The rat snakes are mobile as shit in TN right now. Buddy in Johnson city killed the one. Another friend north of nashville caught one with an egg from his chicken coop in it's throat. Let him ride with the meal. Then my BIL caught one trying to get into his store in middle TN. Grabbed him and got him back into the woods.
When I was in high school, I was driving down a street and saw a big painted turtle just about halfway across the 2 lane road. Didn't see him until right as I was passing but turned around at the next safe opportunity and by the time I got back to it 30-40 seconds later someone had crushed him. It has stuck with me to this day and I try to live my life in a way that honors that turtle. I'm so sorry, turtle.
Always make sure you’re safe before helping any animal cross the road, and always release the animal in the direction it was heading. I get that some wildlife accidents are unavoidable, but far too many of them are born from a sick perversion and blatant disregard for life. Those people are the absolute worst.
Few years back there was a rash of people running over turtles down the shore as sport some of the locals started putting fake turtles out on the shoulders of the road with spikes under them I know it popped a lot of tires and it was put in the paper that if you were caught doing it you would be fined but know also the cops would never arrest anyone
I've got zero tolerance for needlessly killing animals or littering. One is worse than the other but you fucking suck if you do either.
. I’ve always had this thought when people say foxes (insert any species) are really smart. Shit dude, humans are as a whole really smart. But we got some stupid fuckers running around, and I’m not talking about the mentally impaired.
I guess I caught the dumb fox the raccoon is smarter I’ll tell you that hear him climb the down spout, put Vaseline all over the pipe and he still got up there and he is trying to get in where the two roofs meet I know it’s him that dug under my trap to get the bait I think he mocks me
I know this isn’t really your area, Owsley , but any idea what this handsome devil is? Charleston, SC area. Spoiler Sorry if it’s just a regular fire ant and I‘m a dipshit. *doesnt really look like a velvet ant either, but wanted to check with the authority.
I've been trying to catch a squirrel in our attic for months. Little shit keeps triggering the trap without going inside it.
Went to the exotic animal expo a couple years ago in Nashville and saw a lady carrying a fox like a baby on her shoulder. Then looked down at the stroller her kid was sitting in and another fox was sticking it's head out from underneath. Absolutely gorgeous animals but I don't think it's wise/kind to keep them as some kind of pet. Also had to talk my wife out of getting a pair of sugar gliders. God it would have sucked to have those.
What drives me crazy is the insurance companies tell you to hit the animal, no matter what. I swerved to dodge a huge dog in the road one time and clipped a small tree with my headlight and mirror. Didn't even do enough damage to stop the car just broke the headlight and mirror and caused some scratches on the fender. Insurance company told me if I had hit the dog, they would have covered the damage. Since I swerved to avoid the dog it was my responsibility. I told them I was in a Kia, doing 55 and the dog was massive. If I would have hit it, the car would have been totaled and I could have been seriously hurt/killed. Didn't matter to them.
Also, growing up on some land in SC we always had horses and almost never had any kind of snake make it anywhere close to the house. You'd hear a ruckus outside, look and see the horses going crazy, stomping at the ground and shit. Walk out there later and you'd find a snake crushed to death. Between them and the outdoor, almost wild cats we never had many animals make it close to the house.
Brother in law had a sugar glider and it was the meanest animal imaginable. In no way was it ever a pet. Regularly bit and scratched BIL and his friends. Eventually had to be let go because it was impossible to keep as a pet. Also, Owsley is an encyclopedia of reptiles. I am not often impressed by someone's knowledge, but Owsley and SugarShaun are basically the google of reptiles and porn respectively.
They're pretty rare I think. Besides Dbacks and Mohaves, I've only ever seen a black tailed rattler before. Nah my hiking buddy takes a decent camera with him sometimes and it came in handy.
Watched a video of a family in the Midwest somewhere who has been trying to tame down red foxes I believe. Been doing this for a few decades. And selectively breeding the "wildness" out. Pretty interesting.
Just saw a queen snake, but unfortunately it was gone before I could get my phone out for a pic. Cool little species that feeds almost entirely on freshly-molted crayfish.
The one she was carrying was calm as hell and would let people hold their hands out to sniff and lick. Wish I still had pictures of them.
I didn't even know they were mean. I just didn't want to get a pair of them or have to stay home 24/7 for the first while to hopefully have them bond to you. Fuck that.
Sorry for the shitty picture. It was dark and I was walking my dog so couldn’t get too close. It was small, maybe only 2 feet long. NW Florida...maybe a garter snake? Edit: looked up garter snakes. Definitely not that. Owsley ?
It’s a matter of risk. More people are injured/killed swerving to avoid animals (or claiming they were swerving to avoid animals) than by hitting animals. There’s zero ethical consideration.
I know but it seems like it shouldn't be an either/or thing. If I'm in a small car and there's a deer in the road and I can't stop in time I'd feel safer swerving into a ditch or off the road than hitting a full grown deer. But thats enough side tracking this thread for me lol.
I like guessing the snakes before I read Owsley post and seeing if I get it right. Had banded water snake here. Guessing corn on Prospector. Edit dang it. Missed one.
Yep, juvenile rat snake. Free pest control if you let it hang around, with absolutely no threat to you or your family.
In my juggsian research it appears that they are awesome to have around because they can prey on rattlesnakes since they are immune to their venom. Our back fence has netting but I’m pretty sure he is climbing up and over the pillars. I was sitting out the other night and heard a plop then my dog went to investigate and there he was.