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I wondered about ribbon snake. Whatever it is she should've killed it before it ate someone.

Almost stepped on this one saturday morning about 11:00

HOLY CRAP! What kind is that?

copperhead

And a dangerous one at that. Had you stepped on it, you both would've been suprised and hurt. Good eye.

Bulldog, did you kill it? Just curious because of how the discussion in this thread has been going. I would have killed it.

I plead the 5th

jacksbuddy wrote:And a dangerous one at that. Had you stepped on it, you both would've been suprised and hurt. Good eye.

A copperhead isn't that dangerous. A wasp sting is more deadly. There's only been one death from a copperhead bite since 1900 and the guy had a pre-existing condition that attributed to it. I know 3 people, including my dad, who have been bitten by copperheads and all survived with just a little pain for a while.

arduckslayer wrote: A copperhead isn't that dangerous. A wasp sting is more deadly. There's only been one death from a copperhead bite since 1900 and the guy had a pre-existing condition that attributed to it. I know 3 people, including my dad, who have been bitten by copperheads and all survived with just a little pain for a while.

That's definately not true on any account. Here's the data on Copperhead snake bites from the US Poison center:

Copperhead snake bites
A total of 769 cases of copperhead bites were reported in 2001. In total those bites accounted for 37 percent of the total number of venomous snake bites1 (figure 1).



Figure 1. Approximately 37 percent of all venomous snake bites are from copperheads.

In some states the percentage of venomous snake bites caused by the Agkistrodon is much higher. Over a 40 year period in North Carolina, 64 percent of all venomous bites were caused by the copperhead.

Copperhead snake bites can cause swelling, local tissue injury, abnormally low blood pressure, lack of blood clotting and general pain in all limbs. It is however very rare that bites from copperhead snakes lead to death. In recent years there haven't been many reports about fatal bites from copperheads. However, a former police officer from Madison County, Texas is believed to have died from the poison of a copperhead snake in 2006. The chance of a fatal bite and envenomation by a copperhead is probably less than 1:5000. Bites can however have serious medical consequences and require immediate medical attention.

If 7000 people are bit every 10 years, then at least 1 person will die during that period. For the odds to be 1 in 5000 as a chance of death, and definately more than 5000 people have been bitten be copperheads, then more than 1 person has died from their bite. And who knows how many bites are not recorded at all, or at least blamed on another species.

I'm not advocating killing copperheads, I'm just saying, their bite is by far more dangerous than a wasp sting. Yes more people have died from wasp stings due to allergic reactions (there are probably at least 100,000 wasp stings every year in the US), but if you get bit by a copperhead and it actually is a venomous bite (copperheads are known for biting and not transmitting their venom) you will be in bad shape (not necessarily death) if you don't go get anti-venom. Their venom will destroy tissue permanantly. But if you get stung by a wasp, and you aren't allergic, then you will be just fine less a little soreness for about 20 minutes.

that dude is good for putting on the limbs of a recurve bow....... and giving heart attacks.


they really are pretty though

The thing about Copperheads is that they are so aggressive. The old saying "he's more afraid of you than you are of him" does not apply to these snakes.

copperheads are known for biting and not transmitting their venom

I didn't know that. Do they do that on purpose?

tombstone wrote:that dude is good for putting on the limbs of a recurve bow....... and giving heart attacks.

they really are pretty though

That's the only reason I'd kill on is to do something with the skin if I ever found a big one.

fieldt76 wrote:The thing about Copperheads is that they are so aggressive. The old saying "he's more afraid of you than you are of him" does not apply to these snakes.

copperheads are known for biting and not transmitting their venom

I didn't know that. Do they do that on purpose?

yes, as a warning.

one of my best friend's son was bitten by a younger one, looked like scratches from briars on his ankle but his leg swole up to his knee(he had on flip flops when he stepped on it). lehbohner (sp) told us that if it had been a more mature snake, he probably wouldn't have had to have been rushed to the hospital (let alone air-lifted to memphis), as the first strike usually doesn't contain any venom when it is a disturbed strike and not a feeding strike. said the young ones can't control their venom, so all of their strikes are venomous.

duramax wrote:

tombstone wrote:that dude is good for putting on the limbs of a recurve bow....... and giving heart attacks.

they really are pretty though

That's the only reason I'd kill on is to do something with the skin if I ever found a big one.

Their skins look really good hanging on the wall with some shine to em. I'll try to remember to post a pic of mine.

arduckslayer wrote:

jacksbuddy wrote:And a dangerous one at that. Had you stepped on it, you both would've been suprised and hurt. Good eye.

A copperhead isn't that dangerous. A wasp sting is more deadly. There's only been one death from a copperhead bite since 1900 and the guy had a pre-existing condition that attributed to it. I know 3 people, including my dad, who have been bitten by copperheads and all survived with just a little pain for a while.

I didn't say 'deadly', I said 'dangerous' and 'hurt'. Both of which are accurate because let's face it, if I see one of those things, I am in great DANGER of getting myself HURT.