Afraid of snakes ???

[Diwundrin]

First reaction was why kill it? But read further and it was a feral,. Burmese python so fair enough. You don't have biggish pythons in the States?
I don't think ours get to those proportions but they can swallow a small roo so they're getting up there.

 

[dbeyat45]

That's a whopper DB, it always amazes me how their jaws can stretch to accommodate an animal that large

I can eat a hamburger with the works .....

 

[Diwundrin]

That's only impressive if you can swallow it whole.

 

[GDAD]

The deer hunter

 

[Pappy]

OMG. Is there anything they won't eat?

 

[Jackie22]

OMG!......I grew up in the country and appreciate nature as much as anyone....just don't want snakes venturing into my territory.

 

[dbeyat45]

OMG. Is there anything they won't eat?

I can answer that question Pappy, if you tell me your height and weight.

 

[Pappy]

I can answer that question Pappy, if you tell me your height and weight.

Damnit......do you know how much work it is to clean all this coffee off my Ipad? Thanks for a good laugh. :lofl:

 

[dbeyat45]

Damnit......do you know how much work it is to clean all this coffee off my Ipad? Thanks for a good laugh. :lofl:

$US100.00 thanks.

 

[Pappy]

Worth every penny but you gotta wait till my social security check comes in. kay:

 

[Katybug]

You are just far to civilized Katy, a product of human evolution that has removed it from nature, I think I got left behind.

Actually living in a city it is highly unlikely that an Aussie would ever see a snake other than through glass too. Or anything else that qualified as wildlife for that matter, especially not native wildlife other than birds and the odd highly annoying possum in the roof.

I was fortunate (or not) to spend more vacation time than most in different regions due to a scattered family, and got a far wider grounding in how things operated in far and different places to most (or any) kids I grew up with. The dangers and foibles of snakes, guns, and the vagaries of nature in a 'mood' were familiar to me from early on whereas those living in cities only would have had very little chance of contact with any of those. It's not bravery it's 'education'.

Strangely it's only recently that I've begun to appreciate just how incredibly lucky I was to have had such a wide range of experiences so early.
I didn't even have to move from home. Just family vacations, stories, characters I've met, and their very different lifestyles gave me a wider view of life to most.
They ranged from dirt poor in rented 'shacks' to mansions. I learned a little about farming, crops and cattle, coal mining, pro and sport fishing, hunting, bush lore, ecology, even how millionaires had 'made it' while other girls my age were still playing with dolls and reading romance novels. Who needed 'college'?

We're all different due to luck, nature or nurture, we don't score brownie points for how we are or think either way.

I am way too civilized, Di, seem to be the only person on here that's never seen a snake in the wild. Probably one of the only ones who would pay to go to a large serpentarium every year as well. I don't have an oz of your courage in seeing them in the wild, but love your attitude.

Still trying to get a visual of a Brown trying to get in and you just slamming the door shut and going on with your life. I would have made my first call to the Rescue Squad with an anxiety attack. I would never get over it, not ever! Much as I want to visit and see it all, I'm not Aussie material. I wouldn't feel comfortable going outside, from descriptions you've written, other than in the city and that offers no flavor at all, just another huge city. That's not the fascinating appeal of Australia, so why travel round the world with my attitude? I'll just keep watching documentaries and enjoying the posts from those of you who are kind enough to share.

 

[Katybug]

First reaction was why kill it? But read further and it was a feral,. Burmese python so fair enough. You don't have biggish pythons in the States?
I don't think ours get to those proportions but they can swallow a small roo so they're getting up there.

I wish we didn't have biggish pythons, Di, but S Florida is loaded with them. People dump them in the everglades when they get too large and they can give birth to 150 or so at a time. It's totally destroying the ecology and for the first time ever S Floridians can't let their kids or their pets out because of it. I mean, if it can eat a deer.....

 

[Anne]

I've seen documentaries of those pythons, and how they round them up. But, aren't they just moving them and not killing them?? If that's true, I don't understand it.

