Should my cat and I be scared of this snake?

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  #61  
Old 02-06-2023, 09:01 PM
Escape Artist Escape Artist is offline
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Before I moved to Florida I had someone tell me,” In Florida, you’re never more than 10 ft. from a snake”
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Old 02-07-2023, 07:17 AM
wawriwwawriw wawriwwawriw is offline
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Snakes of Florida | Florida Backyard Snakes
  #63  
Old 02-07-2023, 07:24 AM
mkjelenbaas mkjelenbaas is offline
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Originally Posted by La lamy View Post
My first time facing this type of snake here in The Villages. Do you know what it is? Is it venomous? I'm not sure how safe my cat and I are around that. Have you encountered snakes?
What does a cat think of the snake??
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Old 02-07-2023, 08:02 AM
lawgolfer lawgolfer is offline
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Black racers are amazingly fast. One showed up in the dense bushes at the front of our house. Within a week every lizard disappeared followed by the snake. Just yesterday, I was thinking it is about time for it to return and have a feast.
  #65  
Old 02-07-2023, 09:34 AM
OhioBuckeye OhioBuckeye is offline
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You could be right but I still think it’s a Black Indigo snake. How big are you talking about, in length or big around? So what do you say it is?
  #66  
Old 02-07-2023, 10:21 AM
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Originally Posted by WisBoy View Post
Coral Snakes are also present. Had a couple of sightings a couple of years ago in our hood. They are VERY dangerous and have a mean venom. Have never heard of anyone or anything actually being bitten by one however. Like most snakes, they don't seek out trouble. They are very colorful so are easy to see.
There IS also an INTERESTING non-poisonous snake in Fl that keeps predators (like hawks and eagles) away by LOOKING like a CORAL snake. It has orange, black, and yellow stripes like a coral snake, but in a slightly different order than the coral. Also interesting, there IS a word used in biology for defending from something by "faking" a color or shape of something to be avoided. Some plants do it too. I have forgotten the EXACT WORD. Also interesting is that old-time Floridians have a "singsong" rhyme to distinguish between the coral snake and it's cousin - the look-alike non-poisonous snake. It goes something like..........wait for it........red and yellow together - KILL a feller. Something like that.
  #67  
Old 02-07-2023, 10:36 AM
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Originally Posted by JohnN View Post
As noted, they like to eat rodents. Probably depends on how big your cat is, but I'd be careful. Those snakes are fast, fast, fast.
The snakes here are NOT big enough to eat even a small adult cat, maybe a very little kitty. In Naples and The Everglades National Park there are Boa Constrictors that can OCCASIONALLY get 20ft long and weigh about 150 lbs.......they could get and eat a cat or even a German Shepard. Even a small child.
.....Here locally just about any lake, large or small could contain water mocassins. Locally, I have seen rattlesnake skins on the top of plants inside the area of a Village swimming pool. Rattlesnakes are common and coral snakes are less common. Both can be on golf courses, plants around pools, near any tree, and they come into homes sometimes (not common) The black snake will KILL and eat the poisonous snakes IF it is BIG enough.
.......Actually, the Villages ought to have a program to HATCH black snakes and inform ALL RESIDENTS not to kill them because "they are the GOOD guys of the snake world".
..........And also, it IS really alligators that you should be worried about (snakes, NOT so much). I would add that IF you observe any fool, STUPID ENOUGH TO FEED an alligator. You should kick them in the "southern region"!
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Old 02-07-2023, 10:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Michael G. View Post
Balck racer great snake for controlling rodents.
I fact the University of Miami raises them and releases them into the wild.
Good information about the U. of Miami. TV Land should check out their program and emulate it !!!!!!
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Old 02-07-2023, 10:46 AM
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Good information about the U. of Miami. TV Land should check out their program and emulate it !!!!!!
Why? They're already all over the place...
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Old 02-07-2023, 10:49 AM
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Originally Posted by photo1902 View Post
Great post. I did NOT know there were THAT many varieties.
  #71  
Old 02-07-2023, 11:09 AM
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Originally Posted by GaryKoca View Post
water moccasins if you are near water like a pond. Perhaps a rattlesnake if you are out walking in the woods. Mostly black racers in the Villages, however. They generally try to slink away if they see someone. As indicated, they a good snakes and non-venomous.
Problems happen in encounters with snakes when a person (or animal) mistakenly steps on one. They have camouflage so it is EASY to NOT see them in grass or MULCH, which is placed liberally around plants in the Villages. The snake feels that something is ATTACKING them so they FIGHT or FLEE like any animal. If they choose to FIGHT, then they bite and the venomous ones also inject poison with their fangs. They are like VERY bigger versions of wasps, hornets, or bees.
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Old 02-07-2023, 11:16 AM
Bogie Shooter Bogie Shooter is offline
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Originally Posted by jimjamuser View Post
There IS also an INTERESTING non-poisonous snake in Fl that keeps predators (like hawks and eagles) away by LOOKING like a CORAL snake. It has orange, black, and yellow stripes like a coral snake, but in a slightly different order than the coral. Also interesting, there IS a word used in biology for defending from something by "faking" a color or shape of something to be avoided. Some plants do it too. I have forgotten the EXACT WORD. Also interesting is that old-time Floridians have a "singsong" rhyme to distinguish between the coral snake and it's cousin - the look-alike non-poisonous snake. It goes something like..........wait for it........red and yellow together - KILL a feller. Something like that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimjamuser View Post
The snakes here are NOT big enough to eat even a small adult cat, maybe a very little kitty. In Naples and The Everglades National Park there are Boa Constrictors that can OCCASIONALLY get 20ft long and weigh about 150 lbs.......they could get and eat a cat or even a German Shepard. Even a small child.
.....Here locally just about any lake, large or small could contain water mocassins. Locally, I have seen rattlesnake skins on the top of plants inside the area of a Village swimming pool. Rattlesnakes are common and coral snakes are less common. Both can be on golf courses, plants around pools, near any tree, and they come into homes sometimes (not common) The black snake will KILL and eat the poisonous snakes IF it is BIG enough.
.......Actually, the Villages ought to have a program to HATCH black snakes and inform ALL RESIDENTS not to kill them because "they are the GOOD guys of the snake world".
..........And also, it IS really alligators that you should be worried about (snakes, NOT so much). I would add that IF you observe any fool, STUPID ENOUGH TO FEED an alligator. You should kick them in the "southern region"!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimjamuser View Post
Problems happen in encounters with snakes when a person (or animal) mistakenly steps on one. They have camouflage so it is EASY to NOT see them in grass or MULCH, which is placed liberally around plants in the Villages. The snake feels that something is ATTACKING them so they FIGHT or FLEE like any animal. If they choose to FIGHT, then they bite and the venomous ones also inject poison with their fangs. They are like VERY bigger versions of wasps, hornets, or bees.
Well, that’s a lot to process…………….
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  #73  
Old 02-07-2023, 11:20 AM
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Originally Posted by spinner1001 View Post
Central Florida has all four kinds of venomous snakes in the USA: rattlesnake, water moccasin (aka cottonmouth), copperhead, and coral snake. The most likely habitat for these snakes around TV is natural settings such as the woods, ponds, and marshy areas. If you are around these kinds of areas, there is a chance of coming across one. Hikers and golfers looking for their ball around a pond are the mostly likely people around TV to come across any of them. Assuming one’s house is not close to a pond or marshy area, I believe there is only a very remote chance that you will come across a venomous snake around a house in TV with a rattlesnake being the most likely among those four kinds.

