finding snakes

[SPARTAN 77]

i now live in a place where i can't find anything. not even a copperhead!
i used to find multiple racers and a couple of rattlers a year, and maybe some yellow rats. and one year me and my friend found 2 coral snakes that we got to a place that takes snakes. the only one i can find now is my Ball Python!

[infernalis]

where are you located??

When you filled out your profile, you never filled out your location, aside from USA and that covers a lot of real estate.

I'm assuming by the species that you listed that it's somewhere a little to the south.

[SPARTAN 77]

South Carolina. LOL i didn't take to much time to fill out the profile.

[infernalis]

Depending on what part of the state, the forests out around spartanburg piedmont have been known as good herping spots.

Get away from population centers as much as possible.

Marshy and rocky areas are usually good spots.

[Nafun]

Keep in mind, there's no more anti-venom for coral snakes after the end of the year. I'm sure I don't have to tell you to be careful (or you'd already be dead), but be careful!

[Reptile_Reptile]

y no more anti-venom

[Pueblo]

I live in Canada ehh and were not alowed to keep wild caught local anything. we can look but not keep. which sucks because we have great garter snakes here.

[mistersprinkles]

I live in Canada ehh and were not alowed to keep wild caught local anything.

It's not a local garter snake. End of conversation. Nobody enforcing is smart enough to tell the difference and they're not going to bring in a herpetologist to ID for one snake. It's legal to sell non-local population green and garter snakes in a pet shop in Ontario. I can't tell the difference and I've been interested in snakes for 25 years :) And Ehh stop spreading the Ehh stereotype you know what I'm talking aboot?

[infernalis]

I spoke with my local DEC officer, and he told me those laws were more to prevent mass gathering for the pet trade, and no one was going to kick in any doors over a person who keeps a few pet garter snakes.

I would be willing to bet that applies almost anywhere.

[stephanbakir]

Some do enforce them, saw one kid get fined for catching a northern water snake and putting it in his car.

[Max713]

Some do enforce them, saw one kid get fined for catching a northern water snake and putting it in his car.

That is completely different, the enforcement officer saw a clear cut case of someone picking up a wild snake, with intent of keeping it. Getting caught red handed so to speak. Infernalis and others are exactly right, no ones going to kick down your door for owning a couple garters that they have no way of proving are wild caught. Just don't get caught, catching them.

[stephanbakir]

Ahh, yeh i guess that would be hard to prove without a professional.

[mistersprinkles]

I'd be willing to bet money that if you find a garter snake under a rock and keep it as a pet you're not going to get in trouble.

They're easy to keep and actually sort of interesting. You can make fish (don't use feeders they're garbage. Buy proper guppies or mollies or something like that) a reasonably large part of the diet and the snake will actually get into a container of water and strike the fish under water. It's interesting to watch. They'll take worms pinkies, small toads (they eat a lot of bufo americanus in the wild I dont know if they're in Quebec they're in Ontario). They also drink a lot of water for their size. Other than that hiding hole, hot area cool area... mist it... rough rock for shedding. That's about it.

[mistersprinkles]

Ahh, yeh i guess that would be hard to prove without a professional.

That is completely different, the enforcement officer saw a clear cut case of someone picking up a wild snake, with intent of keeping it. Getting caught red handed so to speak. Infernalis and others are exactly right, no ones going to kick down your door for owning a couple garters that they have no way of proving are wild caught. Just don't get caught, catching them.

Yup. Different to see you break a window and steal a TV than have a TV in your house set up and go "did you buy that TV legally?"

[infernalis]

wow, so garters make interesting captives?? who knew...

(grinning ear to ear as I type this)

[mistersprinkles]

Yup. All the ones around here have internal parasites though and sometimes they have externals too so if you get one and you want to make it a forever thing, you should get it treated for both first thing and keep it quarantined from other reptiles for a couple months to make sure it is clean.

[stephanbakir]

I might get a northern water snake this year, they look amazing and all the ones i catch are good eaters.

[infernalis]

I have a Nerodia, He's really cool, take the pinkies right off the tongs.

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

Depending on what part of the state, the forests out around spartanburg piedmont have been known as good herping spots.

Get away from population centers as much as possible.

Marshy and rocky areas are usually good spots.


Your right, i live one county south of Spartanburg, (The Metro-Greenville area) and i see water snakes all the time, right off a popular river in the downtown area. Venomous snakes, is a different story only seen 1 in the 10 years ive lived here. He lives in the low country, which is weird cause ive heard snakes are more common that way.

[sickvenom]

I spoke with my local DEC officer, and he told me those laws were more to prevent mass gathering for the pet trade, and no one was going to kick in any doors over a person who keeps a few pet garter snakes.

I would be willing to bet that applies almost anywhere.

uh... arizona has some of the most strict laws regarding keeping and collecting herps. and yes, there have been house busts.

[sickvenom]

Yup. Different to see you break a window and steal a TV than have a TV in your house set up and go "did you buy that TV legally?"

come over here and merely PICK UP AND HOLD a gila and we'll see how long it takes you to bail out of jail.

[mistersprinkles]

come over here and merely PICK UP AND HOLD a gila and we'll see how long it takes you to bail out of jail.

I wouldn't pick up a poisonous lizard with an attitude problem :).

[sickvenom]

I wouldn't pick up a poisonous lizard with an attitude problem :).

weird statement, considering most of them around here are docile.

[mistersprinkles]

weird statement, considering most of them around here are docile.

The only one I ever saw in the wild was in mexico, and when I approached it, it tried to walk away until I got close at which point it positioned itself to make it clear (maybe a bluff) that it would bite me. Nothing like the wild green iguanas you come across in the forest that rarely see people. Those things are just mean.

Anyways, given the "medical facilities" in that country I chose to walk away.
I should perhaps have said porentially mean. I have no first hand experience.

[serpentshideawa]

Why no antivenom for corals?

[TeaNinja]

iguanas can tail whip the HELL out of you lol
they can be bitter creatures.

[sickvenom]

Why no antivenom for corals?

the company that was producing it, pfizer inc, stopped making it. coral snake bites are so rare that it wasn't profitable or feasible to keep supplies stocked. however there is a new company instituto bioclon, that is trying to develop a new antivenin, but that could take several years.

this info is regarding north american, new world corals.

[sickvenom]

iguanas can tail whip the HELL out of you lol
they can be bitter creatures.

it's not uncommon for larger monitors to actually knock people out. i've seen it happen with a black throat.