What do you all recommend for a basic snake kit?

Tongs, hook, bag ...

Make sure it's a thin cloth bag,(like a pillow case) or a mesh bag...otherwise you'll kill the snake from heat!


Duct tape, mirror on a pole,flash light, gloves...!

Snake Bite Kit

Good idea BigBob. However in Connecticut we only have two poisonous snakes , the copperhead and the eastern diamondback rattler. Both are very rare and the rattler is listed as endangered in Connecticut. I have been looking for one since I was a little boy fascinated with snakes but have never seen one in the wild. A snake bite kit would be nice to have but would be a lot more useful in states other than Connecticut.

Woofman , instead of buying a snake bite kit get a copy of the book ' Snakes of New England ' http://www.snakesofnewengland.com/.
This is a top-notch book about all the snakes in Connecticut. It is LOADED with high quality pictures of all the snakes in CT. All of the picture were taken in CT. This book is great for anyone in CT or maybe a neighboring state. Wildlife Control Supplies has this book for sale.

Worth every penny I spent for it. Get the book first , if you want to get a snake bite kit later , fine , but get the book first.

hahahahaha...yeah, well, theres that!

Don't waste your money. Do a google seach for the current medical protocol for snakebites. Cutting, suction, and bringing in snake for ID no longer recommended.

Here's a link to a decent website for snake "stuff"

http://www.recoimports.com/

Thanks guys.
Cragar, I'll get that book with my next order.

Snake bite kits are a hoax ... in most cases, they will cause more harm than good.

Once venom is injected ... either hemotoxin or neurotoxin ... it's in your system and can't be sucked out in quantities large enough to make a difference. However ... the mouth that is on the wound has enough bacteria to complicate the injection site with even more infection.

Best thing which saves most lives after a venomous bite ... stay calm, elevate the bite, ice the bite and get immediate medical attention.

Mostly I catch rat and garter snakes in and around homes. However I do have one job where I pick up copperheads and my snake boots make me feel very secure and I train with them while turkey hunting. I have the best success on the copperhead problem walking at night with a good light and tongs.

Who skins snakes?
Anyone?

I do.....use to skin and tan several every year.

What do you use to tan with?

Rittles stuff. Can't think of the exact number or name right now....easy to use and works great. Daverittles.com I think is the link to his website.

I saw a cool mounted snake skeleton somewhere. It was cleaned by beetles.

What do you do with snake skins?

Ever use Snake Tan from California?
Anyone?

PM sent Lt.

Jeff

Caught this guy last year in September beside my trash can

what kind of snake is it?

Copperhead

Nice colors on that one, I catch those out here by the coast all the time, Here is a little treat I do not get that often. 5 ft Timber Rattler last year (2008)

Beautiful! I wish we had more rattlers around here.

No thanks! My customers are afraid of large nightcrawlers.

I cant stand those sob's, thats the main reason I dont like to trap during hot weather. And we are loaded with eastern diamond back, and timber rattlers, Cotton Mouths and Copper heads mocosins. I kill every one I see, big or small.

cotton farmer-
Just for you! Now ain't that some pretty critters?





EDIT: No animals were harmed (nor was I) while taking the pictures!

Cool! I wish we had the saddlebacks (there's a lower alabama term for you) up this way. I love to hear one singing (as long as I have a visual on it anyways).

Nice pictures Professor Ron

LATRAPPER - do you raise them? Are they Pets? Or just catch them for ADC work?

What are the the two that look the same? Eastern Dback? And the other one?

cotton farmer-
No I don't raise them. I would never attempt to make a pet of any venomous snake; although I have kept collections of them. But I don't know how to leave a snake alone! If I see it, I have to catch it. Most are released at the point of capture. I have been catching them since I was about six years old. My Dad was a Missouri "hillbilly". He was a carpenter, hunter, fisherman, and trapper. However, he very seldom killed anything that we couldn't use, except coyotes. Even trapping, he maintained his trap lines to always leave "seed" for the next year. He wouldn't kill venomous snakes unless they were around the house. I learned to identify venomous and non-venomous snakes at a very early age. I caught the "nice ones" and left the "bad ones" alone. I didn't catch my first venomous snake until I was about 14 years old, 1954. That was at the Okeene, Oklahoma "the oldest Rattlesnake hunt in the world". Since then I have "had" to catch every one that I was able to.

Even now, most of the venomous snakes that I catch are released (with permission) in very rural areas. The population of snakes is decreasing rapidly around here. I don't know why but have my suspicion that it is due to chemical use. I haven't seen a green snake in about five years and have only seen a couple of Eastern Whip Snakes each of the past few years. This same reduction in population goes for most other species of snakes too.

Although I am a NWCO, I do comply with State laws and regulations, and my permit requirements.. Some critters are released, some aren't.

The similarly patterned snakes are Timber Rattlesnakes the other is an Eastern Diamondback. Since I don't know exactly where you are located in the state, I don't know if the Eastern Diamondback is found around you. I am sure that you have Cottonmouths, Timbers, Copperheads, and possibly Coral Snakes. I have only caught two Coral Snakes around here though.

I try to provide education to all of my customers that call about snake problems. The snakes are there only because favorable habitat exists in most instances. Now, if I find a Cottonmouth near a beaver trap; all bets are off.

Cottonfarmer, being in Camden does have the diamondbacks in his area, though not common.

yeah i see all kinds of rattler's and water snakes. mostly the mocosin's are cottonmouths, but have killed plenty of copperheads, but not as many as cotton's. And for the rattler's mostly are the timbers but some estern's. they are everywhere around here. I saw a big rattler in the road last night, all of this hot weather has them moving at night, from what i have seen lately.