snakes

[renostar52]

I've been reading about Ft Wilderness and and a foreigner inquired about the critter problems in Florida. I thought I'd put my two bits in. YES there are snakes in Florida. LOTS of snakes and every type of venomous in North America-coral snakes and copperhead snakes, rattle snakes(several types) and moccasins. I was stationed at NAS Jacksonville for a couple of years and EVERY time we went fishing or camping or just went anywhere not in the city we saw snakes. Of course millions of people live there. But if anybody ever tells you that they never saw a snake in Fla-well they just haven't been out of the cities much. Ask ANY Florida land fisherman and everyone of em will have a snake story to share with you.

 

[Stratman50th]

Yup!
Alligators too. If it's fresh water and calf deep in Florida there's probably an alligator in it. Honestly though, I've never seen a bunch of people so frightened and misinformed about alligators as those on this forum. Most honestly believe that the gators follow below the Skyliner and boats waiting for a meal to drop in, Just like Captain Hook's nemesis! Who happens to be a crocodile not an alligator. We do have crocodiles here in Florida too but they're in salt and brackish water down south.
Sorry to jack your thread @renostar52 but I figured we could cover additional critters here in Florida that need to be watched for.

 

[FtW Mike]

As I recall from my time at Eglin AFB there are 100 varieties of snakes in Florida. Ninety nine of them are venomous and can kill you with one bite. The last just eats you whole.

 

[Brocktoon]

Check out the concrete paths/walkways around the Swolphin and Yacht/Beach Club area on the way to the International Gateway at Epcot as the sun is coming up. I've walked that area many times and you can regularly see snakes warming themselves on the concrete ... snakes gonna do what they do! They typically just lay there or slither away, but they've never been aggressive. As mentioned, it's FL you're going to see snakes

 

[StormyCA]

Yup!
Alligators too. If it's fresh water and calf deep in Florida there's probably an alligator in it. Honestly though, I've never seen a bunch of people so frightened and misinformed about alligators as those on this forum. Most honestly believe that the gators follow below the Skyliner and boats waiting for a meal to drop in, Just like Captain Hook's nemesis! Who happens to be a crocodile not an alligator. We do have crocodiles here in Florida too but they're in salt and brackish water down south.
Sorry to jack your thread @renostar52 but I figured we could cover additional critters here in Florida that need to be watched for.

You mean they DON'T??? After that pic someone posted a few years ago of the gator climbing the chain link fence, I put nothing past them!

Someone's gotta say it...."Snakes. Why did does it have to be snakes?".

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

There are several questions I have about who green lighted the snakes AND mosquito's on the ark >

 

[serenitygr]

There are several questions I have about who green lighted the snakes AND mosquito's on the ark >

Let’s talk about mosquitoes here for a minute… up here in northern Minnesota we’ve been waiting about 10 months for the snow to melt and warmer temperatures to get here. Two days ago that finally happened and now we can’t even walk outside our door without spraying one full can of raid in our doorways to kill the millions that are just waiting for a chance to swarm into the house, not to mention practically bathing in OFF repellent to keep them off our bodies
Now we can’t wait for winter again

At least snakes and alligators can be avoided.

 

[Sjm9911]

Just dont park your golf cart too far into wooded areas by the dock when the fort is packed. Dont ask me how I know this.........

 

[serenitygr]

Just dont park your golf cart too far into wooded areas by the dock when the fort is packed. Dont ask me how I know this.........

Ok I’ll bite lol
How do you know this?

 

[Sjm9911]

There was a snake on my seat. Well, trying to get on it. My brother saw it. Otherwise I would have walked into it and or sat on it. After that, I never parked by the wooded part of the cart lot at the dock. Serves me right for squeezing in the last spot. It wasn't a big snake. But , I wasn't expecting it.

For those that go driving around. Went to see my dad by Jupiter. On the way out of the condo area, there was palm tree husks all over the road. No big deal I had a truck. But then the one husk moved, it was a giant, giant snake. Like 10 feet long. And huge. Found out later it was some sort of invasive species, and I would have netted a few bucks if I ran it over. That scared me. Thing could have ate the bumper on the truck , np.

 

[Sjm9911]

https://thehill.com/changing-americ...ant-invasive-pythons-are-slithering-north-in/
quick search of giant snake in florida, lol.

 

[StormyCA]

Yeah, those pythons are really causing havoc with the ecosystems.

We camped in Everglades NP last year and asked about them. We were reassured that one wasn't going to get in our trailer (LoL) but to keep a close eye on our Dachsie, never take him off the lead, and keep him well away from long grass & bushy areas. The guy told us "You need a permit to hunt, but if you see one on the road, don't worry about swerving to miss it".

From So FLA Water District website:

Python removal agents will be paid:

• An hourly rate ($10.00 per hour or $15.00 per hour depending on the area) for up to ten (10) hours each day while actively searching for pythons on designated lands.
• An additional incentive payment of $50.00 for each python measuring up to four (4) feet plus an extra $25.00 for each foot measured above four (4) feet. See example below:
• An additional $200.00 for each verified active nest.

 

[Stratman50th]

Yeah, those pythons are really causing havoc with the ecosystems.

We camped in Everglades NP last year and asked about them. We were reassured that one wasn't going to get in our trailer (LoL) but to keep a close eye on our Dachsie, never take him off the lead, and keep him well away from long grass & bushy areas. The guy told us "You need a permit to hunt, but if you see one on the road, don't worry about swerving to miss it".

From So FLA Water District website:

Python removal agents will be paid:

• An hourly rate ($10.00 per hour or $15.00 per hour depending on the area) for up to ten (10) hours each day while actively searching for pythons on designated lands.
• An additional incentive payment of $50.00 for each python measuring up to four (4) feet plus an extra $25.00 for each foot measured above four (4) feet. See example below:
• An additional $200.00 for each verified active nest.

The program is pretty high tech on the government side. They use GPS locators inside the males. They track them till they find a group in one place then head out to the location where they usually find a female. They harvest the females since they are the egg carriers (obviously). The females get much larger than the males. Both the males and females compete with other Everglades predators for prey, but the females take out the larger animals.
This is a pretty good description of the program. It gets kind of dry and they do necropsies on the snakes but still good.