Stopped by deer lease on way home

Fished toledo last night stopped by the dear lease on the way back and found this little fella. I am about 6'3''.

me hate snake. Your lease look nice .It remind me the area i hunt in crockett love those piney wood.

His tail looks like he's got the mange, and his head doesn't look flater enough. I think you killed it on the wrong end.

Boot material.

Is that an Eastern Diamondback? They are protected. I still don't like them.

yea its protected from biting me. Ran it over then killed it with a stick

Nice snake and crocs picture

pretty snake man....

OMG is that a rattlesnake.

timber rattler

Listed as threatened in Texas. You may want to consider deleting the thread.

he said he found it he dnt say he killed it! and who said someone dnt run it over and he just drove up on it!

He said he ran over it and killed it with a stick. I don't really care. I just figured he may not know that it's a timber rattler and that it's protected. Just thought he may want to reconsider putting it on a public forum.

wearing crocs with socks

i got 2 cottonmouths this year on fork over 5 ft long and as big around as a mans arm

That is a Timber Rattlesnake, some call them Velvet-Tails, or Cane-Brakes!!!

Must have been an accident, the snake was involved in a fatal accident, from the looks of it's head CPR must have been tried and the snake failed to recover!!!

That is my thought. Not accusing, just trying to keep you out of trouble.

You protected yourself from being bitten while riding in a truck? Then you further protected yourself from being bitten and finished killing it while it was wounded?
Anyone who has any experience with these snakes knows they are extremely placid. I found two a few weeks ago and couldn't get them to get into a defensive pose for photos. You can see from the following photos they just kept crawling away. Notice the snake is moving away from me, isn't coiled and never struck after 5 minutes of handling with a hook.

You have more to fear from chicken fried steaks.

Who cares if its endangered or not, nature can do with out them and so can i

WOW. I don't get how people on this site can say things like this. We are outdoors men and women, we should know better than this. You think you can live with out them? It's called the food chain you start breaking links and what do you end up with a whole [censored] load of problems. How about we wipe out all bait fish and see what happens to the Bass population or lets kill off all the native grasses in TX and find out how well the Deer fair. See how stupid that sounds.
Now don't get me wrong I hate snakes but I do not go out of my way to get near them or harm them. How many times do we see pics of dead snakes that are 100% harmless to humans and actually help keep the rodent population down.

Just need to let it slither back into the woods...they warn you when too close, heed their warning and stay away...and wear snakeproof socks.

i doubt the epa is gonna track him down. If it slithers...i shoot

Sounds real intelligent.

Got any spotted owl photos?

true. its the same ones that cant figure out why there are rats in there camp. If you see a snake he is there because you have rat problems. You might not of seen the rats ,cause the snake was doing his job, but you will once there gone. its your land shoot them if you want. get rid of rodents and your trouble with snakes will be lessened.

The EPA doesn't enforce game laws. Try to keep up.

glad you got him outta there before i make it back down there. i woulda chit haha

and then ran over and shot him myself...

Finally, some other people here with some sense when it comes to snakes. I can't believe how many people here have that "kill all snakes" attitude.

They dont worry me much either, but that was right by my camp and i have a five and a one year old that play out there. So it is what it is

All snakes taste like chicken. I am just saying... But I gotta say if I came up on one I might not kill it...much.

those are some cool looking snakes...i'd rather handle a cane brake rattler than a pit bull.

sick of seeing people kill snakes because they're scarred of them, i understand if it's poisonous and in a neighborhood with kids and pets...bottom line, for a forum for outdoors type people...we've got some people that know jack @#$#@ about their surroundings.

Was a nice looking snake

While in grad school at SFA, I saw a researcher give a thorough presentation of the life-history and current status of the timber rattlesnake. In short, these snakes are incredibly rare and, in the presenters own words, "facing certain extinction in all its range during the next half century" (all due to low reproductive rates, habitat fragmentation, and frequent removal and killing of them). I believe this is considered the second rarest snake in Texas (next to the Louisiana Pine Snake).

Very unfortunate to see a photograph of a recently killed one (and quite stupid to post it on a public forum).

Just my two cents.

I do not know what woods you play in, but around these parts those things are far from rare. I dont kill chicken or king snakes if that makes any of you feel better. Next they will tell me not to kill stumptails. By the way not scared of them a bit. Have caught several over the years. Not taking a chance on my kids getting bit for a tree hugger.

i wouldve killed it if i wouldve seen it..

run the chance of getting bit and dying from poison, or just get rid of the threat...hmmmm...

Nice

What county was this?

dead or live?

