Close Encounter with viper

Torvy · 2026-03-17T16:27:59-0400

Yesterday my wife was taking her daily afternoon walk with the dogs. Out on one of the easements she noticed something and the GSD pulled up on alert. There was a 6' Cottonmouth (aka Water Moccasin) with a small bunny.

Snake coiled around the bunny and did the classic Cottonmouth pose.

Kangal moves in that direction and the snake decided to leave. GSD ate the bunny.

I learned that apparently some snakes eat carrion. Wife said the bunny was headless. (Cats often just eat the head).

WM75Guy · 2026-03-17T17:00:46-0400

Glad everyone is OK. It is that time of year to start looking out for them, I have taken out my fair share of them. Around here I treated patients with copperhead bites (most common), a corral snake bite, and a timber rattlesnake bite. Fortunately, the Cottonmouth will normally retreat if the option is available, the others stand their ground and strike out. In the 15 years I worked at the hospital as an RN we never treated a Cottonmouth bite patient in the ER.

Tinhack · 2026-03-17T18:08:14-0400

Yep. This is the time of the year down here when Snakes, Scorpions and Yellow Jackets are making their presence known. I gotta get my Yellow Jacket trap built. Oh yeah, and the killer bees are out too. Had one interested in my DeWalt driver when I was putting up the Starlink antenna a couple of weeks ago. Pesky creatures but you don't dare swat at them.