Talking about rattlers - in our local forest this week a retired gentleman was out looking for the good old Porcini mushrooms which are out this time of year in our area and he came across a rattler.
He took photos of it with his mobile phone and report it straight away to the forestry department who found it. Rattlers are not from our area and would have come across the big Pond (that seperates Jan and I from drinking the odd glass of Vino....) via some importer that would have sold it in a pet shop or something. The owner must have got fed up and left it out in the open forests. Good on Mr Mushroom picker to have taken a photo and not have killed it!

Hi Cody - Yes, imported snakes from the pet trade have also had a very disruptive impact on my native species of reptiles and mammals here in the USA. Particularly in Florida where they seem to import more "exotic" species of plants and animals than anywhere else.

At the present time the Everglades National Park in Florida has an estimated (from the Florida Wildlife Department) 10,000 pythons from Africa and Asia very busy killing and eating our native birds, alligators, mammals. That's not a misprint - TEN THOUSAND PYTHONS in one national park. If that doesn't give Jan nightmares I don't know what will! Don't worry, Jan, they'd never survive the cold clime of your northern neck of the woods!

The only "constrictors" we have in the Americas: boas, tree pythons, and anacondas come from Central and South America.

Where was this rattlesnake found? Europe? Africa?

10 thousand - I thought that was a misprint.... whow....
I shall send you a PM - re rattler.

Kat and Cody: Then we also have the crazies who love venomous snakes and have a house full of them in cages! There are many reptile lovers here who have mambas, adders, boomslangs and all sorts of very dangerous snakes in their homes.

I would love to see this whole trade banned entirely. However, at the very least they should have to register those deadly snakes they have with their local police and fire departments. Can you imagine being a fireman heading for a fire at a house on fire, knowing there are people inside to rescue, and NOT knowing the house of full of deadly snakes, which room they are being housed in, whether the glass cages might have exploded due to the heat, etc? Could be a disaster.

At the time of 9/11, one of these crazies was bitten by one of his deadly snakes. Remember, no planes were allowed to fly for several days then. The government had to be begged to allow antivenin to be flown in from the west coast just to save this man's life. And several of these reptile lovers have been killed by their own pet pythons.
Go figure!

Jan - I agree with you that dangerous snakes (and other dangerous animals) should NOT be kept by the general public. Here in New York City we have laws against having any potentially lethal animal as a "pet" , but people being people, we just had some NYC Fireman confront a Bengal Tiger that some idiot had in his bathroom!

Dangerous or "hot" snakes as they are called by zoo keepers should only be kept for educational/research purposes in zoos or snake parks that are licensed.

Of course, we still have hundreds of deaths of people every year in NYC by the most dangerous animals of all - human beings!

HEELLLOOOHHHOOO - here come my 2 cents..........

Jan you are right: I am TERRIFIED by spiders. Don't like scorpions but love to watch snakes - in the company of a knowledgeable person. So Kat would be good to have you close to me when on a snake mission ;)

I think the reason people kill snakes - any snakes - is the lack of knowledge. Here again it comes down to lack of knowledge which is responsible for most of the mistakes humans make.

Of course to make sure one doesn't get harmed it's SAFE to eliminate the danger. Therefore it would be excellent to have pictures and information on habitat and behaviour in order to make sure to not freak out when a harmless creature crosses our ways.

Now - before you state i should get pics etc of spiders in order to safe them: it's not my fear they could harm me. i think this is a more psycho thing which asks for a long lasting cure ;)