 

[Katybug]

When my daughter was living in a house in Bonville with rainforest all around , they were plentiful there and it wasn't unusual to see the Pythons mating on the verandah and hanging from the trees, once she had a huge python at the front door and it looked like it wanted to come in, the owner told her later that he used to let them use the house as a shortcut to the backyard, of course she didn't let them have the same privilage, when i was staying there you could hear them slithering around in the ceiling, i always worried one would fall through lol i am a real wuss when it comes to snakes even the harmless python, i would freak out at a brown.
Spiders are my other fear White tails and funnel webs are my worst nightmare, couldn't believe the cheek of a small spider this morning i turned around in the kitchen in time to see it abseiling down onto my shirt, the cheek of it.

You know me, Jill, that is a big "oh my gawd moment" for you this morning -- no matter the type or if totally harmless, not even if it was Charlotte from CHARLOTTE'S WEB. And not one I'm going to elaborate on for your sake.

 

[Katybug]

I've seen documentaries of those pythons, and how they round them up. But, aren't they just moving them and not killing them?? If that's true, I don't understand it.

They are not killing them, Anne...you're right, just moving them -- as if they can't crawl back!!! And S Florida Everglades is almost as infested at this point as any natural habitat for them.

Takes us 10-15 yrs to do away with someone on death row and they're not about to kill a snake that is causing no harm, just being there. So in the meantime they're taking over and it's downright scary thinking about them moving on up the east coast. It's already predicted as our winters are mild enough for their survival, just a matter of time and the numbers they give birth to at one time is really frightening!

 

[Katybug]

First reaction was why kill it? But read further and it was a feral,. Burmese python so fair enough. You don't have biggish pythons in the States?
I don't think ours get to those proportions but they can swallow a small roo so they're getting up there.

I'm wondering at it being described as a "feral." Isn't anything wild referred to as feral? I'm probably off base here, thinking of cats, but, damn, no snake is anything but wild -- ever. Not even the ones owners are stupid enough to think of as pets....they're not, and a lot of dead owners to prove it. Perhaps I don't have the meaning of feral correctly so far as the snake was concerned and don't have time to read it, I'm calling it a day. I'm ready for some R & R and may be able to catch up tomorrow with the links. Gawd, I love this thread, can't get away from it!

 

[Diwundrin]

If they aren't a native snake then they should be culling them right out! Believe me feral foreign wildlife will devastate your landscape and fauna quicker than all the worst pollution man can inflict on them. I can't believe someone thinks rounding them up and moving them is doing a kindness for anything, it's moving and spreading the problem.

We get howling and hair pulling from Pollyanna protesters when we cull bumbies here. But if they stopped to think, they're doing it tough out there, despite the romanticised visions of 'living in freedom'.

They live in misery covered in ticks, and they break legs in wombat holes, starve in droughts, destroy vegetation which small native marsupials rely on for cover, and eat out and erode grassland that others depend on. There a lot more horses around than rare and endangered marsupials so to me it's a no brainer to allow pros to shoot them kindly.
Very few are ever worth the expense and training to domesticate so most are only going to end up being trucked to the dog food factory if they're mustered anyway. Shooting them in situ is kinder than terrifying them by herding wild horses into trucks and confining them in slaughter yards. It's simply dragging out the agony to the same ultimate conclusion imo. How is that more 'humanitarian'?

I'm really down on ferals of all ilk. Our rivers are ruined by carp that some idiot imported a century ago and got away when their dam flooded and they've since spread and taken out umpteen species of native fish types and muddied the waters causing more silt and less light leading to the extinction of some aquatic vegetation that held the banks and riverbeds stable in floods... and... aaaghh!
We had had one mental giant caught trying to import live piranhas! Maybe to take out the carp? Spare us!!!

People wanting trendy pets should be looked at really closely and some form of licencing, annual reporting of, and proof of, their whereabouts over the life expectency of the animal be implemented. Huge fines may make people think twice before they buy some brainsnap fad pet and then turn it loose to wreak havoc when they can't handle it any longer.

Grump over.

 

[Ozarkgal]

I've seen documentaries of those pythons, and how they round them up. But, aren't they just moving them and not killing them?? If that's true, I don't understand it.

