Comments | marina_wolf: What is with the creepy crawler invasion?

marina_wolf

What is with the creepy crawler invasion?

May 23, 2007 20:23

This time, I found a snake in the hen house, full of the eggs I was fixin' to gather:

( Here's a handy cut for the delicate )

creepycrawlies, dh

Comments 8

(The comment has been removed)

Now, I put it behind the cut just for you, marina_wolf May 24 2007, 02:22:00 UTC

so you wouldn't have to see it.

shendoah May 24 2007, 02:07:03 UTC

Holy CRAP. That is one HELL of a snake. I'm thinking someone lost a pet.

Now, I'm going to think and think and think. And eventually I'll remember the name of the birds my friend keeps at her place. They eat a pound of bugs a day (including tics) and will kill snakes, even rattle snakes. They are from Africa, and lay eggs about 1/2 the size of a hen egg, and are prolific at the egg laying. I'm told they make excellent snacks when hard boiled.

shendoah May 24 2007, 14:49:46 UTC

Ok, African Guineas. Those are the birds. They eat lots and lots of bugs and are great defense against snakes. Just in case you want to consider adding a few to your brood. :)

ferretlightning May 24 2007, 03:34:17 UTC

Wow, that's a big snake. I've never seen one that big in Texas in my life! And yeah, he's a cutie! (The kid, not the snakes. Although I find snakes cute in general. *g*)

BTW, snakes I can handle, but those centipedes give me the willies. I don't do bugs. Eep.

The perspective's a little off marina_wolf May 24 2007, 04:03:42 UTC

I really suck at composing pictures. It's only maybe 5 feet long, and it definitely isn't round enough to swallow Anthony.

Re: The perspective's a little off dearhusband May 25 2007, 04:40:49 UTC

You did a wonderful job with the perspective, sweetie. Though I'm holding the snake a good 5 feet infront of the wagon, it looks like he's hanging next to it and the snake looks big enough to eat Anthony's head. It is hard to pull that off when you try, ask Tim. In reality, the snake was big enough to eat a duck egg, maybe a goose egg if it really stretched. It was about 5' long. I raised 21 of these as a kid in an aquarium. They got out. Granny would not baby sit at our place any more after she heard that.

Standard rat snake. Look like a "fox" snake in the id book. Google images led to the following: http://www.mcmartinville.com/reptiles/trips/texas/tx_rat.htm

I let the centepede go on Gieselman's place after SteveD brought it back from its tour.

mojosmom May 24 2007, 13:04:46 UTC

That thing's huge!

I freely admit that I did not look at your centipede, and I thank you for the warning. I don't have a problem looking at snakes, though (at least, from a safe distance)!

aronal May 24 2007, 13:31:06 UTC

I'm no expert on snakes, but that doesn't look like anything native. Looks like a python or something.