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Pythons in Florida

#41
Stu L. said:
Crispy, are there snakes in Canada? I might have to look into moving if they come this way. Personally, I hate snakes. I don't freak out, but I do get the hell out of the area. This population boom worries me, and I wonder how long it will be before it's a real problem in Florida.
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:D

We do have snakes, but nothing large, and nothing you'd ever come into contact with unless you live in specific areas. Our snakes are generally small and harmless. The only dangerous snakes we have are a couple species of rattlesnake, but like I said, unless you are on a hike in say, the Rocky Mountains, or the Wainfleet Bog (Niagara reigon), you'd never see one.

Come to think of it, dangerous animals aren't a real problem here, unless you live in seriously rural areas (bears, wolves and whatnot)
 
#42
Dr. Cheese said:
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I see the governor has approved a python hunt. It seems to be rather modest in its goals. The article also mentions the need to regulate the importation of exotic snakes too.:)
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Regulation sometimes has to happen on native species as well. There is a serious problem with coyotes in the Niagara reigion, so much so that hunters are allowed (and often encouraged) to kill coyotes year-round. They have become seriously brazen, to the point where they are starting to come to the outskirts of town during the day and kill and eat people's pet dogs!
 
#44
CrispyDelicious said:
Regulation sometimes has to happen on native species as well. There is a serious problem with coyotes in the Niagara reigion, so much so that hunters are allowed (and often encouraged) to kill coyotes year-round. They have become seriously brazen, to the point where they are starting to come to the outskirts of town during the day and kill and eat people's pet dogs!
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Coyotes are not native to any of Canada, nor most of the United States. They are actually only native to the SE United States, Mexico, and Central America.
 
#45
jojobean39 said:
I just heard that on the news this morning. I'm really amazed that all of these snakes have bred this fast.

What about the rattlesnake population? :p (Taken near Orlando by an FPL employee)

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I've run across similar scenes in my life. There are a LOT of Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes in the sandy hill country west of Orlando where I used to live (Clermont area).

I once had to shoot a 6" Diamondback just outside my grandmother's backdoor, that snake was so fat it must have weighed about 12-13 lbs, maybe more...I hated doing it, but the dogs had it cornered and I was afraid it was going to "take up residence" around the house...
 
#53
Dr. Cheese said:
I recently checked out Wikipedia, and the Python does brumate (repitilian version of hibernation) in the northen parts of its range in Asia. If that is the case, I don't see why it couldn't invade places like Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina where it would be warm enough for activity 8-10 months out of the year.
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Brumation is not really hibernation. There are snakes that hibernate, though they do not thermoregulate. Brumation is more of a reduction of activity, and coincidentally feeding, that occurs for a variety of reasons including cooler temperatures or dry/rainy seasons. Burmese pythons won't be able to survive anywhere that gets freezing temperatures for very long. The water in their bodies freezes and they die.

They're really not "built" to hibernate.

Dr. Cheese said:
It depends on if you value your environment. Some times an invasive species can so totally disrupt the ecosystem that it ruins everything, furthermore, it's not like this happened naturally. People who thought it would be neat to have a snake as a pet are the reason why these animals are now crawling all over the Sunshine State.
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Pet snakes, pet cats, pet dogs, goats, ornamental plants, palm trees, farm raised fish, water pond plants, fur animals, all of those are major problems in Florida. Iguanas, monitor lizards, geckos, and turtles too. I wouldn't be surprised if half the plant life in southern Florida is non-native.

Dr. Cheese said:
By twenty years, a snake may be closing in 200lbs. and be around twenty feet long. A snake that size can kill an adult who is not paying attention.:eek:
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Snakes tend not to kill what they won't eat, and it would take a very hungry snake to try and kill an adult human. It does happen, but pet dogs kill more people than snakes do, venomous, constrictor or otherwise. People, with their broad shoulders compared to their necks and heads, are extremely difficult to swallow.

jojobean39 said:
Seems like a gator might be hard to just puke back out. I have never eaten one that big though. :D
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ANYTHING is easy for a snake to puke back out! They just open their mouths and out it comes!

:)

I for one don't like knowing they are out there growing in numbers. Alligators are normally not aggressive towards people, these Pythons seem very aggressive.
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Burms (Burmese pythons) are some of the most docile snakes you'll ever come across, which is why they're so popular in the pet trade.

jojobean39 said:
What about the rattlesnake population? :p (Taken near Orlando by an FPL employee)

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Interesting that an FPL employee found a den of Western Diamondback rattlesnakes near Orlando. Major discovery there since the species is limited to the western states and northern Mexico.

I've had that same picture sent to me in probably 25 emails, claiming to have been taken everywhere from Canada to Washington state to New York.

It wasn't.

Easterns are darker colored. Here's a couple of pics of Florida Easterns.

diamondback-2.gif

diamondback-rattlesnake.gif
 
#54
rustynuts said:
Brumation is not really hibernation. There are snakes that hibernate, though they do not thermoregulate. Brumation is more of a reduction of activity, and coincidentally feeding, that occurs for a variety of reasons including cooler temperatures or dry/rainy seasons. Burmese pythons won't be able to survive anywhere that gets freezing temperatures for very long. The water in their bodies freezes and they die.

They're really not "built" to hibernate.



Pet snakes, pet cats, pet dogs, goats, ornamental plants, palm trees, farm raised fish, water pond plants, fur animals, all of those are major problems in Florida. Iguanas, monitor lizards, geckos, and turtles too. I wouldn't be surprised if half the plant life in southern Florida is non-native.



Snakes tend not to kill what they won't eat, and it would take a very hungry snake to try and kill an adult human. It does happen, but pet dogs kill more people than snakes do, venomous, constrictor or otherwise. People, with their broad shoulders compared to their necks and heads, are extremely difficult to swallow.



ANYTHING is easy for a snake to puke back out! They just open their mouths and out it comes!

:)



Burms (Burmese pythons) are some of the most docile snakes you'll ever come across, which is why they're so popular in the pet trade.



Interesting that an FPL employee found a den of Western Diamondback rattlesnakes near Orlando. Major discovery there since the species is limited to the western states and northern Mexico.

I've had that same picture sent to me in probably 25 emails, claiming to have been taken everywhere from Canada to Washington state to New York.

It wasn't.

Easterns are darker colored. Here's a couple of pics of Florida Easterns.

diamondback-2.gif

diamondback-rattlesnake.gif
Click to expand...


I understood that Brumation is not hibernation, but I think that for most laymen, the similarity is close enough for most people to understand.

As for snakes killing people, I know that such a thing would be very rare, but it does happen, especially to people who keeps snakes in their homes. I know that is different from a wild snake, but I could imagine a situation where a startled snake might kill someone who snuck up on it.
 
#56
Nice topic. You also have idiots who own them as pets who have no business owning them as pets. A toddler was recently strangled to death near Orlando by a python owned by the mother's live-in boyfriend. This guy didn't have a permit for the snake.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/news-article.aspx?storyid=140808

I dig animals, but have no problem killing the ones that pose a threat to me and my loved ones. If I started seeing them here in NE Fla (Jacksonville) I'm going to shoot, stab, chop, club and ask questions later. :D
 

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