Finding a snake in your house-what to do

arj0n · Wed 30/09/2009 13:31:58

Lately a friend of me went to my bathroom for a pee but came back within a few seconds complete out of his mind.
He tried to tell me that he found a snake in there.
I didn't believe him, thought he'd had to much beer.
So I went to the bathroom and to my surprise there was a snake (it wasn't snake from the ags forum) coiled on the floor in the corner.
It looks pretty dangerous because of the colors, black red and yellow. Al I now about snakes is a basic rule: do they have sharp colors like red and yellow then they might be poisonous, so caution was advised...

I got to get rid of that snake if I ever wanted to be able to sleep in my own house.
He (that friend) was scared like hell of that snake so he definitely wasn't going to do something about it.
So I tried to catch the snake. It first crawl quickly away but ended up in my bedroom. Darn.
After that it had became pretty angry and start using his little rattle on his tale.
He clearly didn't like to be hunt down...
It crawled into a pile of clothing that was lying there ready to get washed.
At that point I decided to not go further because it could 'jump' out of the pile and bite me.
So I decided to go sleep in the living room and I blocked the small passage under the bedroom door to keep the snake in that room because they have the nasty habit to seek for body heat and go sleep against your body.

Next morning I went back to the room, keep the small passage under the bedroom door blocked while being in the room so the snake couldn't escape into another room. I found the snake, still in the pile of clothes and with a stick removing cloth by cloth there was nothing left then 'run' again for the snake.
Then I managed to catch it behind his head while distracting him with my other hand.
I put him in a box, closed and locked it and went to a reptile/snake shop and gave him away for free. The guy there could tell me it wasn't a poisonous one but this snake was an impostor/imitator, having the looks of a poisonous snake so they will not be attacked easily by other animals.
So, what would you have done, call an expert or something to remove the snake and miss the thrill or try catching it by yourself? At least I did not miss the action and excitement...
Quite an adventure. 8)

So, what would you have done?

Domino · Wed 30/09/2009 13:39:13

Snake has been a busy guy lately. First in the AGS servers and now in your bathroom. Where will he be next?

monkey0506 · Wed 30/09/2009 13:39:24

Remember,

QuoteRed touches yellow, kill a fellow. Red touches black, venom lack.

Or something like that. If the red is touching the black then it's a Kingsnake which is non-venomous. If the red is touching the yellow then it's a deadly poisonous coral snake.

These are the kinds of things I've known since I was a child having grown up out in the country. However the one time that I saw a snake out in our yard (I was maybe about 10 or 11) what I did was run and tell the nearest adult to go get a gun. It was gone by the time we got back so I have no idea what type of snake it was, but we don't mess around.

I just saw the part about it having a rattle on its tail. That's neither a Kingsnake or a coral snake.

I just checked into it and if it had a rattle it was definitely a poisonous rattlesnake, but some non-venomous species can mimic the sound of the rattlesnake's rattle.

Oh and as for what I'd have done, I'd have caught it before it ever left the bathroom.

ThreeOhFour · Wed 30/09/2009 13:51:25

Punch it.

Trust me

arj0n · Wed 30/09/2009 14:03:40

Quote from: monkey_05_06 on Wed 30/09/2009 13:39:24
Remember,

QuoteRed touches yellow, kill a fellow. Red touches black, venom lack.
I just saw the part about it having a rattle on its tail. That's neither a Kingsnake or a coral snake.

It was indeed "red touches black, venom lack" when looking at the picture below.
It was a Red Rat Snake aka Corn Snake, looks dangerous when not being familiar with snakes like me:

About the rattle sound:
When a rat snake get irritated it shows its tail rapidly back and forth shaking of the ground where the snake something else at that time against it because the vibration of the light creates a tail that looks Like the sound of a rattlesnake rattle

Quote from: Domino on Wed 30/09/2009 13:39:13
Snake has been a busy guy lately. First in the AGS servers and now in your bathroom. Where will he be next?

He will probably be starring in a game called Snake Quest or something

Quote from: Ben304 on Wed 30/09/2009 13:51:25
Punch it.
Trust me

Punch it BEFORE it bites you, then you must be really quick...!
Plus, I hate to kill animals except for mosquitos-> kill 'm all!

arj0n · Wed 30/09/2009 14:09:01

Strange thing is, how got that snake in my bathroom while having two apartments beneath me.
It must have swum up through the toilet drain and crawled out of it ending up in my bathroom.
Imagine sitting on the toilet while the snake pops up... It could just bite your...

zabnat · Wed 30/09/2009 14:27:32

Quote from: [ Arj0n ] on Wed 30/09/2009 14:09:01
Strange thing is, how got that snake in my bathroom while having two apartments beneath me.
It must have swum up through the toilet drain and crawled out of it ending up in my bathroom.
Imagine sitting on the toilet while the snake pops up... It could just bite your...

AAAAHH, I'm never sitting on the toilet ever again!

We only have two kinds of snakes here, other one is the viper and other is the grass snake. If wanting to kill the snake you better be sure its a viper, because killing a grass snake can cost you 252 euros

. Also we have a lizard which looks like a snake, the slowworm, which is also a protected species.

I would probably try to poke the snake with a stick until it leaves my house if I ever found one inside.

Snake · Wed 30/09/2009 15:06:52

And you'd think I'd have something clever to say.

Intense Degree · Wed 30/09/2009 16:50:57

Snakes coming up through the toilet - insane!

Reminds me of a story that was doing the rounds a while ago - can't remember if it was internet or newspaper, but definitely true in any case

A girl took her pet snake (python? or at least a seriously beg snake) to the vet complaining that it was ill. Apparently it hadn't eaten for weeks, which was not that unusual in itself, but it had been refusing the dead mice etc. she put into it's tank, which was in her bedroom. She got concerned when, a couple of nights in a row, it started banging on the lid of the tank as if it was trying to get out. Then, the following night she was woken up by the snake actually in her bed, not wrapped round her or anything but stretched out lying down next to her. She put it back in the tank, thinking it was obviously ill and took it straight to the vet next morning.

Well, any illusions she had that the snake was being "sweet" in some way by coming into the bed with her for comfort were quickly dispelled by the vet.

Apparently the snake, seeing her lying there immobile each night, had decided that she was the best meal he had seen in ages and the part about lying next to her was him measuring her against his body to see if he could manage to swallow her whole, which is apparently what that type of snake does!

I'm guessing she got rid of it pretty fast!

RickJ · Thu 01/10/2009 11:51:45

Quote
So, what would you have done?

This looks like a job for Mr. Hatchet!

Scarab · Fri 02/10/2009 14:14:05

If I found that snake?

Red on black: Friend of Jack
Thank you Bear Grylls

Azraq · Sat 03/10/2009 00:30:00

buy a terrarium, some frozen mice, maybe a few stylish rocks that the snake might like. it's cute!