How Far is the Home Range of a Copperhead.
They are territorial like turtles. They have a plot of land that they live on. How far will the copperhead travel in his home range?
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I don't know if this is true, but I was told that you had to relocate a snake 1 mile away or it would find it's way back.
🐍🐍🐍
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In most cases they don't actually have a home range. A given population shares a brumation den, and in the spring they move away from the den, females to a warm area to hasten the development of young, usually a sort of communal basking area, while the males move out to hunt. When they find prey, the stay until the prey get thin, then move to the next spoor they find. They rarely move more than a mile from the den, but from time to time a wanderer, usually a male makes it to another den area for the next winter. Thus do genes get spread around. Within that approximately 1 mile radius of the den, there can be 100 or more snakes. In former times, before the advent of people, farm equipment, roads and semi-truckers playing squash the reptile, there were significantly more dense populations in some areas.
If you really want to know, find the den, set up an enclosure fence, capture the snakes when they emerge in the spring, implant with radio transmitters, and spend the next few years in following the snakes and replacing the transmitters. By that time, you will have a pretty good picture of the activities of that local population. It is easier if you have some grad students doing the field work.
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@...: https://forums.gunbroker.com/discussion/1911971/how-far-is-the-home-range-of-a-copperhead
They are territorial like turtles. They have a plot of land that they live on. How far will the copperhead travel in his home range?
If a copperhead gets into my home range they will not get to travel very far. They will be at their final destination.
AND I'm not a snake hater. I catch and release rattlers. Some are very large Diamond backs and timber rattlers.
The rattlers have always give me a free pass when they could have easily just give me a bite. I do not know why, maybe they do not like my smell or my bad breath.
People think I'm crazy for catch and release of rattlers. But I do not let them hang out constantly close to the house. Captured and released a big timber rattler (velvet tail) few years back and he kept returning. When he returned twice he got the copperhead final destination treatment. I suspect he had a favorite den place not far away. He just would not listen to my warnings.
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The reason I asked is, two days ago I walked down the steps off my porch, and curled up there at the bottom was a 20 inch long copperhead. Not wanting myself, or the girlfriend or the beagle to get bitten, I cut his head off with a shovel.
I don't like to kill any of God's creatures, and I was wondering how far away I could have removed him from my house, to where he would not return.
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allen griggs: 30115279535259/comments/30115321102747
The reason I asked is, two days ago I walked down the steps off my porch, and curled up there at the bottom was a 20 inch long copperhead. Not wanting myself, or the girlfriend or the beagle to get bitten, I cut his head off with a shovel.
I don't like to kill any of God's creatures, and I was wondering how far away I could have removed him from my house, to where he would not return.
I believe you found your answer. Don
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In Virginia, it is illegal to kill a snake. Any snake.
Experts warn Virginia's venomous snakes are out and about
Warmer weather means more outdoor activity for humans -- and for snakes. The result – people are getting bitten. The Blue Ridge Poison Center recorded 24 cases of snake bite between mid-May and early June."Whatever it looks like, keep in mind that in Virginia it’s illegal to kill a snake. Again, Ed Clark.
“It is not legal to kill them unless they present an imminent danger to human health or safety or to your family and pets.”
The law also bars you from moving a snake from your property, but, the Wildlife Center says you can hire someone who’s licensed to capture critters."
If he's around my house, I consider that imminent danger.
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dcon12: 30115279535259/comments/30115306077467
https://forums.gunbroker.com/discussion/comment/11399726#Comment_11399726
I believe you found your answer. Don
Relocations are problematic because we have scant data on what the actual outcome is for the animal. Much of the data that we have comes from casual studies done on relocated Gila Monsters, and that is almost certainly not applicable to copperheads. Where the data exists, it indicates that within a certain distance (about one kilometer for Gila Monsters), they simply return. Beyond that, they die. The new kid in the neighborhood has the least chance of competing successfully with the guys that know the territory and it's resources.
While I cannot see myself ever killing a snake, I do have the experience to capture and move them, but in many cases it may not be an unreasonable thing to do.
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He Dog: 30115279535259/comments/30115274104859
https://forums.gunbroker.com/discussion/comment/11399727#Comment_11399727
Relocations are problematic because we have scant data on what the actual outcome is for the animal. Much of the data that we have comes from casual studies done on relocated Gila Monsters, and that is almost certainly not applicable to copperheads. Where the data exists, it indicates that within a certain distance (about one kilometer for Gila Monsters), they simply return. Beyond that, they die. The new kid in the neighborhood has the least chance of competing successfully with the guys that know the territory and it's resources.
While I cannot see myself ever killing a snake, I do have the experience to capture and move them, but in many cases it may not be an unreasonable thing to do.
