If you need more proof that snakes should be killed with fire

[DigDog]

A quick "i feel you" for anyone living in rattlesnake turf.
And US hospital bills.
(chorus of "we are number one" chants fading in the background)

But also

and in Indonesia a woman was swallowed by a python.

How .. seriously, i was going to make a thread about this because i just dont understand the how.
Pythons are huge, slow-ass lumbering giants. How the heck can a human not notice, or not get out of the way. Do they only kill sleeping prey, and if so, was she sleeping?

 

[Darwin333]

This.

Reminds me back in the day for those old enough to remember. Baby alligators used to be sold in pet stores. People would get tired of them because they are a pain in the ass to (properly) keep and bite real hard! So they flushed them. And in public sewers they grew large. Reports of plumbers getting chased (you can't outrun them!) were not uncommon. Stupid people do stupid things.

Wow, everything about that is BS. Alligators can move really well in water but on land, other than their initial strike, not so much. They hunt in the water and at the edge of the water. Besides, they are generally rather lazy hunters. I don't think there is any documented evidence of an alligator or crocodile chasing down a person on land. You can even watch all the animal planet stuff on them, the ones that get out of the water are home free and not chased down by super fast gators or crocs.

And I had a pet gator, they aren't really a pain in the ass to properly keep. They grow to their environment so I kept mine in a 20 gal long aquarium tank and he didn't get big. I fed him goldfish and you could see first hand just how lazy of hunters they are. He would just sit in the water with his mouth open and wait for the fish to swim really close and bam, gulp, rinse and repeat. Also, even if the flushed gator survived I can't see it getting huge by staying in the sewers, how much food could there possibly be in the sewers for it to grow and live? Not to mention they'd probably die from the cold, there is a reason you see alligators sunning on banks they rely on external sources of heat to regulate their body temp. You don't get much sun or different temps in sewers for them to regulate their body temp. My pet gator needed a heat lamp on one side of the aquarium with a big rock for him to sun on with the rest being water for him to swim and cool off when needed. You turn the lamp off and he literally stopped eating no matter how much food is in the tank.

 

[Darwin333]

A quick "i feel you" for anyone living in rattlesnake turf.
And US hospital bills.
(chorus of "we are number one" chants fading in the background)

Yeah, I'm sure the poor bastard was charged 50 times more per vial of the anti-venom then the very same stuff made by the same manufacturer could have been bought in Mexico.

How .. seriously, i was going to make a thread about this because i just dont understand the how.
Pythons are huge, slow-ass lumbering giants. How the heck can a human not notice, or not get out of the way. Do they only kill sleeping prey, and if so, was she sleeping?

It was dark so she probably stumbled on it and it latched onto her. I assume their bites are pretty strong and once it started to wrap her up it was all over with.

 

[DigDog]

It must be the bite, and the woman likely panicked too.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

A quick "i feel you" for anyone living in rattlesnake turf.
And US hospital bills.
(chorus of "we are number one" chants fading in the background)

But also


How .. seriously, i was going to make a thread about this because i just dont understand the how.
Pythons are huge, slow-ass lumbering giants. How the heck can a human not notice, or not get out of the way. Do they only kill sleeping prey, and if so, was she sleeping?

Pythons don't chase down food, they're ambush predators. They can hide in brush and long grass and strike a few feet away in the blink of an eye. Walking down a jungle path, too close to some thick vegetation and it's all over. You'll never see the snake move, it can have it's jaws locked on and a couple of coils looped around before you're even aware it was there. At that point, if you're alone, you're toast.

 

[Chaotic42]

That information was covered on the first day in Snakes 101. I think it was even at the top of the syllabus.

 

[lxskllr]

Pythons don't chase down food, they're ambush predators. They can hide in brush and long grass and strike a few feet away in the blink of an eye. Walking down a jungle path, too close to some thick vegetation and it's all over. You'll never see the snake move, it can have it's jaws locked on and a couple of coils looped around before you're even aware it was there. At that point, if you're alone, you're toast.

And people wonder why I carry five knives :rollseyes:

 

[SKORPI0]

https://gizmodo.com/severed-snake-heads-can-bite-up-to-an-hour-after-decapi-1627136917 (Aug 2014).

 

[Iron Woode]

Correct on both counts. And rare! I hope they didn't kill it. How is the summer treating Michigan KMFJD? If you have a garden and/or chickens that snake is def your buddy. Rat snakes = docile beneficial predators and no venom

I thought he was Canadian.

Either way, the weather is the same here as Michigan. Right now it's hot and humid with a decent breeze. It's 29C here and feels like 32C.

 

[Darwin333]

It must be the bite, and the woman likely panicked too.

As one tends to do when bitten by a friggen 23' long snake.

 

[Darwin333]

Yeah, they are fast as fuck.

