[Rocky_Balboa]

Originally Posted by Rocky_Balboa

btw how do You distinguish between a black rattle snake and a black cobra! SB any inputs?

Oops... i meant the black rat snake and black cobra.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by bigman

The english edition is a bit expensive ($125) but you might still be able to get the hindi version (RS200).

Rom's web site :

draco-india.com

A few years ago there were rumours of a manimal in north Haryana (Fatehabad district) (manimal :human that could morph into any animal, the locals named him Bijoo, he used to come in a car and then attack people, in a few places cars thought to belong to him were smashed by villagers) My grandmother was at home and outside the dog kept barking towards a 1ft partly walled area (for cooking outdoors), she phoned the neighbours (too scared to go out just in case the dog was barking at Bijoo), they were too scared to come as well but eventually plucked up the courage to come round armed with lathis. They looked over the wall anticipating that this manimal Bijoo would be there but it was just a snake. It was soon beaten with the lathis, a few days later the story of Bijoo was also exposed as being concocted by a woman who had beaten her daughter with a cooking utensil and then got her to cover up the beating with the story of a man that turned into an animal.

Another time me and a cousin were messing with a swaga (big metal leveler for tractor to level the fields) in an enclosed plot opposite our house. We turned it over and out popped a fairly large lizard type thing (Bengal Monitor Lizard) hissing at us. It was a good 60cm long and after hissing it ran off. We got home and and 2 minutes later this lizard was strolling in our courtyard and then ran into an outbuilding. Took us a good 40 minutes to coax it out without hurting it and then guide it back towards the plot outside. I also saw a larger Bengal Monitor standing in the middle of the local road, as I approached it quickly shot into long grass at the side of the road.

OT-Bijoo,or bidju (whoever gave this name) in fact belongs to Badger family.
AFAIK they survive on small prey.we had them around our place in decent numbers,along with a few porcupines.that was a few years ago.
sadly cant find any of these here around now.
though a few hares,and 2-3 wild boars still exist..

@BBS that first snake doesnot look like a bandaid krait to me.

[DirtyDan]

One job I had between school sessions as a teenager was as a snake keeper at a public zoo. Older adult keepers handled the poisonous snakes and the big constrictors. I handled the smaller non-poisonous ones. Lesson learned? A non-poisonous snake can make a big hole in your hand really fast. Venom or no venom, they've got teeth! This thing about giving a snake a chance to move away from you? Mostly that works. But a few species ARE territorial and will attack you from a surprising distance.

Also, snakes shed their entire skin every few months as they grow. When this happens they even shed the protective scale over their eyes. Over several days the eye scale grows opaque, milky or cloudy in color, and they can not see well until the actual shed which is relatively quick. However for a week or two while their old skin dies their behavior is likely to change. Even snakes that are docile and used to being handled by humans get really aggressive and will bite when they can not see clearly. It's a survival instinct. This I know from sorry experience. They spend over a month a year in this condition on average. So, if you encounter a snake with milky, cloudy eyes while on the trail give him a little extra room. He may be really grumpy and having a bad work week. Snakes have dirty mouths (not dirty vocabularies) and if a non-venomous one nails you the wound is likely to become infected. See the doc. It will mean a tetanus shot and some anti-biotics.

And, let 'em live.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by Rocky_Balboa

btw how do You distinguish between a black rattle snake and a black cobra! SB any inputs?

Ha ha. I myself am asking the experts here. Till date, my strategy has been simple - see snake, get stick, kill it. Identification can wait for later.

I know that this does not sound very ecologically or animal friendly, but back home in Kerala, where there is thick dense vegetation all around, snakes (especially venomous ones) are pretty common and a snake bite can be fatal - so, it is just a survival instinct. Also, I have no training to handle snakes or to capture them so that they can be released away from human habitation or in zoos.

Originally Posted by Rocky_Balboa

Oops... i meant the black rat snake and black cobra.

