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Natural History/Field Observation Field observations of corn snakes, field collecting, or just general topics about the natural environment they are found in.

Copperhead in the barn.........How do we handle this??!!?
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Old 08-20-2010, 10:49 PM   #1
John3:16
Copperhead in the barn.........How do we handle this??!!?

Tonight doing chores my teen age son and younger daughter found a copperhead in the barn......next to my son's foot!!!!!
She called out snake, he jumped back and identified it as a possible copperhead....

They came and got my DH who went down to the barn, confirmed it as a copperhead and sadly had to kill it.

We are all soooo upset...We didn't know what else to do..it could have bitten the kids, it could have bitten the baby goats....the dogs......

Neither my husband or I know how to handle hot snakes!!...we couldn't move it...I couldn't leave it there with 4 little kids running about in the barn!!!!!!!

Akkk..I don't like having had to do this at all....anyone have any better ideas for next time?
 
Old 08-20-2010, 11:01 PM   #2
Bartholomew
Aww. Well. I dont blame you. You were probably freaking out at that moment and didnt know waht to do. I would have. Umm. I dont know how to handle thoes kind of snakes either. Maby a snake hook? Maby call animal control? Idk. Im going to let someone ealse give you some more advice.
 
Old 08-20-2010, 11:18 PM   #3
John3:16
Well at least I feel better now that someone else didn't know either...oh...our county doesn't have animal control...sigh.
 
Old 08-20-2010, 11:23 PM   #4
durrn
Relocation by snake hook sounds like the way to go then.
 
Old 08-20-2010, 11:23 PM   #5
Cattsy
Honestly? I would have disposed of it as well...

As much as I love snakes, and I understand we encroach on THEIR territory... a poisonous snake like that on a farm is a hazard to you, your family and your animals.

You did the right thing.
 
Old 08-20-2010, 11:33 PM   #6
John3:16
I would have loved to relocate with a hook..but we don't have one, or know how to use one...I've seen them come up the hook on people who know how to do it..its tricky..or can be....we are cornsnake noobs...let alone other snakes...

to be quite honest while I find pictures of single babies adorable..the huge clutch family pix still freak me out a bit..shhhhh...don't tell....

We have come a long way from killing garden snakes on sight..thank you discovery channel....
anyway..I think it would have been bad bad for us to have moved it via snake hook...even if we had one....

Maybe that is the answer..get trained on handling wild hots....???
OK...so where do we go for classes?
Our county has zero resources.....state...what department would be in charge of wild hots??

I'll stop now.....I just had surgery...sry if I'm a bit addled....
 
Old 08-20-2010, 11:56 PM   #7
Cattsy
I dunno I grew up a farm girl in rattler country... Rattlers got no quarter if they were found on the property. They were treated the same as any other predator that encroached on our lands and endangered any critter living on it. Same as Coyotes, foxes, feral dogs, raccoons and other nuisance critters.

Same with poisonous spiders, out in the bush, where they weren't close to me and mine, fine and dandy, in my home or where kids play, done like dinner.

Messing with hots is a deadly game... not something someone untrained should do, and AFAIK no one offers classes on it heh... I know that experienced people will mentor others but it's not something you learn in a "class" it's something learned over years...
 
Old 08-20-2010, 11:58 PM   #8
azhketh
Quote:
Originally Posted by John3:16 View Post
I would have loved to relocate with a hook..but we don't have one, or know how to use one...I've seen them come up the hook on people who know how to do it..its tricky..or can be....we are cornsnake noobs...let alone other snakes...

to be quite honest while I find pictures of single babies adorable..the huge clutch family pix still freak me out a bit..shhhhh...don't tell....

We have come a long way from killing garden snakes on sight..thank you discovery channel....
anyway..I think it would have been bad bad for us to have moved it via snake hook...even if we had one....

Maybe that is the answer..get trained on handling wild hots....???
OK...so where do we go for classes?
Our county has zero resources.....state...what department would be in charge of wild hots??

I'll stop now.....I just had surgery...sry if I'm a bit addled....
Maybe there's someone on this board who will see this and also happens to live in your area. Or maybe ask around at the next reptile show in your area; unlikely due to legal problems, but ya never know, maybe a hot vendor will help you out.

Oh, now I think about it, don't they have snake hooks that are actually snake 'clamps?' Maybe that would work, though you'd need to practice to get the proper amount of control without accidentally harming the snake.
 
Old 08-21-2010, 12:07 AM   #9
tricksterpup
I wouldnt panic, just be aware of it and teach your children to be aware of them. I doubt any one will come to harm to it. As long as you are aware one is on your property. Because its not the only one your property.

Just teach your kids not to touch any strange snakes and slowly walk away from it. Its about education. Why kill the poor animal cause you have a barn that probably attracts rodents and the snake is hunting them down.

Remember the animal is hunting down these pests for you. So learn to treat the animal with respect. They are not going to hunt you down.
Sadly are you sure this was a copper head? Many snakes look like them. Sadly, this disgust me. Why post something like this when you already killed the animal. I can not respect a person posting this. It would equal in my book for killing a dog for standing next to your child. It didn't strike and no one got hurt.
 
Old 08-21-2010, 12:20 AM   #10
CodeRed
I think the purpose of the post was to find out what to do in the future, should this happen again... no need to jump down their throat. In their position I would've done the same thing. Like the others said, they were in no position to move the animal themselves without adding further risk to themselves and pets. At the time, there wasn't really a safe way to do anything. If they had any small animals, they would've been at risk. It's easier to stand to the side and say you would've done something when you aren't in the situation yourself. Even if it was a different snake that looked like a copperhead, how would they have known then? Risk letting it run around near children and pets? And yes, while snakes DO keep the mice down, is that a safe reason for letting a venomous snake near family? Normally you would relocate the animal, and since they couldn't do that, they did the next safest thing for their family. I can respect that.
 

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