If you don't want your kids bit by snakes, teach them about snakes, keep them in safe areas, and make sure they are wearing appropriate clothing. Or don't take them to your deer lease.

I take my niece fishing, there's a threat of cottonmouths. We have seen many of them. But I keep her out of rocks and rip rap, on a level area where snakes would be easily noticed. We have lanterns and appropriate clothing. When we see a cottonmouth we leave it alone, unless it comes near us. I throw a rock, it swims away. They don't all have to die.

Killing a snake that posed no threat to you or your kids (you were in your TRUCK) is shortsighted and unnecessary. Icing on the cake is it's a timber rattler. When you choose outdoor activities like hunting and fishing snakes come with the territory, and sorry, they were there first.

guess you have never had a cottonmouth chase you then.

Neither have you or anyone else. There are longitudnal studies explaining why people believe cottonmouths chase people. The nuts and bolts are this...If it is warm enough (summer), when presented with danger cottonmouths will make a "b-line" for water, even if this means moving closer or past the approaching predator. This creates the illusion you are being chased. If it is spring or fall, they may not have had the opportunity to themoregulate to the point they can become mobile (cold-blooded and not "warmed up"); therefore, they stand their ground and use a defensive display by opening their white mouth, hence the name cottonmouth.

Why is it, for example, the Bear attacks from last week, when people go into the habitat of wild animals and something goes wrong, it is the animal that loses. In the case of the Bear attack, a mother Bear and her cubs have been captured. Unfortunately, all three will be put down because people went camping in a know Bear habitat.

When are people going to take responsability for the situations they put themselves into. If someone and their family spends time in the woods, then they should prepare all parties involved on what to possibly expect.

I do have to say it is quite funny how grown men can be so scared of a snake. Everyone has the opportunity to walk around or in the opposite direction rather than killing the snake.

Some good points Wilkins. Check out this snake post!
http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=935

lol

Beautiful photos Pope. Not to derail but you seem to be a reptile/amphibian guy: my niece and I found two small baby toads. We put them in her terrarium and have been feeding them flightless fruit flies, had them about a week, very healthy and active. They are smaller than my thumbnail, dark brownish green, with a darker lateral stripe. Other features are hard to distinguish because they are tiny and I am trying not to handle them. Know anything? American toad? Woodhouse's? Good photos of baby toads are hard to find.

ETA: we caught them because my niece got a frog habitat as a gift which came with a free tadpole in the mail. We ordered it 8 weeks ago and still waiting. When the tadpole arrives the toads will be delivered safely back to where we found them, we're just enjoying their company for the time being.

Thanks, but they are not my photos. It was just a post with the same species of rattlesnake from the beginning of this thread, which I thought I would share after seeing tonight. Like you said, great photos.

If the stripe is along the dorsal area, your toads are likely Woodhouse's or Gulf Coast Toads. It doesn't sound like it, but GCT are very common in North Texas. It will be very hard to tell until they grow larger. If you take a macro shot, I will send them to a friend who could probably ID them. I hope your neice has fun with them.

Also, don't let other fruit flies get in their with the vestigial winged fruit flies. Your house will be full of fruit flies before you know it.

Thanks!! They are definitely baby gulf coast toads. I figured that species would live...near the gulf coast! But the photos of their young look just like what we have.

Timber rattler... i accedentally killed one with a cooper tire lol then found it to be 11 inches girth and 6 ft long!!!!Red River Co.Then proceeded to see a black bear that night.Crazy I know..

I agree. How many of you have ever seen a snake bite VICTIM shortly after being bitten by a venomous snake?

I say leave the rodent killing to the others!!!! As far as the food chain goes Be nice to the The coyotes and vultures and save them some wear and tear, They don't mind if the snake is already dead. I wonder how many that are defending these deadly snakes throw a carp on the bank when caught?

A dead snake is a good snake.

Especially if those chicken fried steaks were cooked by my first ex-wife!

Great job on the kill!

I hunt out west and see Rattlers all the time but not like the Timber Rattler you have. Protected or not I would still kill it! I hate snakes!!

KILL'EM ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you. I teach my kids about snakes and how to avoid them but the truth of the matter is that when you grow up in the country like I have there are times when your path will cross a snake. I teach my kids to avoid them but I have killed quite a few around my house and barn. It's not that big of a deal that he killed a snake. Cotton mouths are curious snakes. The are attracted to light at night and by no means are they scared of you. If they feel threatened they will come after you. I would much rather teach my children to learn how to live off the land instead of letting a snake come between that which is what you suggested. Just saying it was 1 snake......LET IT GO