That should be simple. The cobra would have the hood, while the rat snake does not have one.

BTW, a rattle-snake would rattle, as the name suggests. But I don't think they are found in Dublin - so don't fret.

[princezahed]

Originally Posted by bigman

The english edition is a bit expensive ($125) but you might still be able to get the hindi version (RS200).

Rom's web site :

draco-india.com

I know Rom's website.Its out of production. A new one is on the cards soon with updated pics and material.

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

No, sir, absolutely not true. Snake charmers remove fangs. The sadhus were handling 2 BIG Kings with fangs. They occasionally opened their mouths to re-adjust their jaws, kind of like a yawn, and you could see their fangs easily. The Kings went off into the jungle afterwards. They were wild, not captive. This was not a snake event, it was a random encounter near an ashram.

Well i have never hard of such a thing.I think the best person to answer that would be Gerry martin or Dr Romulus himself.AFAIK snakes hate drinking milk.

Originally Posted by akshay4587

@BBS that first snake doesnot look like a bandaid krait to me.

Its a banded Krait Akshay,not bandaid

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

One job I had between school sessions as a teenager was as a snake keeper at a public zoo. Older adult keepers handled the poisonous snakes and the big constrictors. I handled the smaller non-poisonous ones. Lesson learned?

Also, snakes shed their entire skin every few months as they grow. When this happens they even shed the protective scale over their eyes. Over several days the eye scale grows opaque, milky or cloudy in color, and they can not see well until the actual shed which is relatively quick. However for a week or two while their old skin dies their behavior is likely to change. Even snakes that are docile and used to being handled by humans get really aggressive and will bite when they can not see clearly. It's a survival instinct. This I know from sorry experience. They spend over a month a year in this condition on average. So, if you encounter a snake with milky, cloudy eyes while on the trail give him a little extra room. He may be really grumpy and having a bad work week. Snakes have dirty mouths (not dirty vocabularies) and if a non-venomous one nails you the wound is likely to become infected. See the doc. It will mean a tetanus shot and some anti-biotics.

And, let 'em live.

Snakes are venomous bhai. Not poisonous.Simple typo.

And it is true that snakes shed skin about twice a year and they do get very grumpy at the time,especially when the eye patch doesnt come off and they are unable to see properly.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Ha ha. I myself am asking the experts here. Till date, my strategy has been simple - see snake, get stick, kill it. Identification can wait for later.

I know that this does not sound very ecologically or animal friendly, but back home in Kerala, where there is thick dense vegetation all around, snakes (especially venomous ones) are pretty common and a snake bite can be fatal - so, it is just a survival instinct. Also, I have no training to handle snakes or to capture them so that they can be released away from human habitation or in zoos.

That should be simple. The cobra would have the hood, while the rat snake does not have one.

BTW, a rattle-snake would rattle, as the name suggests. But I don't think they are found in Dublin - so don't fret.

It would be really nice if you do not kill snakes. They are more scared of us than we are of them. You could just move away from a snake if you see one. Killing it should be the last option if you are sure of getting bitten.

Originally Posted by Rocky_Balboa

Oops... i meant the black rat snake and black cobra.

A rat snake tries to raise its head to form a hood. A cobra has the shape of a spectacle or an oval at the back of its hood which a rat snake lacks. Also,a rat snake can be much bigger than a cobra. The first instinct of a rat snake is to escape whereas a cobra would invariably try and stand its ground.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by princezahed

It would be really nice if you do not kill snakes. You could just move away from a snake if you see one. Killing it should be the last option if you are sure of getting bitten.

Agree with you about not killing them, which was the reason why I asked the experts for pictures so that I can try to atleast make out which are harmless and which not. Ofcourse the last option you mentioned still stands - am definitely not going to endanger my life or the lives of my loved ones for a snake.

