Posts Tagged ‘florida’

The Spitting Cobras

Monday, October 26th, 2009

The snake called the spitting cobra is one of the most peculiar species as it not only has a venomous bite but it also sprays venom into the eyes of its prey and aggressors. Contact of this venom with your eyes can be very painful and even temporarily blinding, therefore, if you get cobra venom in your eyes, irrigate them immediately in order to prevent permanent tissue damage.

The King Cobra, Ophiophagus hannah, also distinguishes itself in this large family of snakes (elapids) by the fact that it feeds almost entirely on other snakes with mice and small birds also falling prey to its venom.

The King Cobra is also unique because of its size - it can reach 5.85m (almost 20 feet) in length, which makes it the longest poisonous snake in the world. The latest discovery of a new species of cobra was made in 2003 when it was identified by London Zoo as part of an illegal shipment of exotic pets.

Going by DNA reports, this new species of snake is similar to the red spitting cobra but differs in genes. It apparently originates from an area between Sudan and Egypt and it has been named the ‘Nubian Spitting Cobra’.

Though highly dangerous when it is threatened cobras will not attack if you leave them alone, although the spit is very accurate for about two meters. Compared to the strike of a rattlesnake, the cobra is fairly slow in its attack and furthermore, many bites prove to be blank, that is without venom.

A study conducted on Malaysian cobra snake victims indicates that only 55% of the wounds involved venom release and the same statistics indicate a mortality rate of 10% for people bitten, since the toxins injected into the blood of the prey devastate the nerves (neurotoxin) inducing respiratory failure half an hour after being bitten, giving you 30 minutes to seek an antidote.

Their colouration varies from light green-grey to black, although juveniles are yellow and black banded.This snake is widespread throughout south-eastern Asia.

Are you interested in the Cobras? To learn more about snakes visit Caring for Snakes our brand-new online resource.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Cobras

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
by Colin Jones

The spitting cobra is one of the most peculiar species of snake as it not only has a deadly bite but it also sprays venom into the eyes of prey and aggressors alike. Contact with the eyes can be very painful and even blinding, therefore, if you accidentally get cobra snake venom in your eyes, wash them out immediately so as to prevent permanent damage to the tissue.

The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is also unusual in this large family of snakes (elapidae) bexause it feeds almost exclusively on other snakes with mice and small birds also making up part of its diet.

The King Cobra is also unique because of its size - it can reach 5.85m (almost 20 feet) in length, which makes it the longest poisonous snake in the world. The latest discovery of a new species of cobra was made in 2003 when it was identified by London Zoo as part of an illegal shipment of exotic pets.

Going by DNA reports, this new species of snake is similar to the red spitting cobra but differs in genes. It apparently originates from an area between Sudan and Egypt and it has been named the ‘Nubian Spitting Cobra’.

Although they are highly dangerous when threatened cobras will rarely attack if you keep your distance from them, although the spit can travel very accurately for two meters. Compared to the strike of a rattlesnake, the cobra is rather slow in its attack and besides that, many bites prove to be non-venomous.

Statistics of a study conducted on Malaysian cobra snake victims indicate that only 55% of the bites involved poison release and the same statistics indicate a mortality rate of only 10% for people bitten, since the poisons injected into the blood of the prey destroy the nerves (neurotoxins), which induces respiratory failure approximately half an hour after being bitten, so you have 30 minutes to seek help.

The colouration is variable from light green-grey to black, while juveniles are yellow and black banded. This snake can find a habitat all over south-eastern Asia.

About the Author:
Interested in the Cobras? To learn more about snakes visit Caring for Snakes our new web site.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Venomous Florida Snakes

Friday, May 29th, 2009
by Owen Jones

The Florida snakes, along with the turtles, lizards, alligators and other reptiles are all part of a complex wildlife structure that plays a marvelous role in the maintenance of Florida’s ecosystem. There are many species of Florida snakes. There are forty-four species living in an unbelievably varied habitat, ranging from salt marshes and fresh water marshes to dry uplands and coastal mangrove swamps to residential areas.