 

[Fir]

And I had a pet gator, they aren't really a pain in the ass to properly keep. They grow to their environment so I kept mine in a 20 gal long aquarium tank and he didn't get big. I fed him goldfish

They aren't a PIA to keep, yes. Properly, as you say, they most certainly are. A 20g aquarium isn't going to suffice for anything other than a very temporary habitat at best.

This is the reason why so many fish exist in the pet trade that should NOT. I really hope your "gator" (probably a Caiman) found a good home.

https://kyletaitt.scienceblog.com/2013/12/28/want-a-pet-croc-heres-why-its-not-a-good-idea/

We see this all the time. Whether it's 101 Dalmatians (the movie) or the next Jurassic Park release.
People see these juveniles in pet stores. Baby reptiles are incredibly cute. Especially Nile Monitors. Most people if they took the time to research what these animals actually need, and possessed an ounce of common sense, would pass.

Dalmatians, are not a good breed around kids. Yet, the puppies are very cute. And kids love them. Even still, a dog is a much better choice than a crocodilian species that has no place in the average home.

And yes, they aren't going to live long in a sewer in the typical sense when flushed. Then again I'd love to have a toilet that could flush a 2-3 foot animal! Most of the time they were dumped they wound up in a nearby body of water or storm drain / "sewer". Art Carney would disagree and argue the urban legend lives. In the South, they certainly could live a while. Above the 20th parallel not far past autumn.

And what about that anaconda that was eating people's dogs in New Jersey?! Now that was a great example of a snake species that no one should have as a pet without permits and training. But the hatchlings like most, are indeed cute.

It must be the bite, and the woman likely panicked too.

If you are bitten by a snake big enough to take you and you are by yourself, chances of surviving are slim. Constrictors only bite to hold as an anchoring point. They wrap around quite quickly. And a specimen of such size has enough strength to crush a human's ribs instantly. The bite is the last thing on your mind. I'd imagine dying this way would be similar to being in the wrong place at the wrong time when a rockslide occurs and you get crushed to death taking perhaps one last breath before your lungs are collapsed. Your heart is still beating and you may or may not retain consciousness. It would suck but it's not going to be a slow, drawn out death either.

 

[kage69]

But also


How .. seriously, i was going to make a thread about this because i just dont understand the how.
Pythons are huge, slow-ass lumbering giants. How the heck can a human not notice, or not get out of the way. Do they only kill sleeping prey, and if so, was she sleeping?

They're ambush predators, what's hard to understand? They blend in great, hug the ground (so under vegetation) and are fantastic swimmers. You may think of them as slow, and predominantly they are, but that initial attempt to get teeth in happens in a flash, and then the next thing you know an animal as heavy or heavier than you is pulling you to the ground. Huge pythons and anacondas go after people fairly regularly, we're just another 6 month meal for them. I've heard of at least two attacks where the guy escaped by using his own teeth, going after the head/spinal column. Heard of many more where the snake won. Last one I heard of was in Indonesia, want to say last year(?) The victim was a young man in his 20s.

 

[kage69]

I thought he was Canadian.

Either way, the weather is the same here as Michigan. Right now it's hot and humid with a decent breeze. It's 29C here and feels like 32C.

He's near Huron and Erie I guess was my point, that's where those critters live.

KMFJD, the one in your garage, did it vibrate it's tail like a rattler?

 

[destrekor]

I thought everyone knew this?

I grew up in the south, where kids always antagonized venomous snakes for fun in the '80s and early '90s. It was always interesting to see a headless water moccasin body trying to strike blindly while the head/neck continues to writhe around. For the snake, it really sucks that death doesn't come quickly after decapitation.

But do they actually suffer? We think of death as becoming absolutely motionless, but there are plenty of examples of animals "moving" after death though they are generally moving with random firing of nerves as opposed to truly moving under their own control as if still alive.

It's like [dead] octopus squirming when a brine solution is poured on their lifeless body - it's not alive, but there is external stimuli to nerve endings that remain otherwise intact.

 

[Iron Woode]

He's near Huron and Erie I guess was my point, that's where those critters live.

KMFJD, the one in your garage, did it vibrate it's tail like a rattler?

The only snakes I have seen in London are garter snakes.

 

[Darwin333]

They aren't a PIA to keep, yes. Properly, as you say, they most certainly are. A 20g aquarium isn't going to suffice for anything other than a very temporary habitat at best.

This is the reason why so many fish exist in the pet trade that should NOT. I really hope your "gator" (probably a Caiman) found a good home.

https://kyletaitt.scienceblog.com/2013/12/28/want-a-pet-croc-heres-why-its-not-a-good-idea/

We see this all the time. Whether it's 101 Dalmatians (the movie) or the next Jurassic Park release.
People see these juveniles in pet stores. Baby reptiles are incredibly cute. Especially Nile Monitors. Most people if they took the time to research what these animals actually need, and possessed an ounce of common sense, would pass.

Dalmatians, are not a good breed around kids. Yet, the puppies are very cute. And kids love them. Even still, a dog is a much better choice than a crocodilian species that has no place in the average home.

