pull it out and toss it in a pillow case. Actually, you might enlist a friend to do it and forego the meds.

Put up some hardware cloth at the entry point.

Hens in a `tizzy' quit laying. A six foot Racer/Rat is a constrictor and is capable of compressing a chicken if they aren't very big (they swallow them alive)...

Remove and rehome

ed:clarity​

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:There are a couple ways to get rid of it.

1) if you are sure it's non venomous - jump right in there and wrestle it for awhile then take it for a long walk and turn it loose. It always "wows" the onlookers.

- the snake wrestling part

2) since most people don't like plan A you can get a stick and try to direct it into a 5 gallon bucket with a lid - then take it for the walk.

Steve

 

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:There are a couple ways to get rid of it.

1) if you are sure it's non venomous - jump right in there and wrestle it for awhile then take it for a long walk and turn it loose. It always "wows" the onlookers.

- the snake wrestling part

2) since most people don't like plan A you can get a stick and try to direct it into a 5 gallon bucket with a lid - then take it for the walk.

Steve

Steve though I have done my share of wrestling with snakes and bitten a few times by non venomous snakes. People have to remember that non venomous snakes digest their food by bacteria. This is present in their mouth and if they break the skin it is wise to go to the doctor for antibiotics. No need for the ER though. If one of these bacteria gets into the bloodstream after a few days without treatment it is possible to get blood poisoning. Most snakes will not bite, unless you run into a corn snake they are mean little buggers.

 

[cmjust0]

As for dogs getting bitten by snakes...my dad and step-grandfather kept cur dogs ("catahoulas"..louisiana leopard curs, black mouth curs, mountain curs...whatever you wanna call'em....basically, old school "coondogs") when I was growing up, and they were always getting snakebit. Usually, on the face or front legs. They're in the foothills of the Appalachians in East Kentucky, so it could have been copperheads or eastern diamondback rattlers.

The dogs would look pretty rough for a few days, and maybe lay around a little more, but it never seemed to bother them to awful much.. Dogs (and lots of other mammals) have a much, much higher metabolism than humans and can process things like that out of their system really quickly.

 

[SouthernChick23]

Hello friends,

Thanks for all the support and wonderful suggestions....however I am not into snake rustling - but I hear they do a mighty fine job in Sweetwater, Texas with the rattlesnake roundup. Growing up in North Carolina on my granddaddy's farm I discovered cottonmouths and they would actually chase me....maybe that explains my need for the drugs when I see snakes. Oh well, Freud would surely have a lot of thoughts 'bout my mental stability.

I hope to have a friend out this weekend to help me with the fast moving creature. I really dont want to kill him just move him on....

Another question...should I be hanging the feed up off the ground so that mice do not get into it....We are cleaning out the place and it was vacant for over two years so there were lots of rodents....Anyone have a barn cat I could lease for a few days?

Thanks again,
Angie