You can recognize the four kinds of venomous snakes relatively easily. The rattlesnake, water moccasin, and copperhead have triangular heads. The coral snake can be recognized by its colors and color pattern. The tricky part with coral snakes is their coloring is similar to the non-venomous king snake. The way I remember the difference between these two snakes is that coral snakes have their red and yellow bands touching each other whereas the king snake does not. I remember the red and yellow combination as a traffic light.

Black racer snakes are relatively common around TV. The venomous snake closest in coloring to black racers is the water moccasin. Both are mostly black. You can distinguish these two snakes by their head and body dimensions. As noted, the water moccasin has a triangular head and proportionately wider body whereas the black racer has a smaller head and thinner body. Black racers will likely slither away fast from a human. Water moccasins will often stand their ground and have a bad disposition. When hiking around TV, I am more worried about a bad outcome from a water moccasin than an alligator.
That IS a great post. I would like to add something slightly different from my experience. I was casting a spinning rod while standing in about 2.5 ft of relatively clear water of a lake. A water moccasin with a large triangular head swam toward me and got to about 2 ft away .........seemed to pause its swimming motion to look at my leg ( I had on shorts and old sneakers for wading). I remained motionless and it did not see anything edible (I imagined) and then continued swimming away. I then cast my spinning rod again. I NEVER felt threatened.
  #74  
Old 02-07-2023, 11:34 AM
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Originally Posted by collie1228 View Post
Black racers are so fast that I doubt your cat could catch one, unless it's a really good stalker. The only problem I could see is if the snake was cornered, like in the corner of a courtyard villa wall, then the snake will probably stand its head up a foot high and bite hard. I had one try to chase me out of my own yard once. But even if it bit the cat, it's harmless.
Well........if a black snake bit a cat or dog, it would be about like a turtle biting them. There would be NO poison involved, but the bite could break the skin and cause a small amount of bleeding.
  #75  
Old 02-07-2023, 11:42 AM
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Originally Posted by TomSpasm View Post
Indigo snakes are very large, and I've never seen one in 39 years full time in Florida. You would immediately know someone was talking about an Indigo because all they would talk about is how big it was.
There was a 6-footer around about 8 years ago in Spanish Springs. Gone now, must have gotten hit by a car. There was a 3 or 4-footer here in our yard about 1 month ago.........very cute.
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