The other day a small snake (less than a metre long) was trying to slither its way into our Kerala home from the rear door. My sis who is terriblly scared of snakes was the one who saw it. Since there were small kids playing inside the house, she panicked & got a stick from somewhere and killed it. Not sure what kind it was - she said it tried to form a hood - maybe a rat snake. Have asked them to email me the snap - will post here for the experts to identify.

[princezahed]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

The other day a small snake (less than a metre long) was trying to slither its way into our Kerala home from the rear door. My sis who is terriblly scared of snakes was the one who saw it. Since there were small kids playing inside the house, she panicked & got a stick from somewhere and killed it. Not sure what kind it was - she said it tried to form a hood - maybe a rat snake. Have asked them to email me the snap - will post here for the experts to identify.

If you can post the pic here i will try and identify it. It could be a rat snake or a juvenile cobra.

OT: Where in kerala do you live?I just love the place.Its so green.

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

Hmm..I think the local people believes in good stories(here).they will say that once chera(rat snake) become old ,it will become venomous and called as chera-moorkhan(rat snake-cobra) and another theory is ,rat snake and cobra will couple to produce chera-moorkhan! .I am really curious to know ,why these claims are justified by many a people?
another common snake found in midland areas in kerala is vala vala-ppan/sankhu varayan -venomous .I dont know what you call it in English.

valavalappn is the banded krait

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by princezahed

If you can post the pic here i will try and identify it. It could be a rat snake or a juvenile cobra.

Sure - waiting for my BIL to email me the snap. I doubt it being a cobra because they are pretty rare in that area - must be a ratsnake or a viper, which are most commonly found.

Originally Posted by princezahed

OT: Where in kerala do you live?I just love the place.Its so green.

Alappuzha (Aleppey). Yeah, while the green is all good, the con is the presence of such creepy things being all over the place. We have a piece of land adjoining the river and I came across the perfect fishing spot there - with shade from the bamboo trees and space to put a chair to sit & fish and even for a small table to keep the beer on. But somehow the place gives me the creeps and I have not yet managed to get enough courage to sit there and fish.

BTW, an interesting incident happened a few months ago. We needed some 10-15 roof tiles to replace the ones on our outhouse, which were broken by falling coconuts. Since they are not much in vogue today (people prefer concrete roofs) I could not source new ones. A friend mentioned about someone having old (unbroken) tiles for sale at reduced prices and we decided to check it out.

This was a house roughly 1km from my home and is on the banks of the river. We go there and the lady of the house shows us where the tiles are lying. We find mostly broken ones in the heap and can manage to get only a few good ones. We ask her if there are unbroken ones and she points to a little farther away near the river where there is a cluster of bamboo trees. We are a bit hesitant to go there as the place is dense with shrubs and you don't know what danger could be lurking there.

So, we ask her if it is OK to go there or are there any reptiles there ?
She replies matter of fact that there could be snakes there - especially a cobra that has its nest there and has been spotted before. We abandon the idea of getting tiles from there and ask her how she is so cool about a cobra being there.

She says, well as long as you dont go near the place, it does not harm you. And then she tells about how frequently they see snakes inside her home, with the washing machine being their most favourite place. At times, they have spotted even 2 vipers inside the machine while trying to load it with laundry. Eeeks!!! Needless to say, we fled from the place.

[deepclutch]

@Jomz:
^aah..thanks for the info.
@supremeBaleno:
I never knew that snakes are common in coastal areas :P .It is midland ,where the problem is severe(that I thought!) in Kerala.

[lohithrao]

My solution, when ever am in my hometown and if i have parked my car for long..... i get inside my car and play the music loud. this would work well and would be better if you have a sub in your car

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

@supremeBaleno:
I never knew that snakes are common in coastal areas :P .It is midland ,where the problem is severe(that I thought!) in Kerala.

Well, the sea is roughly 11-12kms from my place - so it is not exactly what you can call coastal area. Agree that most of Alappuzha lies along the Arabian sea, but my town is not near the coast. Check out the attached map for Mavelikara.

