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Have a cottonmouth; want it removed humanly!
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by Cat31302 on September 9, 2007
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About a month ago, 2 of my dogs were bitten by what the emergency vet thought was a cottonmouth; but with no snake; she was kind of clueless.
Tonight, my husband found a snake in our garage. It looks like a cotton mouth to me. Animal control is closed; so I called the sheriffs department as the website said. They were truly surprised that I didn't want to kill it. I don't even eat meat! All my life I learned that snakes are an important part of the ecosystem...I'm hoping someone can help me find something to do with it so it won't be killed.
Here are 2 photos:
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/1039/hpim1719hy2.jpg
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/7383/hpim1720ql2.jpg
If it is not a cottonmouth, I understand that I need to have someone licensed to come remove it. Does anyone have any ideas? Either way, I need it removed before my dogs get bit again. Until then, it looks like I have a pet snake. Luckily for me, I had several pythons growing up so I know what to do; atleast for a few days.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Catherine Lambeth
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RE: Have a cottonmouth; want it removed humanly!
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by LarryDFishel on September 9, 2007
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Banded water snake. Harmless (well, it'll make you bleed a little). Just chase it outside (a broom would be handy) and towards the nearest source of water (there must be one nearby if he's there). It won't hurt your dogs.
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RE: Have a cottonmouth; want it removed humanly!
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by Cat31302 on September 10, 2007
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Wow! I really appreciate the help so quickly. I woke up this morning wondering what I was going to do with it if I didn't get any responses. :) Thanks so much. It's good to know that there are people out there who are looking out for creatures...not just the cuddly ones. Not that snakes aren't cuddly...:)
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RE: Have a cottonmouth; want it removed humanly!
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by Rob_Carmichael on September 10, 2007
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And for future snake encounters, even if you do have a cottonmouth in your yard or around your home, just realize that these snakes get a real bad wrap. They are not nearly as aggressive as people make them out to be, however, they do command a lot of respect. The best way to deal with a large or small cottonmouth, assuming no one in the area has experience with venomous, is to get a long handled broom and a large, deep garbage can that has a handle on the lid. Put the can on the ground and use the broom to just "shoo" the snake into the can. once in the can, use the broom handle and put in the can handle to wedge it and lift up (the key is to never expose your hand or any limb to the snake...thankfully, even a large cottonmout can't strike much more than a couple of feet). Cover the lid making sure your hands are not exposed around the lid (which is why having a lid with a handle works well). Once the lid is snapped shut, use some duct tape to tape the lid securely closed and take to the nearest swamp you live by...the snake didn't travel too far to get to your house so you may just be able to roll the can, undue the tap, carefully open the lid while the can is in a vertical position and then carefully lower the can to the ground. Use the broom to guide the snake out and you'll have done a good thing for snakes. Thankfully, you had a Nerodia (water snake) so you don't have to go to these extremes unless you are nervous or not used to dealing with this grumpy serpents.
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake Forest, IL
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