Snakes alive!

We recently had a little visitor to our screen dome. Well not so little. Actually the biggest black racer snake I've ever seen!  And how he managed to get in with both doors closed I have no idea.  We were gone for most of the day too so by the time he was noticed he had had sat out there for hours and was not a happy camper.

Snake transport

Snake in our screen dome and yes that is a wild bunny he's staring at

Black racers are the snakes seen most often. They do get pretty big but are harmless and very beneficial.  So killing him was not an option.  Jim got a big net and after a little chasing and some angry net biting, the big snake slithered into the net without much ado, totally exhausted and resigning himself to his sad fate which I'm sure he thought was death.  We put him outside under our lemon tree and he sat there coiled up for the longest time staring at us and maybe wondering what the hell just happened?  I checked and a few minutes later he had disappeared.  We have only seen two species of snakes on our property, Black Racers and A Coachwhip, another big harmless snake.  Really I shouldn't use the term harmless as they can give a nasty albeit non-poisonous bite if they are in a foul mood.

  But thankfully we do not have Pythons -yet.  They have not slithered this far north. But for the south Floridians who have this major problem I feel for ya. It will only be a matter of time before it is a beloved pet or God forbid a small child becomes snake fodder.  And this states answer to python control has been either futile or ridiculous. Hence the very funny ( and equally not funny) article in today's paper.   Read and enjoy!


http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/ruth-no-good-will-come-from-amateur-python-hunting/2321829