Originally Posted by lohithrao

My solution, when ever am in my hometown and if i have parked my car for long..... i get inside my car and play the music loud. this would work well and would be better if you have a sub in your car

What if the snake is inside your car ? Someone said they hate milk, don't know whether they like music, especially loud music. Hey wait, aren't they supposed to be deaf ? But the vibrations could be irritating to them.

[lohithrao]

What if the snake is inside your car ? Someone said they hate milk, don't know whether they like music, especially loud music. Hey wait, aren't they supposed to be deaf ? But the vibrations could be irritating to them. [/quote]

Am sure there wont be any inside as their in no passage fro them to come inside, earlier thier was one in the nboonet which i got it closed.

Yes i meant "Vibration" when talking about loud music and the sub

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by Rocky_Balboa

I still havent grown over the fear of snakes, the mere pictures give me goosebumps sometimes. I like them though

btw how do You distinguish between a black rattle snake and a black cobra! SB any inputs?

A rattlesnake should have a rattler at the end shouldn't it ? I guess you have to find its tail and look there to confirm.
For a black cobra, you would have to provoke it and see it raise its hood

After seeing so many shows on National Geographic, Discovery and Animal planet about snakes, i am kind of information overloaded about them and i'm mentioning the same below.

Rattlesnake is a species of Viper and thankfully they are not found in India. They are found in the Americas(N&S).
In india Pitviper and Russels viper species is common (short, fast, thick muscular snakes)
- All viper species have a triangle shaped head which is rather flat, so it can be identified that way.
- Vipers are usually muscular and lie coiled in with their head curled inwards to striking. They quickly strike and withdraw so fast (few milliseconds)
- If they feel threatened, Vipers can strike without provocation so the theory of lying still and not moving might not always work.
- Viper venom is haemotoxic, which means the venom will dissolve the blood and the tissues which it comes in contact with and rotting will set in. There is excruciating pain internal bleeding can set in and the part usually needs amputation if not promptly treated.
- The venom actually digests the prey inside out and helps the snake in this way. The viper fangs are long and deep because of the haemotoxic nature of the venom, the more deeper it is injected the better for the snake.
- They normally inject twice the amount of venom required to kill a human in a single bite.

On the other hand, as it has been mentioned in this thread, Cobras and Kraits have neurotoxic venom, which means the venom spreads throughout the body and lodges itself between the nerve endings and blocks all signals sent by the brain and spinal cord to the muscles. So the muscles end up paralysed and which collapses the heart and lungs with fatal consequences.
I haven't seen much about Kraits in the shows, but Cobras have to raise up and spread its hood before striking, which they do only if provoked or cornered or if someone steps on them.

On encountering a snake, it may not be a good idea to decide whether it is poisonous or not by seeing the color of its skin. In nature most non-venomous snakes have evolved to mimic the external looks of venomous snakes just to appear dangerous to predators.

[Rocky_Balboa]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Ha ha. I myself am asking the experts here.
That should be simple. The cobra would have the hood, while the rat snake does not have one

Originally Posted by princezahed

A rat snake tries to raise its head to form a hood. A cobra has the shape of a spectacle or an oval at the back of its hood which a rat snake lacks. Also,a rat snake can be much bigger than a cobra

Well... I did a quick google search on black cobra and I couldnt distinguish it from the ratsnake pic posted in this thread.

Originally Posted by for_cars1

A rattlesnake should have a rattler at the end shouldn't it ? I guess you have to find its tail and look there to confirm.
For a black cobra, you would have to provoke it and see it raise its hood

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

BTW, a rattle-snake would rattle, as the name suggests. But I don't think they are found in Dublin - so don't fret.

Oh yeah thats simple, think I am gonna ask the snake to join me for a drink and discuss about the roots..
I am gonna be in retreat mode for sure, when I see a black one.

SB, lucky Dublin doesnt have a long history of snakes; but it creeps me out thinking if a snake takes shelter at the room heater with the - deg cold outside. (pedikanda moone)