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To you that live in parts of the world that have snakes, do they affect you in any way? There are no snakes where I live, and I'm extremely uncomfortable just

To you that live in parts of the world that have snakes, do they affect you in any way? There are no snakes where I live, and I'm extremely uncomfortable just thinking about the possibility of one entering your home or seeing one. Imagine cleaning your garage and finding a snake curled up behind some stuff, the state of terror I would be in is out of this world.

currymj 8y ago
most snakes are small and harmless. it’s not any worse than seeing a rat or a lizard. in the US the main snake everyone gets warned about is the coral snake, which has a distinctive pattern and is very poisonous.
- vram22 8y ago
  How about rattlesnakes? I thought there are plenty of them, especially in the Western US. Kraits can be deadly in India. I've read that sometimes you cannot even feel their bite, but their venom can kill you. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_krait https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_krait The article reminded me of Romulus Whitaker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_Whitaker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_Whitaker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai_Snake_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai_Snake_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madras_Crocodile_Bank_Trust https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madras_Crocodile_Bank_Trust
  - chowells 8y ago
    There are rattlesnakes everywhere in areas I've lived all my life. I've never seen a live one. They do not seek human interaction. About the only way you'll get bitten by one is if you reach into a hole one is trying to sleep in such that it can't get away and thinks you're threatening it.
    - vram22 8y ago
      Interesting, thought differently earlier. Good to know.
- sehugg 8y ago
  Copperheads are bad, especially since many other species look like them. They can put you in the hospital. Avoid the triangle head.
  - lostapathy 8y ago
    The danger of copperheads is greatly overstated. Yes, they are venomous and will bite, but they are very rarely fatal to humans.
    - dreamcompiler 8y ago
      True. A copperhead bite definitely requires a hospital visit, but as pit vipers go a copperhead bite is generally on the less dangerous side.
    - Pharmakon 8y ago
      I wish that I could remember where I read this, but I recall that a majority of venemous snake bites in the U.S. were on the hand or lower arm, and/or involved alcohol. The implication was that a lot of the time people try to handle the things, especially while drunk. This seems to reference a similar stat: http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile-News/2008/07/07/Venomous/ http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile-News/2008/07/07/Veno...
  - dreamcompiler 8y ago
    A triangular head is a poor indicator of a venomous snake. Many nonvenomous snakes can flatten their heads into a somewhat triangular shape.
- lostapathy 8y ago
  The thing about venomous snakes (at least in the US) is that most people think they are WAY more common and have a greater range than they do, largely because so many harmless snakes look like venomous snakes. I know a lot of people in Kansas/Iowa/Missouri/Nebraska that are sure they've been in cottonmouth/water moccasin-infested areas, but the truth is neither snake actually occurs in those area. Similarly with Copperheads, although those do occur in a sliver of eastern Kansas and most of Missouri. Coral snakes only occur in the extreme south and east reaches of the US, but people worry about them everywhere. Probably because the harmless milk snake occurs in most of the US and people don't know the difference.
bigger_cheese 8y ago
There's Snakes where I live (Australia). You just kind of normalize them - don't really give them much thought. Growing up I was always told "Snakes are more afraid of you then you are of them" and "Snakes are only hostile if you provoke them." You hear stories from time to time about people's dogs being attacked by snakes but never really a concern. I've had lizards wander into my house (occasionally on the larger side - a few years ago I heard rustling in my kitchen found a Lizard that was about 20cm - picked it up with a beach towel and released it outside) but thankfully never any snakes. Poisonous spiders are more of a concern for me then snakes, especially Redback's. I've found these in my house multiple times. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider
- abrookewood 8y ago
  I'm not sure why you are worried about redbacks - no one has died from them in decades if I recall correctly and I don't think hospitals even bother with anti-venom anymore. Besides which, they are slow moving, docile and fairly easy to spot. I think they only time they represent a threat is if you accidentally touched one by picking up rocks etc. The funnel web on the other hand, is a nasty piece of work ...
  - dreamcompiler 8y ago
    Nobody has died from a funnel web since the antivenin was introduced many years ago. Still, I'd prefer to keep my distance from them while in Australia.
- dreamcompiler 8y ago
  In the USA, redbacks are called black widows and they are quite docile. Some people handle them routinely without getting bitten. I prefer not to do that, but when I find one in my garage I just move it away from the house.
geomark 8y ago
I live in a rural part of Thailand and there are lots of snakes. I see them a couple times a month. There are both venomous and non-venomous. Around my home I most often see pythons, golden tree snakes, and rat snakes. There is also the ocaissonal monocled cobra, krait and there was a green pit viper once. They are all beautiful. I usually capture and release them far away from any homes. I like seeing them, but the presence of venomous snakes are a cause for concern for pets and kids. So when we walk in the garden we try to be noisy and alert.
dreamcompiler 8y ago
Snakes are quite common where I live (southwestern USA), and I see more rattlesnakes here than nonvenomous snakes. They will bite if you threaten them, but they absolutely will not bother you if you don't bother them first. That said, they are mainly a problem for people's dogs since dogs instinctively try to attack snakes, and in the case of a rattlesnake bite that results in a very expensive visit to a veterinarian. So I relocate rattlesnakes out into less populated places when my neighbors call me after finding one in their yard.