I dont like killing snakes. However king snakes are pests in my yard because they eat the many scelopori that control my ant populations and my terrapene eggs. Akistrodons pose a hazard due to their nature of relying on camouflage rather than flee.
Heterodons, Elaphe and other left alone.
Have two choices when dealing with Akistrodons and Lampropeltis: Kill or relocate. I prefer to relocate.
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Like a rabid or wild dog I have no use for them around here. Both are very dangerous to man and beast and will be dispatched.
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Hey chief ! Speak English or at least redneck southern .
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Chief, kingsnakes eat most things, they are not really fussy, including other snakes. They have no problem eating venomous snakes as well. Sceloporus are fun, I hand feed a western form in the back yard, but their fate is to be food. They are sort of the small rodents of the reptile world, one reason they are prolific.
Junkballer, it is kind of ironic you think of it as your place, they have been around at least 10,000 years on the property longer than you.
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He Dog: I don't claim to be a naturalist but definitely a realist, think about it while you're eating your steak, pork-chop & venison. What do you think about the young trees that were cut down in their prime so you can have shelter over your head ?? is it shameful on the lumber-jacks that depend on trees for a living. Yes it's my place, I live on it, God gave me dominion over it and I won't share it with any deadly creature, enough said on my part.
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When I was a kid my friends had paper routes and such for extra cash, I would catch snakes and sell them to Ross Allen's reptile institute at Silver Springs in Ocala and I was a huge fan of Bill Haast of the Miami Serpentarium. Bill Haast was bitten by poisonous snakes 174 times and lived to be 100.
I would sell cotton mouth's, rattlers, coral snakes, pygmy rattlers, coach whips, indigo's, black racers ............. pretty much anything that slithered.
I never kill any type of snake ....... they are ALL beneficial to the environment so if it's venomous, it gets relocated, if non venomous it gets left alone.
Caught a 6' 5" Diamond back once that had a head almost the size of my hand and his body was nearly as big around as my thigh. good times. 😀
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Bill Haast and the Miami Serpetarium, good memories there. It was not too far from where I lived. (140th St and US 1.) Been there many times. Those King Cobra's when they came out for Bill to catch in the Courtyard, were something to see. They'd stand up almost chest high.
One of my 1st jobs was working at a large Pet Store/Exotic Animal Importer in Miami. One of our/my jobs was unpacking the shipment of snakes (usually in several large canvas bags) seperate/sort/place them in an Aquarium with a mouse and water. Etc. Lot's of different variety.
Sometimes we got in some pretty large Boas/Pythons. Those could be downright scary. 😮
*Still have lot's of Snake dreams. Some not so pleasant. 🤔
Lot's of "Surprise," snake encounters in my life, having traveled the Backcountry extensively. (All over the United States.)
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Met Ross Allen once when I was about 10 and visiting the Reptile Gardens. Nice guy tolerant of admiring kids. Never met Bill Haast, but later in his career he was working in Salt Lake City and was bitten by a saw-scaled viper, very hot venom. The lab had no antivenom for the species, so a desperate call went out for Antivenom. At the time I was chair of the Zoo and Aquarium Antivenom Committee and had built the data base of the location of all antivenoms in zoos. I located antivenom in two institutions, and organized getting it shipped to Salt Lake City. By the time it arrived, he was seeping blood from every opening. Fortunately the antivenom worked and he recovered. Thousands of dollars worth of antivenom, for which he never paid a cent, and never even said, "Thank you." you probably get I was not an admirer after that.
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The deadliest snake in this part of the country is the copper-mouth rattle moccasin. I once encountered a guy that claimed to have run over one with his dozer, that struck its exhaust pipe. He swore that was the truth!
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Had not heard the name Ross Allen in years. As a young teen ,13 or so ,I had a book about him . Thought what he did was cool. It was my introduction to catching snakes . Neve caught any mocosins or copperheads etc. They usually die a quick death around here .
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tnranger: 30115279535259/comments/30115280577563
The deadliest snake in this part of the country is the copper-mouth rattle moccasin. I once encountered a guy that claimed to have run over one with his dozer, that struck its exhaust pipe. He swore that was the truth!
Whe I worked at the St.Louis zoo, I was on the public floor watching an African Gaboon viper. A guy stode next to me for half a minute, and said,"My brother in law killed one of those in his yard in St. Charles. It was bigger than that one though." Wasn't a lot I could say.
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The only copper heads around here have pictures of Abe Lincoln on them and are now getting kind of rare.
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He Dog: 30115279535259/comments/-1
https://forums.gunbroker.com/discussion/comment/11399837#Comment_11399837
Whe I worked at the St.Louis zoo, I was on the public floor watching an African Gaboon viper. A guy stode next to me for half a minute, and said,"My brother in law killed one of those in his yard in St. Charles. It was bigger than that one though." Wasn't a lot I could say.
See He Dog, you learn something new everyday.
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