And yes, they aren't going to live long in a sewer in the typical sense when flushed. Then again I'd love to have a toilet that could flush a 2-3 foot animal! Most of the time they were dumped they wound up in a nearby body of water or storm drain / "sewer". Art Carney would disagree and argue the urban legend lives. In the South, they certainly could live a while. Above the 20th parallel not far past autumn.

And what about that anaconda that was eating people's dogs in New Jersey?! Now that was a great example of a snake species that no one should have as a pet without permits and training. But the hatchlings like most, are indeed cute.

Shrug, I had mine for years and while I did buy him a bigger tank at one point for more room to fuck off in he barely grew. I eventually moved into an apartment and after a maintenance asshole entered when we weren't there and thought it was a good idea to pet my alligator got bit (barely broke the skin by the way) I had to get rid of him. I found a local, well sort of local, gator farm to give him too. His tail was way worse than his bite, that firggen tail could leave marks if he hit you just right with it.

As far as snakes, I absolutely hate snakes. All of them, every last one of their slimy ass, creepy ass tongue shit, slithering fucking asses. I don't care what good they do, I still hate them. If I am visiting your house and you whip out your pet snake, no matter how tame or non-venomous it might be, if you even say huh you'll be talking to yourself because I am gone.

 

[Darwin333]

But do they actually suffer? We think of death as becoming absolutely motionless, but there are plenty of examples of animals "moving" after death though they are generally moving with random firing of nerves as opposed to truly moving under their own control as if still alive.

It's like [dead] octopus squirming when a brine solution is poured on their lifeless body - it's not alive, but there is external stimuli to nerve endings that remain otherwise intact.

Don't humans tend to twitch and shit sometimes after they get dead or is that just in the movies?

 

[zinfamous]

Good for the snake. A shame the man survived, as the snake was providing far more benefit to the area than was that Texan.

 

[zinfamous]

Wow, everything about that is BS. Alligators can move really well in water but on land, other than their initial strike, not so much. They hunt in the water and at the edge of the water. Besides, they are generally rather lazy hunters. I don't think there is any documented evidence of an alligator or crocodile chasing down a person on land. You can even watch all the animal planet stuff on them, the ones that get out of the water are home free and not chased down by super fast gators or crocs.

And I had a pet gator, they aren't really a pain in the ass to properly keep. They grow to their environment so I kept mine in a 20 gal long aquarium tank and he didn't get big. I fed him goldfish and you could see first hand just how lazy of hunters they are. He would just sit in the water with his mouth open and wait for the fish to swim really close and bam, gulp, rinse and repeat. Also, even if the flushed gator survived I can't see it getting huge by staying in the sewers, how much food could there possibly be in the sewers for it to grow and live? Not to mention they'd probably die from the cold, there is a reason you see alligators sunning on banks they rely on external sources of heat to regulate their body temp. You don't get much sun or different temps in sewers for them to regulate their body temp. My pet gator needed a heat lamp on one side of the aquarium with a big rock for him to sun on with the rest being water for him to swim and cool off when needed. You turn the lamp off and he literally stopped eating no matter how much food is in the tank.

...I can't square this post and your understanding of gators with that of your OP and your wuss's perspective on snakes.

It's like you don't understand that snakes and gators are both reptiles, and have the exact same thermal needs and are thus equally predictable/controllable because of this.

 

[zinfamous]

And people wonder why I carry five knives :rollseyes:

when it comes to pythons, you're better off carrying vodka. They hate alcohol, and it's the only way to get them to release their coils. Just uncork the bottle and pour it over their head and body.

..whiskey probably works, too, but I think vodka is more harsh. That way, the snake survives, you survive, and you both have a story to tell.

 

[SearchMaster]

I killed two baby snakes last week. They were brown snakes so not dangerous, but I had run over the first one in my garage with my car and the second one in the grass with my riding mower - they were in bad shape so I put them out of their misery.

I thought most people were smart enough to know that venomous snakes can bite pretty long after decapitation. My son killed a pretty large copperhead near our house a couple of years ago (he saw the snake, and when he realized what it was he drove over it, backed up and ran over it again repeatedly). We decapitated him and dug a hole to bury the head. I'm normally a "live and let live" when it comes to snakes but I don't mess with copperheads.

 

[IronWing]

My wife sent this from her morning walk. She took the pic and walked away. She didn't kill the snake because she isn't a easily frightened little pussy.

 

[snoopy7548]

I feel like killing the snake would be far more scary for a frightened little pussy than "walking" away.

 

[lxskllr]

when it comes to pythons, you're better off carrying vodka. They hate alcohol, and it's the only way to get them to release their coils. Just uncork the bottle and pour it over their head and body.

..whiskey probably works, too, but I think vodka is more harsh. That way, the snake survives, you survive, and you both have a story to tell.

Hmm... A socially acceptable reason to walk around with a bottle of whisky. I like it :^)