currymj 8y ago

most snakes are small and harmless. it’s not any worse than seeing a rat or a lizard. in the US the main snake everyone gets warned about is the coral snake, which has a distinctive pattern and is very poisonous.

vram22 8y ago
How about rattlesnakes? I thought there are plenty of them, especially in the Western US. Kraits can be deadly in India. I've read that sometimes you cannot even feel their bite, but their venom can kill you. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_krait https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_krait The article reminded me of Romulus Whitaker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_Whitaker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_Whitaker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai_Snake_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai_Snake_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madras_Crocodile_Bank_Trust https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madras_Crocodile_Bank_Trust
- chowells 8y ago
  There are rattlesnakes everywhere in areas I've lived all my life. I've never seen a live one. They do not seek human interaction. About the only way you'll get bitten by one is if you reach into a hole one is trying to sleep in such that it can't get away and thinks you're threatening it.
  - vram22 8y ago
    Interesting, thought differently earlier. Good to know.
sehugg 8y ago
Copperheads are bad, especially since many other species look like them. They can put you in the hospital. Avoid the triangle head.
- lostapathy 8y ago
  The danger of copperheads is greatly overstated. Yes, they are venomous and will bite, but they are very rarely fatal to humans.
  - dreamcompiler 8y ago
    True. A copperhead bite definitely requires a hospital visit, but as pit vipers go a copperhead bite is generally on the less dangerous side.
  - Pharmakon 8y ago
    I wish that I could remember where I read this, but I recall that a majority of venemous snake bites in the U.S. were on the hand or lower arm, and/or involved alcohol. The implication was that a lot of the time people try to handle the things, especially while drunk. This seems to reference a similar stat: http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile-News/2008/07/07/Venomous/ http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile-News/2008/07/07/Veno...
- dreamcompiler 8y ago
  A triangular head is a poor indicator of a venomous snake. Many nonvenomous snakes can flatten their heads into a somewhat triangular shape.
lostapathy 8y ago
The thing about venomous snakes (at least in the US) is that most people think they are WAY more common and have a greater range than they do, largely because so many harmless snakes look like venomous snakes. I know a lot of people in Kansas/Iowa/Missouri/Nebraska that are sure they've been in cottonmouth/water moccasin-infested areas, but the truth is neither snake actually occurs in those area. Similarly with Copperheads, although those do occur in a sliver of eastern Kansas and most of Missouri. Coral snakes only occur in the extreme south and east reaches of the US, but people worry about them everywhere. Probably because the harmless milk snake occurs in most of the US and people don't know the difference.

bigger_cheese 8y ago

There's Snakes where I live (Australia). You just kind of normalize them - don't really give them much thought. Growing up I was always told "Snakes are more afraid of you then you are of them" and "Snakes are only hostile if you provoke them." You hear stories from time to time about people's dogs being attacked by snakes but never really a concern. I've had lizards wander into my house (occasionally on the larger side - a few years ago I heard rustling in my kitchen found a Lizard that was about 20cm - picked it up with a beach towel and released it outside) but thankfully never any snakes. Poisonous spiders are more of a concern for me then snakes, especially Redback's. I've found these in my house multiple times. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider

abrookewood 8y ago
I'm not sure why you are worried about redbacks - no one has died from them in decades if I recall correctly and I don't think hospitals even bother with anti-venom anymore. Besides which, they are slow moving, docile and fairly easy to spot. I think they only time they represent a threat is if you accidentally touched one by picking up rocks etc. The funnel web on the other hand, is a nasty piece of work ...
- dreamcompiler 8y ago
  Nobody has died from a funnel web since the antivenin was introduced many years ago. Still, I'd prefer to keep my distance from them while in Australia.
dreamcompiler 8y ago
In the USA, redbacks are called black widows and they are quite docile. Some people handle them routinely without getting bitten. I prefer not to do that, but when I find one in my garage I just move it away from the house.

geomark 8y ago

I live in a rural part of Thailand and there are lots of snakes. I see them a couple times a month. There are both venomous and non-venomous. Around my home I most often see pythons, golden tree snakes, and rat snakes. There is also the ocaissonal monocled cobra, krait and there was a green pit viper once. They are all beautiful. I usually capture and release them far away from any homes. I like seeing them, but the presence of venomous snakes are a cause for concern for pets and kids. So when we walk in the garden we try to be noisy and alert.

dreamcompiler 8y ago

Snakes are quite common where I live (southwestern USA), and I see more rattlesnakes here than nonvenomous snakes. They will bite if you threaten them, but they absolutely will not bother you if you don't bother them first. That said, they are mainly a problem for people's dogs since dogs instinctively try to attack snakes, and in the case of a rattlesnake bite that results in a very expensive visit to a veterinarian. So I relocate rattlesnakes out into less populated places when my neighbors call me after finding one in their yard.