Rounding them up and moving them...huh? Never heard that. What bleeding heart do gooder group or government agency thought that would be a good idea?

Several months ago there was a sponsored hunt for them that went on for a month with prizes for the most snakes killed. I assumed there was open season on them for all the devastation and danger they are causing.

People wanting trendy pets should be looked at really closely and some form of licencing, annual reporting of, and proof of, their whereabouts over the life expectency of the animal be implemented. Huge fines may make people think twice before they buy some brainsnap fad pet and then turn it loose to wreak havoc when they can't handle it any longer.

Yes, Yes, Yes. I can't understand why this isn't regulated, when just about everything under the
sun is legislated and taxed, including family dogs and cats.

 

[Warrigal]

What Diwundrin said. Australia is a large island and as a result of long term isolation our native wildlife is quite unique and has not evolved defences against animals that have been imported from Europe and other parts of the globe. Most of our feral populations have developed from domestic animals that have escaped and gone wild - cats, dogs, goats, donkeys, camels, horses and water buffalo to name a few. Others have hitched a ride on ships - black rats and some marine life like Pacific oysters. Still more were deliberately introduced by well meaning pastoralists including the cane toads which were supposed to eat pests in the sugar cane. They didn't but they breed well and have taken over the northern parts of the continent. The English brought rabbits and foxes to hunt. All of these species are either bad for the environment or for the native wildlife.

Burmese pythons in the Everglades are feral, as are Australian possums in New Zealand. They do not belong there.

 

[dbeyat45]

What Warrigal & Di said ....

 

[Katybug]

What Diwundrin said. Australia is a large island and as a result of long term isolation our native wildlife is quite unique and has not evolved defences against animals that have been imported from Europe and other parts of the globe. Most of our feral populations have developed from domestic animals that have escaped and gone wild - cats, dogs, goats, donkeys, camels, horses and water buffalo to name a few. Others have hitched a ride on ships - black rats and some marine life like Pacific oysters. Still more were deliberately introduced by well meaning pastoralists including the cane toads which were supposed to eat pests in the sugar cane. They didn't but they breed well and have taken over the northern parts of the continent. The English brought rabbits and foxes to hunt. All of these species are either bad for the environment or for the native wildlife.

Burmese pythons in the Everglades are feral, as are Australian possums in New Zealand. They do not belong there.

Totally agree and it's more than Burmese, there are several different types of pythons here now and we'll never get rid of them no matter what efforts are made. But relocating them is a bad joke and far from the answer! Impossible situation!

Not a lot, but we have 'em here in NC too. A lady who lives a few blocks from me found a big python on her patio a couple wks ago attempting to get inside and away from the cooler weather I suppose... sounds like Di's post w/the brown snake trying to get in! Far worse, a small child was attacked by a Ball Python at one of the parks last year, a park I can walk to. The mom was lifting her small baby out of the carriage, looked down, and the darned thing who had just arrived on the scene, I suppose, was wrapping around her toddler's leg. No bite, thank goodness!! Some hairbrain had probably ditched it as so many do. We can imagine how grateful she was for the fearless runner who immediately rescued and killed it. I don't flinch one bit about that. What else could he have done with nothing to put it in? (JMO, but wish more would do that!) I so wish we could get the easy access to buying/owning these creatures heavily regulated, but we're already screwed -- too many here already!

And those darned Tarantulas that hiked a free ride here via banana boat...love those, don't ya know??!! Tho I haven't heard an issue about them as I have the exotic snakes being dumped and mass reproducing on a daily basis. aarrrgghh!!!!!

 

[Warrigal]

Katybug, it has always amazed us down here that people are allowed to keep all kinds of exotic pets.
The keeping of exotic animals and most native animals is subject to very strict licencing laws.

I hope that is the case over your way by now.

 

[Diwundrin]

We referred to Huntsman spiders as Tarantulas back a few years, they are a far lighter weight, skinnier spider but bear a slight resemblance I guess. They have very weak venom and I've never actually heard of anyone being bitten by a Huntsman. They're fast on their feet but a fairly laid back critter when caught. I played with them as a toddler I'm told. Mum sprung me with one in my hand stroking the 'fur' on it's back. I must have been behind the door when the arachnophobia gene was handed out.

