General Chat

In this hot weather do watch out for snakes when walking in fields with dogs or even alone.
On Monday one of our local dogs encountered a venomous snake (presumably an adder) in the field across the main road from us, got bitten and died.
So sad for the owner.
Several years ago I encountered a snake at the end of our garden, didn't identify it but beat a hasty retreat.

Watch out for boa constrictors next time you go for big school.

What a shame the dog died Brian. I grew up living next to Cannock Chase in Staffordshire and the boys would bring baby adders to school in a jamjar! The area was covered in bracken and when out playing we children were always on the lookout for them and treated them with great respect. Where I live now in a different county they have introduced Adders to a wild beauty spot open to the public which I think is madness and will be a problem waiting to happen with dogs and small children running and rolling around! Hubby nearly trod on one when we were out hiking once. It looked just like a cowpat curled up and sunning itself on a flat stone.

Don't move to Australia, them; if the snakes don't get you, the spiders will!

A few years ago, a friend and I were at an equine event at Brockenhurst, in the New Forest.
As we were walking along a well-used path, I noticed an Adder sunbathing, by a tree, but right by the path.
Realising there were children about, and dogs, I started jumping, in an attempt to make it move.
It didn't move. So I went closer, and jumped.
It wasn't interested.I got even closer and hissed and jumped.
After a good 3 minutes of my looking like a fool the Adder slowly slid away.
At no time did it show any aggression, but then, I didn't surprise, like a dog may have done, or attack it.
It felt the vibrations of my jumping well before I got anywhere near it.

Another time, we were at a family gathering at the Sustanability Centre in East Meon.
The grandchildren's ages (there were 5 of them) ranged from 8 to 3, and they wandered around the place together.,
The eldest came running back to say there was a snake, and could someone identify it - was it poisonous, should she get the little ones away????

Muggins went. I was most impressed with the children. They were a fair bit away from it - it was huge - and just quietly watching it. No-one had picked a stick, no-one was poking it, they all just quietly stood there,
I identified it as a grass snake - not poisonous, but I did say it could bite if it was upset (a rare occurence, but hey!)

They were there for a good half hour watching it - just mesmerised.

My first encounter with a snake was in Malta. i was very young - I'd only just started talking. I was outside our house, where there was a dry stone wall.
I saw a snake slithering along the wall - not on the top, but between the stones,
I rushed indoors to tell my dad - I'm not sure he understood me, but he came out,
He then told me off for bothering him as it was a harmless rock snake!!

This event has been verified by my eldest brother, who was 8 or 9 at the time, and witnessed it!

What intrigues me, is, how did I know, at that age, to be wary of snakes, or was I just wary because I hadn't seen one before?

Worst encounter was in Portugal in about 2006. I was sat in a chair in mum's garden, under a tree, reading a book. I stood up, turned to put the book on the chair, only to realise there was a humungous snake under the chair! :-0 :-S

The snake started to move, I slowly walked away, and went indoors to look it up.
Transpires it was a Montpellier snake. Harmless, but can grow up to 2.5 m long - this one was near that :-S

Allan ......... on one of our more recent trips to Australia we went to a Zoo, I forget which one now, but they had a display of poisonous and small dangerous animals in glass-fronted "cages".

We were just wandering through, spotted a couple of North American species that we knew. That's when we overheard an Australian commenting to his partner how glad he was that they lived in Australia where there were no poisonous snakes, spiders or animals :-D

We had to move away as fast as we could before we burst into laughter!

Humans have a predisposition to fear snakes and spiders, handed down from our ape ancestors. The brain easily identifies 'snake' and 'spider' by shape. Fear of both is fairly common but not universal. I myself have a deep fear of snakes, although I find them fascinating and beautiful, and I would never harm one. Some people may say, 'it's just a grass snake, it's not venomous' but that isn't the issue, it's a SNAKE!

Brian,
That's a very sad outcome for your local dog.

I had recently thought about snakes sunning themselves, when I was out for a country walk with a friend, but as we kept to a wide bridle path, we didn't come across any.
I'm sure there were probably some not far from us though.

I remember being surprised to see a snake swimming quite quickly in a local drainage channel, a year or two ago. People told me it was likely to be a grass snake, but I was not close enough to clearly see it's colouring.

I am reminded of moving out to a country town in Australia where, eventually, we had neighbours on both sides then at least half a mile before the next property. I used to hand out my washing before going to work. One evening, the two neighbours and I were chatting and both of them said they had noticed several tiger snakes in the back garden that morning. I had not noticed any at all but my line was to the side of the house at the edge of the patio and not the back which had an uninterrupted view across paddocks for miles toward the Dandenongs. Also, I am very short-sighted, :-0

The largest snake we encountered was in an old settlers’ graveyard at Port Macquarie. We were reading the gravestones and OH and our son were about ten feet ahead while our daughter and I lagged behind. My OH nonchalantly raised his arm, pointed and simply said, ‘Snake.’ Daughter and I scooted back from a greyish python that looked to be about 15 feet long, and watched while it wriggled down through a broken corner of a tombstone and into the tomb below.

We considered ourselves lucky not to have funnel-webs but in that particular property there were hordes of red-backs and while she was a toddler I had to watch daughter like a hawk because she loved to lift plant pots and stamp on them! We were fortunate that red-backs don’t like to be inside as funnel webs do.

Interesting to see that someone else caught snakes in jam jars because our friend and his mates did that when they were growing up in the Dandenongs. He always said the snakes were snookered in the jar because they could not wriggle backwards to get out. I never put that to the test! :-D

I love typos. They bring that extra something. ;-)

I couldn’t understand why you were handing out your washing to your neighbours. Pictured you leaning out of your car with a handful of dirty laundry. :-D :-D

Names. :-D :-D :-D

I’d gladly hand out my washing (and my ironing) for anyone to do.

Come to think of it, anyone could clean my house too. It would save my OH a lot of work because he does most of it.

My excuse? I let him because he hates having nothing to do while I could sit for England - especially if I had a cracking book. :-D

One summer I was watering a friends allotment whilst they were away..

I was concerned about the oddly patterned snake curled up in one patch. Could it be a slow worm, the right size.

It wasn’t the warmth off the sun stopping it moving - it was just a bit wooden ;-).

:-D :-D :-D

Mummy snake was slithering along with baby snake and baby snake said, ' Mummy are we poisonous snakes or are we constrictors?'

Mummy snake said, We are constrictors. Why do you ask?'

Baby snake replied 'I just bit my tongue'.

:-D :-D

Did mummy cuddle the baby snake to make the hurt go away ;-)

I used to find lots of grass snakes in my parents' garden and often found Adders in the New Forest as kids we just looked from a distance we weren't that brave/stupid.
Now over here the problem can be bears if you're out walking through the forest.

Australia has far too many living things that can kill you for my liking :-)

Rumour has it there are a few adders at the Vale of Health in Hampstead Heath. :-0

THE most dangerous things in Australia usually walk upright on two legs :-|