What kind of snake is this? (*PICS*)

[Lbrad7]

Ok, I caught one of these in my nesting box this evening with two eggs in its belly. Normally I would be happy to leave it be so that it will take care of it's name's sake. I feel like do a lot more good than harm and I am willing to sacrifice a few eggs here and there to keep them around....Now the problem. I just moved a bunch of chicks out of the brooder and on to the floor of a stall. The mother hen is in there with them but she is a bantam and wouldn't never be able to defend them from a 4+ foot rat snake.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I could keep it in an aquarium for a few weeks until the chicks get a little bigger? I would like to keep it alive them return it to the barn for rodent control.

I have to admit that I kind of feel like a proud daddy since I turned what I think was his mother or father loose in the barn a few years back. He/she was nearly 7ft long and was about as big around as my wrist. I found his discarded skin out there for several years but I think he has gone to where ever it is that snakes go when they die. I believe this guy is one of his offspring.

Anyway..any ideas on how I could keep this guy alive would be appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[Mississippi Yard Bird]

Markings look like a Corn Snake, but color is different from what we have around here.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
I'm sure there are a few snake owners on BYC. Perhaps we can search on BYC and take a look at some threads. I will try to help you find information on how to keep your boy in the aquarium.

 

[HogbackMtnChickns]

I don't have snakes anymore, but I used to have a kingsnake, a milksnake and a hognose snake. Mine were all raised in captivity, and were docile. A wild snake will not react well to captivity, but you could probably contain it for a few weeks. Put a heating pad on one side of the aquarium, but leave at least half of the tank free from heat, so the snake can regulate his own temperature. Do not put dirt or sand in the aquarium - humidity will give him a nasty rash on his belly. I suggest getting some pine shavings, a few inches thick, so he can hide. Give him a cardboard box, or a piece of driftwood, something he can hide in or under. He will try to avoid contact with you. Do not use cedar shavings, which damage the nervous systems of reptiles. Give him a big bowl of water. If you keep him for a month or less, and he just had a big fat meal of eggs, you may not even need to feed him before you let him go. Snakes can survive for an amazing amount of time without food. If you can catch a live mouse - you could put that in with him. He will take care of it. He would be pretty happy with a mouse a week. Captive raised snakes can often be fed pre-killed mice, but most wild snakes won't touch prey that is already dead. Snakes can harbor ticks, and can carry salmonella. Ticks can quickly kill a snake.

Rat snakes are not poisonous, but they have razor sharp teeth, and their bite can bleed and hurt. If you must handle a wild snake, control the head with a grasp right behind its head. Snakes are strong, but that little guy can't hurt you except with his teeth, and that would not be a serious injury - but possibly a painful one.

Good luck!

 

[kuntrygirl]

Has anyone ever been bit by a snake? What does it feel like?

 

[Gerry2011]

I was bitten by a cottonmouth while hiking in a wilderness area a few years ago. I did not feel the bite, all I felt was something sort of scratchy feeling on my leg...I thought a frog or some such had jumped on me and it startled me and I swung hard to knock it. I fell down and then saw this 4' cotton mouth flying through the air. Long story short, after finally going to the hospital I ended up with every tube and sensor they could find poked into or stuck to me. I was bitten on the back of my lower calf and after a while the leg had swollen soooo big they then administered anti-venom. It was an interesting experience and the hospital was pretty much all agog so I had lots of visitors by the staff and such. That level of snake bite is rare , so everyone wanted to see and ask questions. A friend was bitten by a copperhead while camping with his buddies. He didn't go to the hospital, but he said it was very painful. It seems they bite differently from cottonmouths, which may explain why I didn't feel it.

 

[creekrats]

Quote:
Your friend didn't go to the hospital? Is he sure it was a copperhead? My DH was bitten several years ago by a copperhead and within an hour was desperately ill. His co-workers took him (and the snake) to the hospital where he received anti-venom. His finger swelled pretty badly from it and yes it is EXTREMELY painful according to him. And one of my co-worker's son-in-law stepped on a copperhead earlier this year and spent days in the hospital from that bite.

 

[Gerry2011]

Snakes inject varying amounts of venom depending on how long it's been since they used it, so reactions will vary accordingly, plus individuals react differently to venom, bee stings, etc. Which is why anti-venom is not the first thing that is done. You are monitored (in my case they measured my leg in 4 or 5 different places) and then every 20 minutes remeasured. I'm not sure exactly what the criteria is that determines whether av is used but apparently if swelling continues past a certain guideline, then av is needed. My leg was quite impressive in size and coloring and it was at least 3 weeks before I could walk again. One of the interesting (I thought so anyway) things I learned about venom's effects is that it contracts the muscles (so by the time I got to the hospital which was about 4 hours after getting bitten), when I went to get out of the car I didn't have a leg to stand on as it was drawn up. Another effect is that venom causes the tissue to break down (for easier ingesting!!), so when my leg was poked the dent remained for sometime....that effect lasted for many weeks. Actually, the worst part of the whole thing was the hospital bill....$21,000.00!! Of which $17,000.00 was for the av!! Our hospital has a national reputation for being one of the highest priced facilities in the nation and this is in a town with a population of less than 25,000.

 

[kuntrygirl]

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OMG !!!!!!!!!!!! $21,000.00 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Gerry2011]

Yeah, heart failure was a bigger danger!!