The Wilson Post
LEBANON WEATHER

LARRY WOODY: Snakes Alive!




Non-venomous snakes, like this pine snake, can be identified by their round pupis.   Larry Woody

Non-venomous snakes, like this pine snake, can be identified by their round pupis.   Larry Woody

Look out for Mr. No Shoulders –

If you’re walking through the woods, step on a stick, and it squirms and hisses, step off.

You’re standing on Mr. No-Shoulders.

That’s what my old outdoor writing mentor Charles Searcy calls snakes.

I’ve heard them called a lot of other names when stepped on, but this being a family newspaper, I can’t repeat them.

This is the time of year when snakes are out and about. Hot, dry weather has them searching for water. When you’re around lakes and streams, keep alert.

Snakes are especially active after dark, when things cool down and prey like mice and rats are scurrying.

One sultry summer afternoon on the Plateau I was wading a stream, catching panfish, and snakes were slithering everywhere.

A stringer of fish hung from my belt, trailing along in the water. Suddenly I felt a tug. I looked down to see a cottonmouth the size of a fence post latched onto my fish.

OK, maybe I exaggerate. It might have been only the size of a lumberjack’s leg. And to be honest, it probably wasn’t a cottonmouth, but a non-venomous water moccasin.

Whatever it was, I yanked my fish out of its mouth and splashed onto the bank.

Water snakes are ugly and aggressive and – speaking from experience — they’ll bite if you mess with them. Rows of sharp teeth can draw blood, but they’re not venomous.

In Tennessee there are only three venomous species: the afore-mentioned cottonmouth, copperhead and rattlesnake (two species). The other 28 native species are harmless.

Well, fairly harmless. Unless you count fainting and coronaries.

It’s easy to tell which snakes are venomous: they have vertical “cats-eye” pupils. Non-venomous species have round pupils.

For those who don’t care to look a snake in the eye, the venomous ones can also be identified by their triangle-shaped heads created by venom sacs in their cheeks. They likewise have pits by their nostrils – hence the name “pit vipers.”

Most bites occur when people try to kill or capture the snake.

But outdoorsmen may inadvertently step on, or near, one and get bitten. Snakes bite humans only in defense, but their idea of defense may not be the same as ours.

If bitten, don’t play TV cowboy. Don’t cut an X on the bite and try to suck out the venom. It doesn’t work. Plus, a nerve or tendon could be severed, causing more damage than the snake bite.

Keep the victim calm and seek immediate medical help.

Fishing buddy Bob Sherborne is deathly afraid of snakes. All snakes. It’s called ophidiophobia.

It used to be fun to grab a little water snake and toss it in the boat to watch Sherborne’s reaction.

I finally stopped after I got tired of hauling him back into the boat.

Snakes of all species, including venomous ones, are protected in Tennessee.

The only time you’re allowed to dispatch one is if it presents a clear and present danger.

And no, being forced to jump overboard doesn’t count.

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