Only Three Bites...

[Nanci]

I saw this little guy while out riding this morning. 12:00 PM, 80F, mixed hardwood scrubby forest, dry, he was crossing or basking on sunny asphalt. Payne's Prairie area (north central Florida.)

I immediately stopped, turned around, threw my bike off the trail, and went to get him. I just picked him up, and he wanted to bite, of course. I held him by the neck and supported his body, but he could still twist enough to get me. Other cyclists riding by could hear me saying "Please don't bite, stop biting, please don't bite me again" as I dug my camera out for some pics.

It was obvious he wasn't going to calm down enough in the time I had for in-hand shots, so I set him in a tree, where he kindly stayed long enough for me to take some pics. His direction of escape was up the tree, not down to the ground.

Nice young yellow Ratsnake!

Nanci

[Nanci]

Head shot! He's got the same pretty copper eyes as Mike's Mellow Yellow.

[diamondlil]

Great shot Nanci, thanks for sharing :cheers:

[Nanci]

And I even got some tongue! If this wasn't so closely cropped, you could see my bleeding fingers...

Thanks for looking! Snakey was allowed to go in peace after about five minutes of photography.

Nanci

[Nanci]

Thanks Janine! Not bad for a point and shoot camera! I just knew if I ever picked up a Yellow Rat, biting would be a given. That's why I'm starting with young ones!

Nanci

[ArpeggioAngel]

Nice find and great pics Nanci. Looks like a quite nice and very healthy yellow rat. Kudos to you for taking the time to take the pics and share!!

[Nanci]

All my friends except one dread riding with me for this reason- I love catching snakes!

Nanci

[mbdorfer]

Suhweeet! What a gorgeous yellow rat. And you're right, those eyes are very similar to MY's. Nice to hear that some awesome snakes are returning to "the prairie". That was a hot spot 20 yrs ago. Thanks for sharing :cheers:

[DrunkZombie]

Wow you really do have talent with the camera, im doing a media course atm, hope to get some shots like that one day. But then again i live in england so... ill basicly never see a wild snake lol.

Ollie

[desertanimal]

It looks like you just took one of your own snakes outside for an outdoor shoot! Great pics!

[Nanci]

Mike, I see these guys all the time in that area! Mostly big angry adults. I've even seen one in my front yard. I didn't invite him in.

It's way easier to get good photos of wild snakes when you have two people- it's hard to wrangle a snake with one hand.

Nanci

[mbdorfer]

Mike, I see these guys all the time in that area! Mostly big angry adults. I've even seen one in my front yard. I didn't invite him in.
I know what you mean. I am still in disbelief over MY's attitude, he has none!
Every other yellow rat I've come across was out to ruin my day :grin01:

Again, those pics are awesome! :cool:

[SkyChimp]

Gorgeous snake, Nanci, and great photos.

[Pruddock]

I'm jealous!! Great find Nanci and beautiful shots. Wish we had yellow rats here we just get the ugly nasty Texas Rats...YUCK!!

[Cflaguy]

All my friends except one dread riding with me for this reason- I love catching snakes!

Nanci
My dad won't visit my house because there are snakes in it.

Nice catch. I always love the reactions of people passing by when I'm catching a snake.

[Nanci]

I've been thinking about Mike's MY this morning. We have no proof he was ever a wild snake- he was found in a house!

Craig- my mom and dad tolerated or even encouraged my penchant for snake catching. I was brought up to be really outdoorsy.

Nanci

[Roy Munson]

Very cool snake and photos. There are black rats up here, but I've never seen any. :(

[Jay@PJCReptiles]

Great find Nanci and even better pictures. I wish we had stuff like that up here. I would have loved to see the looks on the faces of the passers-by wondering what this crazy lady with the snake was going to do. Nice snake and get some iodine and Band-Aids on them boo-boos. (ouch!.....ooch!.....aaahhhh!......quit it!) :grin01:
Jay :cool: