Another SNAKE thread!

[ABE4DISNEY]

I've seen snakes at least 3 times at OKW. The first time a black snake was swimming in the main pool, then a black snake was on a sidewalk outside our villa, and the 3rd time a black snake slithered across my foot while I was sitting at the South Point community pool near some bushes.

And here at home in TX I was bitten by a rattlesnake a few years ago. I was in ICU for several days.

Egads!! You seem to attract them wherever you go!

Seriously, though, so glad everything turned out okay with your run in with that rattlesnake! That is rough.

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

Gotta love the snake threads!

Snake threads = a little entertainment to cure the winter blahs

 

[amberjack]

This week, as I was going through the caves on Tom Sawyers island, all I could think of was the snake threads.

 

[Debs Hill]

We have only ever seen snakes at OKW.......one in the hot tub at the quiet pool at South Point and one that slithered along the back of my lounger, also at the quiet pool at South Point! Don't think either were anything to worry about but they were huge and black.......my son thought it was very cool!!!

Hubby has seen a few gators in the golf course!
Debsx

 

[Arthur27]

I've been into snakes my whole life. Being raised here in central Florida I've been blessed to have them around. 90% of the snakes you'll encounter around Disney are NON-poisonous. So don't freak out. The snakes pictured are harmless. The little guy is a ringneck snake and that one was adult size. They're real small and like to feed on ant larvae. The other one was a pine woods snake. They like to feed on lizards and such. So if you are lucky enough to see a snake just give them some space and they would love nothing more than to leave you alone. Also, please try to reframe from killing them. A lot of these "common" snakes aren't as common anymore due to development and other things.

 

[Maliki2]

Well we haven't seen a snake but we did see a rat I swear was as big as a cat at Magic Kingdom during the Halloween Party. It was near the teacups and NO it wasn't Disney Magic!

 

[jacesmommy]

We saw one of those black snakes at OKW come out of the bushes towards the pool in the Turtle Pond area when we were there last time. He was a big fatty.

 

[seelyt2]

We saw that same looking snake, but it was HUGE, at Kidani the first week of December. It was inside where the animals are, next to an electrical/air conditioner unit/thingy outside. It was slithering around the thing and then went out of view. It was no where near people, rooms, or the animals actually, but it was enough to make me feel squeemish. Ugh....I just got the goosebumbs thinking about it. Blah.....

 

[maminnie]

Been a number of times and never have seen a snake....thank goodness!

I am not a snake fan at all.....shouldn't have read this thread!

 

[nickspace]

h, gee-and to think I used to love the Jambo hot tub. I'll never be comfortable in it again!

We were just in the Jambo hot tubs and made sure to look around the area first. However snakes are good at blending in and thus hard to spot.

 

[Tink415]

We were just in the Jambo hot tubs and made sure to look around the area first. However snakes are good at blending in and thus hard to spot.

You got that right! This past April we rented bikes at Fort Wilderness and parked them to go in the Meadows Trading Post. My youngest DD noticed a small lizard on top of a shrub and we were looking at it, told my oldest DD to look at the lizard. She said that's not a lizard ... its a snake! There was a snake curled in the bush with its head and a few inches sticking out about 6 inches away from the lizard and we never saw it

 

[dkostel]

I've seen snakes at many of the resorts. My favorite siting was in Animal Kingdom, in the area where the Gorilla is usually by the glass. The cast member was there answering questions and this HUGE gorilla was sleeping by the glass. Someone noticed a small snake slithering near the gorilla and the cast member said it was a good thing the gorilla was asleep because he is terrified of snakes.

 

[JimMIA]

We saw one of those black snakes at OKW come out of the bushes towards the pool in the Turtle Pond area when we were there last time. He was a big fatty.

Thin snakes = good. (except for Coral Snakes)

Fat snakes = BAD

What you saw was probably a water moccasin (aka: Cottonmouth) -- venomous, and like most water snakes, an aggressive biter.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I've seen snakes at many of the resorts. My favorite siting was in Animal Kingdom, in the area where the Gorilla is usually by the glass. The cast member was there answering questions and this HUGE gorilla was sleeping by the glass. Someone noticed a small snake slithering near the gorilla and the cast member said it was a good thing the gorilla was asleep because he is terrified of snakes.

OMG, I had the exact same experience there and CM said the same thing. I wonder if we were there the same time? Or are snakes fairly common there?

 

[Arthur27]

Thin snakes = good. (except for Coral Snakes)

Fat snakes = BAD

What you saw was probably a water moccasin (aka: Cottonmouth) -- venomous, and like most water snakes, an aggressive biter.

Not true. Banded water snakes get kinda fat thus a lot of people mistake them for water moccasins (sp). Banded water snakes are harmless.

 

[disneydotlee]

I HATE snakes!!

 

[JimMIA]

Not true. Banded water snakes get kinda fat thus a lot of people mistake them for water moccasins (sp). Banded water snakes are harmless.

Banded water snakes, and their cousins, the brown water snake, are probably not half as thick as a water moccasin. If you had both species together, exactly the same length, I'm sure a moccasin would weigh twice as much.

I see banded and brown water snakes every day at work, and I see moccasins 2-3 times a week. I don't think anyone who knows anything about snakes would mistake them, except for the case of a small banded or brown water snake and a juvenile moccasin. Those do look somewhat similar, but the yellow tail of the juvie moccasin is a give-away.

Banded and brown water snakes are very aggressive biters and generally will fight rather than flee. They both have very nasty dispositions, with banded being a bit worse than brown. They not only don't flee, they're actually hard to drive off -- much like a pygmy rattlesnake. I've had to move them out of roads and paths a few times and they're more difficult than Eastern Diamondbacks.

Water snakes are non-venomous and because they're usually pretty small, they don't do much damage when they bite. But it's not for lack of trying.

Most of the water snakes I see are in the 2-foot range, but they do grow larger. I suspect a 3-footer could put a pretty painful bite on you.

 

[csharpwv]

Well we haven't seen a snake but we did see a rat I swear was as big as a cat at Magic Kingdom during the Halloween Party. It was near the teacups and NO it wasn't Disney Magic!

Are you sure it wasn't Mickey?!?!?!?!?!?!

 

[Arthur27]

Banded water snakes, and their cousins, the brown water snake, are probably not half as thick as a water moccasin. If you had both species together, exactly the same length, I'm sure a moccasin would weigh twice as much.

I see banded and brown water snakes every day at work, and I see moccasins 2-3 times a week. I don't think anyone who knows anything about snakes would mistake them, except for the case of a small banded or brown water snake and a juvenile moccasin. Those do look somewhat similar, but the yellow tail of the juvie moccasin is a give-away.

Banded and brown water snakes are very aggressive biters and generally will fight rather than flee. They both have very nasty dispositions, with banded being a bit worse than brown. They not only don't flee, they're actually hard to drive off -- much like a pygmy rattlesnake. I've had to move them out of roads and paths a few times and they're more difficult than Eastern Diamondbacks.

Water snakes are non-venomous and because they're usually pretty small, they don't do much damage when they bite. But it's not for lack of trying.

Most of the water snakes I see are in the 2-foot range, but they do grow larger. I suspect a 3-footer could put a pretty painful bite on you.

Agreed, that's why I said "Kinda" fat. I've been dealing with snakes my whole life. Yes Moccasins are thicker than Banded water snakes however I have dealt with some old fat water snakes before. Most people wouldn't know the difference. Honestly, most of the Banded water snakes haven't been more aggressive than a typical garder snake. At least to me. I get called out several times a year to deal with them in neighbor's pools etc. Moccasins on the other hand I have had some aggressive ones, usually the smaller ones. How often do you come across the Eastern Diamondbacks? They've all but disappeared here in Central Florida.

 

[JimMIA]

How often do you come across the Eastern Diamondbacks? They've all but disappeared here in Central Florida.

I work at Everglades National Park, and how often I see them depends on which part of the park I'm in. In the higher, dryer areas, I see them pretty regularly. Usually we see them in campgrounds or housing, but I think that is more a function of where the people are than where the snakes are. We don't see them much in the marsh, although we currently have one hanging out in a marshy area at one of our heavy visitation areas. That one, hundreds of visitors walk past every day, but only a couple have spotted it. It's a small one, only about 3 feet.

My guess is there should be Diamondbacks around the WDW area because the habitat there is perfect for them. But they would probably stay away from heavy human traffic areas. The only venomous snakes I've seen at WDW are Cottonmouths.

As far as aggression, that's really a misleading term with snakes. They're not aggressive at all, but some are more actively defensive than others. Most snakes will flee from humans, but most of the water snakes and venomous snakes will not. They stand their ground, posture, often coil, and strike if molested. Pythons will sometimes stay put, although I think that behavior is more attempting to go unnoticed than standing their ground. If they're in an exposed situation, they flee. Pythons do much better fleeing than trying to remain hidden.