Those real, American Tarantulas aren't particularly dangerous are they? I know a lot keep them as pets there, they're banned here (I presume) to the general public.
As are lions tigers, crocodiles, bears and monkeys etc, and all the other things that people haven't a clue how to handle safely.
Even Hamsters are banned. I don't think even zoos have them. I don't recall ever seeing one anywhere.

Native wildlife can't be legally kept as pets unlicenced either. If they lob in at the door for a free handout that's okay but put them in an enclosure and you need a licence. Seems fair to a point.

It's suggested that if some endangered types were okayed as pets they would have a better chance of surviving but then who the hell would want a fangy, smelly, short fused Tassie Devil or Quoll sharing their house? They'll never replace the dog or cat as 'social companions' and that's for sure and certain. Wouldn't want a wombat waddling through the house like a mobile boulder and doing bulldozer impressions in the living room either. Nor would it be smart to keep a roo in close proximity. They are nature's public transport system for fleas and ticks. For some reason they are immune to ticks, but we aren't!

People would only want to make pets of the cute little critters and that's not keeping a viable ecological balance, nor are they easy to maintain as most have very specialised diets.

btw: One tiny feral doesn't seem to have spread. Taronga Zoo had quite a population of escaped red squirrels running loose years ago but never heard of them appearing in Sydney suburbia. You'd think they would have spread by now. Anyone else remember seeing those? Maybe they 'offed' them all eventually? Or maybe the food supply here is too different for them to make it in the bush. Gum nuts wouldn't be as appetizing as acorns. Then again possums are notoriously territorial and they may be cleaning up squirrel intruders for us.

 

[Katybug]

If they aren't a native snake then they should be culling them right out! Believe me feral foreign wildlife will devastate your landscape and fauna quicker than all the worst pollution man can inflict on them. I can't believe someone thinks rounding them up and moving them is doing a kindness for anything, it's moving and spreading the problem.

We get howling and hair pulling from Pollyanna protesters when we cull bumbies here. But if they stopped to think, they're doing it tough out there, despite the romanticised visions of 'living in freedom'.

They live in misery covered in ticks, and they break legs in wombat holes, starve in droughts, destroy vegetation which small native marsupials rely on for cover, and eat out and erode grassland that others depend on. There a lot more horses around than rare and endangered marsupials so to me it's a no brainer to allow pros to shoot them kindly.
Very few are ever worth the expense and training to domesticate so most are only going to end up being trucked to the dog food factory if they're mustered anyway. Shooting them in situ is kinder than terrifying them by herding wild horses into trucks and confining them in slaughter yards. It's simply dragging out the agony to the same ultimate conclusion imo. How is that more 'humanitarian'?

I'm really down on ferals of all ilk. Our rivers are ruined by carp that some idiot imported a century ago and got away when their dam flooded and they've since spread and taken out umpteen species of native fish types and muddied the waters causing more silt and less light leading to the extinction of some aquatic vegetation that held the banks and riverbeds stable in floods... and... aaaghh!
We had had one mental giant caught trying to import live piranhas! Maybe to take out the carp? Spare us!!!

People wanting trendy pets should be looked at really closely and some form of licencing, annual reporting of, and proof of, their whereabouts over the life expectency of the animal be implemented. Huge fines may make people think twice before they buy some brainsnap fad pet and then turn it loose to wreak havoc when they can't handle it any longer.

Grump over.

AMEN, Di. You said it extremely well and it's so true!

 

[Katybug]

Katybug, it has always amazed us down here that people are allowed to keep all kinds of exotic pets.
The keeping of exotic animals and most native animals is subject to very strict licencing laws.

I hope that is the case over your way by now.

I read about it being enforced occasionally, Warrigal, but it's as impossible as gun control would be....too many already out there and impossible to get in control of it now. The damage is done w/the way they reproduce. Strict licencing laws would be a joke at this point, but oh, how I wish we could go back in time before it became such an issue!

And NO SLAM on guns, guys, just using it as an example.