Only six Florida snakes are poisonous, and they happily live with their non-poisonous cousins, even venturing into towns and cities too. The best way to stay out of trouble with snakes is to care enough to learn about their morphology and therefore become able to distinguish between these Florida snakes. Avoidance is the wisest approach a person can adopt in relation to snakes.

The Coral snakes and pit vipers are by far the most dangerous of the Florida snakes. They are identifiable by quite a range of mutual characteristics. Pit vipers which include the Rattlesnake, the Cottonmouth and the Copperhead all have in common: vertical eye pupils, a v-shaped head and facial pit sensors: one between the eyes and nostrils and the others along each side of the head.

The poison of this type of Florida snakes is haemotoxic, which means that their venom attacks the red blood cells, destroying the walls of the blood vessels and causing uncontrolled bleeding. Coral snakes however, use neurotoxic venom, with the toxins in the venom acting on the body’s nerves causing paralysis.

Most of the snake bites reported every year in the United States are attacks by Florida snakes or by rattlesnakes to be precise. Because their venom spreads quickly through the body, the victim will almost certainly die within thirty minutes without the immediate injection of anti-venom.

A one exception in this group of Florida snakes is the copperhead, the venom of which very rarely, if ever, requires an antidote. Their poison is the least potent and thus they are considered the least dangerous of the venomous Florida snakes.

It is because of the danger they present that poisonous snakes are the first kind to attract attention, however the most widespread of Florida snakes is the Black Racer, which is a non-toxic species that relies on very sharp fangs to hold onto its prey.

Although home owners usually try to remove snakes from their gardens, specialists point out that, without them, rats and mice would soon multiply out of control giving us an even more cause for alarm.

Therefore, unless there are any special causes for worrying, like snakes breeding in great numbers in your garden or outhouses, there is no real reason why you should upset the lives of these usually shy, helpful animals.

About the Author:
Are you interested in the Florida snakes? To learn more about snakes visit Caring for Snakes our brand-new web-based resource.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Copperhead

Monday, May 25th, 2009
by Colin Jones

Copperhead snakes are the snakes that cause the nastiest and most frequent snake-bite problems in the United States. The copperhead can be distinguished by its stout shape and its neck, which is distinct from the body as well as by its pale cross-band tan pattern that gets darker in the middle and on the sides.

Copperhead snakes have pale bellies, which makes it look very similar to its background, but their colourisation also be whitish sometimes. There are obvious spots or pits on the head of the copperhead snake that appear like tiny dark specks. There is also a rather vague stripe on its head behind its eyes; less prominent on the top, the stripe gets a lot darker towards the sides of the snake’s head.

Copperhead snakes live in all sorts of habitats: you can find them under rocks, in woods and on river banks or in areas around ponds. A specimen will choose its habitat depending on the predominant prey, as copperhead snakes feed on birds, frogs, mice, cicadas, caterpillars and almost any other small animal they manage to hunt.

The most usual hidey-holes for copperhead snakes, wood piles, stone slabs, walls, debris and abandoned or ruined buildings are the most common, which explains why people come across copperheads so often in such areas. The active months of the year for copperhead snakes are in the spring and summer for as long as the weather stays warm. After that they go into hibernation.

Copperhead snakes return to the same dens to hibernate year after year, and more often than not, there are large nests counting many individuals during hibernation. On very hot summer days, copperhead snakes will remain in cooler areas during the day and use the cover of the night to hunt. On balmy summer days, the copperhead will lie in the sun on rocks or wooden debris. Copperhead snakes do not hatch eggs, but give birth to their young live. The number of young ranges from one to fourteen and they are usually born from the summer untill October.

The bites of copperhead snakes must have immediate medical care since they are not only very painful but they may also lead to permanent scarring and tissue loss. Avoid copperhead snakes when you come across them, since many people get bitten when trying to kill or handle them.

Snakes will not harm you unless they feel threatened, then, you will become the victim of a fierce attack by a creature that is just as afraid of us as we are of them. Statistics reveal that copperhead snakes have the highest incidence in bite frequency in the United States, because these snakes attack quite out of the blue without giving threatening warnings like other species.

About the Author:
Interested in the Copperhead snake? To learn more about snakes visit http://caring-for-snakes.the-real-way.com our new web site.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »