Official Off Topic Discussion Thread #1

[esoxlucius]

We only have three species of snake in the UK, the adder, grass snake and smooth snake. The adder is slightly venomous. I've never seen either in my 54 years!!

I don't mind snakes, I've become quite attached to my sons corn snake, again non venomous, which I now look after since he left home.

Where I'd draw the line is when you are just pootling around in your garage, or messing about in your yard and all of a sudden you are confronted with an extremely angry and venomous viper, rattlesnake or mamba etc etc.

 

[jjohnwm]

I've always liked and admired snakes; many years ago I was heavily into keeping and breeding Corn Snakes and King Snakes. I got away from it when moving to the country simply due to the cost of heating for them; if you think heating aquariums is costly, try keeping an entire room toasty for reptiles. I had a long power outage that occurred, naturally, when we were away from home for several days; ended up losing virtually all of my reptile livestock. That was very disheartening and pretty much pushed me away from reptiles after that.

Having said that, I am heading out in the next hour to visit the annual Manitoba Reptile Breeders Expo, with plans of coming home with a hatchling Bullsnake. I won't be getting into it heavily or breeding them anymore, but I would like to have one to raise and keep. I rationalize it to my wife by telling her (truthfully!) that our granddaughters are becoming overly influenced by her nutty side of the family, which includes an aunt who believes that the Bible calls upon mankind to destroy every snake on the planet and an uncle whose goal in life seems to be to instill in the girls a deathly fear of...well, of just about everything. I want to play counterpoint to those interesting lifestyles and credos.

I never believed for a moment that I would ever be cast in the role of The Voice of Reason!

 

[esoxlucius]

which includes an aunt who believes that the Bible calls upon mankind to destroy every snake on the planet

No doubt fuelled by the Adam and Eve story where the nasty snake convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, lol.

A talking snake, quite a rarity, lol.

 

[jjohnwm]

No doubt fuelled by the Adam and Eve story where the nasty snake convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, lol.

A talking snake, quite a rarity, lol.

That tale is, to her, literal truth. She feels that snakes are Evil Incarnate and that it is her holy duty to kill every one she encounters. It makes me ill to think about what the girls hear and likely see when they visit her. Thankfully, their parents will not allow them to spend time with her unless supervised by an actual adult.

The uncle is currently working on convincing them that bee and hornet stings are almost always fatal. I have my work cut out for me. I actually got stung by a Yellowjacket the last time the girls were spending a weekend here; they were at first terrified that I would die...then became convinced that I was practically Superman when I somehow survived.

 

[esoxlucius]

That tale is, to her, literal truth. She feels that snakes are Evil Incarnate and that it is her holy duty to kill every one she encounters. It makes me ill to think about what the girls hear and likely see when they visit her. Thankfully, their parents will not allow them to spend time with her unless supervised by an actual adult.

The uncle is currently working on convincing them that bee and hornet stings are almost always fatal. I have my work cut out for me. I actually got stung by a Yellowjacket the last time the girls were spending a weekend here; they were at first terrified that I would die...then became convinced that I was practically Superman when I somehow survived.

The sad thing is when children are force fed this type of rubbish it sticks, and sadly, stays with them through adulthood too, meaning future encounters with these so called "deadly" creatures often result in the animals being killed.

The "aunt" you refer to sounds like quite a piece of work.

 

[Hendre]

I caught and relocated a little slug-eater yesterday. They're cute as heck. A corn snake was my first pet at 12 years old, 9 years on still kicking!

 

[WOLF2013]

Had a BLAST hosting this weekend's edition of Saturday LIVE! With Legendary Alex Cardinale! If you missed it, be sure to check it out anytime by clicking the link below!
Special guest Mike Haynes from Mass Aquariums YouTube channel had a fun discussion with Aqua Alex! Plenty of fun Halloween topics including facts, trick or treating safety topics, and Child's Play movies! Chef Alex gave out great Halloween dessert ideas such as whoopie pies! Aqua Alex discussed the vulture catfish! Plus, I celebrated D Generation X 25th anniversary by discussing their best moments and matches!
Watch the video anytime by clicking the link below:

 

[krichardson]

Hello; A shame to kill the nonvenomous snakes in the USA. They help control pests which do cause harm. We do not naturally have the big constrictors which can hurt small children except in Florida so far.
I like having most snakes around and leave them alone. I have no way of knowing if this most recent blacksnake sighted is the same one as was in my basement garage last winter. But it is welcome to stay around.

I once came across a DeKay's snake in my yard.It was close to twelve inches in length,I picked it up and showed it to my neighbor was out messing around in his yard....his response was to tell me to kill the snake.I put the snake on the ground to slither off,shook my head and went back inside my house.

 

[jjohnwm]

I once came across a DeKay's snake in my yard.It was close to twelve inches in length,I picked it up and showed it to my neighbor was out messing around in his yard....his response was to tell me to kill the snake.I put the snake on the ground to slither off,shook my head and went back inside my house.

And then the doofus probably chased it down and killed it. The stupidity displayed by so many people in this day and age, in a supposedly enlightened society, boggles the mind.

DeKay's Snakes were fairly common in Toronto when I lived there, and we would come across them on the paths in the natural park that ran most of the length of the Don River in the city. The number of passers-by...people who actually believed they were on that trail to appreciate nature in the city...and who nearly panicked whenever I bent down to pick up a tiny, pencil-sized snake and move it off the trail was beyond ridiculous.

 

[krichardson]

And then the doofus probably chased it down and killed it. The stupidity displayed by so many people in this day and age, in a supposedly enlightened society, boggles the mind.

DeKay's Snakes were fairly common in Toronto when I lived there, and we would come across them on the paths in the natural park that ran most of the length of the Don River in the city. The number of passers-by...people who actually believed they were on that trail to appreciate nature in the city...and who nearly panicked whenever I bent down to pick up a tiny, pencil-sized snake and move it off the trail was beyond ridiculous.

I put the serpent down near my porch and it went in that direction,hopefully safely underneath.
My yard seems to be a sanctuary for them along with a few salamders.