I have a Sawmill Snake

WDH · June 04, 2016, 08:23:59 PM

It is official. I now have a sawmill snake. A black rat snake. He has been here for the last two days. He is a little surly if you get close to him, but, he is welcome if he deals with the rats and mice that nest in the air drying stacks. Just don't agitate him. If you mess with him, he will try to bite you, otherwise, he just minds his own business.

Here he is under the board table.

tnaz · June 04, 2016, 08:28:16 PM

If you give him something cool to drink he may be more Friendly??? :D

WDH · June 04, 2016, 09:12:52 PM

He surprised me when I was stacking boards on the table and I did not see that he was under there. He is harmless, although a bite would be painful. However, there are some of his poisonous brethren around these parts that will not be welcome.

Sixacresand · June 04, 2016, 09:54:50 PM

Quote from: WDH on June 04, 2016, 09:12:52 PM
He surprised me when I was stacking boards on the table and I did not see that he was under there. He is harmless, although a bite would be painful. However, there are some of his poisonous brethren around these parts that will not be welcome.

I think the word "surprised" is light weight for my usual reaction to snakes, poisonous or not. They can be a catalyst for the laxative you might be taking. :D

customsawyer · June 04, 2016, 09:57:39 PM

You need to scratch him behind the ears and under the chin. ;D

ozarkgem · June 04, 2016, 10:09:58 PM

I always leave them alone(unless there in the chicken house). They are good mouse traps.

YellowHammer · June 04, 2016, 10:30:05 PM

Well, I can say I was glad the pictures clarified things; my first impression was the topic might be X rated. :D

POSTON WIDEHEAD · June 04, 2016, 10:46:17 PM

Powder Post Snake

Brad_bb · June 04, 2016, 11:42:27 PM

Maybe he wants some grits?

What type of snake is it?

red · June 05, 2016, 05:46:46 AM

Always new you were a Charmer

xlogger · June 05, 2016, 06:25:49 AM

Don't know if its true but some say that a black snake will keep copperheads away. We have too many copperheads here.

Savannahdan · June 05, 2016, 06:45:01 AM

I was watching the Tony Mills show the other evening and it covered the black rat snake. It eats other snakes including rattlesnakes, copperheads and cottonmouths as well as a host of other things. It kills the other snakes by getting their heads in its mouth sideways and cuts off their air. Then it swallows them. Here's a link to the Tony Mills site:

http://coastalkingdom.com/

kelLOGg · June 05, 2016, 06:59:44 AM

Someone must have rung the dinner bell for black snakes. Within an hour I found one in the barn and one on the sawmill. They are good to have around until they surprise me.

sandsawmill14 · June 05, 2016, 08:08:04 AM

i had one thursday morning under the lumber stack by the mill

i am pretty sure it was a rat snake like wdh's snake but he must have not liked me moving the stack of lumber he was the most aggressive snake i ever encountered

i couldnt chase him off and if you were anywhere close he would start striking at you

my 2 nephews were offbearing for me (12 and 14 years old) so the snake lost his head due to bad behavior :-\ i generally leave them alone unless poisonous but he wouldnt leave us alone

Chuck White · June 05, 2016, 08:41:26 AM

I get along with most of the local snakes here, although I do get surprised once in a while!

The only one that I won't tolerate is the Milk Snake!

fishfighter · June 05, 2016, 09:16:41 AM

Yep, had one too that surprised the heck out of me when I open the blade guards. He wasn't fast enough to get away from my little pup that killed him in a second.

WV Sawmiller · June 05, 2016, 09:23:10 AM

I wish he were living in my barn. I need a good mouser. Coons kill the cats we have had there. Saw a big one in the road last week but wifey did not like the proposal to bring him home.

I found and caught a 6" long ring neck snake Friday and tried to get my granddaughter to hold him but she put on the terrified act. I want them to know all snakes are not bad or dangerous and just be careful to know the difference.

One of the most popular dogs we saw while vacationing in Southern Africa (S. Africa, Namibia & Botswana) several years ago was the Jack Russell terrier. Evidently they are real good at catching snakes and with some of the nasty snakes they have over there a good snake catcher is worth his weight in dog biscuits.

Dave Shepard · June 05, 2016, 11:18:46 AM

About the only snake I see around here is the garter, and I haven't seen one in years. I saw a big black snake when I was a kid. There are rattle snakes, but they don't usually make it as far as our farm from the mountain where they live. I really don't like snakes.

4x4American · June 05, 2016, 12:43:45 PM

WDH maybe if you gave him some purple drank he might be more neighborly? :D

Good to know about the black rat snakes eating rattlers...my neighbor was over the other day at the sawmill and said he wouldn't be surprised if the rattlers use my lumber stacks to squeeze between to shed their skin. Said he found a rattler skin up in the rafters of his barn last year. Said there's timber rattlers and diamondbacks around and he's seen em as long as 5'...I don't mind them as long as they don't mind me.

Kbeitz · June 05, 2016, 04:18:37 PM

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on June 05, 2016, 09:23:10 AM
I wish he were living in my barn. I need a good mouser. Coons kill the cats we have had there. Saw a big one in the road last week but wifey did not like the proposal to bring him home.

I found and caught a 6" long ring neck snake Friday and tried to get my granddaughter to hold him but she put on the terrified act. I want them to know all snakes are not bad or dangerous and just be careful to know the difference.

One of the most popular dogs we saw while vacationing in Southern Africa (S. Africa, Namibia & Botswana) several years ago was the Jack Russell terrier. Evidently they are real good at catching snakes and with some of the nasty snakes they have over there a good snake catcher is worth his weight in dog biscuits.

Did someone say snake ???

Magicman · June 05, 2016, 05:24:12 PM

This sawmill snake decided to hide inside of a log cavity.

That might have been OK except we sawed the log.

scully · June 05, 2016, 10:46:52 PM

I can go either way with snakes usually I go out of my mind when they suprize me...

5quarter · June 06, 2016, 12:13:22 AM

We have plenty of rat snakes around here...They are the most tolerant snake that I can think of. as long as I'm gentle, They will usually let me pick them up and move them somewhere else. once I did encounter a big female getting ready to lay her eggs and she was not happy about being moved up the road. ;)

we have red striped garters around here that are much nastier and usually wind up meeting the business end of a shovel...or the heel of my boot.

Trapper John · June 06, 2016, 02:21:20 AM

There are some snakes in South East Alaska but none in the interior. I used to keep garters and milk snakes in my bedroom back in New York but my mom was not very happy about it. Not to change the subject but I was wondering WV Sawmiller, how do coon kill cats?