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All the snakes are gone.
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by Fabian on September 6, 2003
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I have hunted a friends 200 acre swamp for 2 years. I have never seen so many cottonmouths, water snakes, rat snakes, etc. (But something is wroung) I have hunted the swamp hard this year. Only to find one plain belly water snake, and seen 2 cottonmouths way out in the water. that was back in may. After that I have not seen any snakes till today when In caught a big Southern Copperhead. Why are there no snakes ? Are the animals eating them ? What ?????
This swamp is the best snake habitat I have ever seen.
Could anyone tell me what happened to the snakes ?????
Thanks Fabe
PS I have only removed 2 cottonmouths, and a water snake from that swamp. The 2 cottons last year, and the water snake this year.
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RE: All the snakes are gone.
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by TomT on September 6, 2003
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I don't know about where you are, but here it was a very WET year. We had a cool, wet spring, and when it wasn't cool and wet, it was HOT, which made for slim pickins for me in the few trips out I made this year. Last year, and the two years previous to that were extremely dry years here in Virginia, which made snakes a challenge to find for me as well. I just keep plugging along and hope I'll stumble across something like that big, fat copperhead you found.
I put out a few sheets of tin in likely spots and on cool days I fond snakes under them. I've never found cottonmouths under tin, but I've found every other kind of snake around here under the tin. The best snake hunter I know finds most of the snakes he catches under tin that he has placed. He's the man for catching snakes, and I try to do the things he has tried to teach me about them. If it's hot, a lot of snakes go under ground to keep cool. If it's wet, I don't know where they go, but the hide from me really well... the only snakes I've caught this year were a few black ratsnakes, an eastern king, a mole king, a copperhead and about 20 racers... I let them all go except the king. He was laying in the middle of the road, right on the double-solid line in a shapr curve. I Stopped long enough to scoop him up and I kept driving to keep from getting rear-ended.... he was a keeper...
Better luck next year... be sure to check in those stump holes and don't look down all the time. Lots of snakes in the trees in those swamps too....
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RE: All the snakes are gone.
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by Fabian on September 7, 2003
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Hey Tom, It has went from cold to hot here. Maybe that is what it is. yesterday it was in the mid. 80s and brezzy. This swamp is so cool. looks just like the one in the movie swamp thing. LOL I want to go out there at night. I bet there would be snakes every where. It is starting to cool off some maybe then I will find some. Tired of buying cottons, and coppers. LOL I have a big pile of tin, I have been meaning to take out. I have 2 peices out now but not at the swamp. Thanks Tom.
Well be safe.
Fabe
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RE: All the snakes are gone.
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by TomT on September 7, 2003
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I can tell you that there's an art (since you're a sculptor it probably won't be difficult for you to master) at setting tin out. You have to read the land a little bit and place it near natural travel "lanes" for snakes... parallel to hedges and at the points where tree lines penetrate into more open ground... stuff like that... but once you set out a few pieces that produce, you'll catch on quickly.
I have been fortunate to have a smart snake hunter show me a couple of his "tricks" for setting tin, like piling a few sheets with thin (about 1") boards or sticks in between the sheets in some areas or placing two pieces so that they overlap with a space in between the overlap to insulate part of the bottom sheet to protect part of the underside from intense heat from the sun... also setting the tin sheets out so that the sun hits different sheets at different times of the day to allow time to travel down the line without all the tin getting hot at the same time... the snakes won't stay under there in the heat of the day... there's definitely more to setting a good line out than plopping it down on the ground somewhere... It also can take months for the snakes to find the tin and get confident enough to start using it. I always place it on top of some weeds so that it isn't directly on the ground initially... it gives some spacing between the metal and the ground to allow the snakes to thermoregulate under it a little bit...
I've used a ray-tech temperature gun on the tin to see what temperature it is when I find snakes under it and Racers seem to like it the hottest of any of the local snakes we have here ..... Hognoses stop using the tin in about May, and they may estivate during the hottest part of the summer... copperheads stand it a little hotter, but not as hot as ratsnakes and racers...
All things to consider depending on the species you're after.
I find more cottonmouths in backwater swamps in the flowing portion of the streams just downstream of logjams, beaver dams and piles of debris... also in the little coves that cypress stumps make... I also look on fallen trees that cross over streams, particularly those with grass or weeds growing on them, early in the morning when the sun is filtering into the swamp... look in the spots of sunlight on logs and such for basking cottonmouths....
The only snakes I've ever had any luck finding while walking around in a swamp are Kingsnakes... if you find kings you're close to other snakes (food)....
Happy hunting!
Tom
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