What a day this has turned out to be! I have a snake up inside the cabinet
of my TV! When I first saw it, it was sitting vertically on the brick wall
of the fireplace. By the time I got my son in to help me get it, it
slithered up inside the wood tv cabinet and sits there right now. Its about
5 and perhaps 6 feet long and I believe it is a rat snake ... its eyes are
definitely button round. Wish us luck!
Laura
OMG Laura! The same thing happened to me last fall. I finally caught
my rat snake in a covered mouse trap.
Lynne
Laura McKenzie wrote:
--0-1653924719-1117228405=:58577
Laura - If you are really the snake is inside the TV, can you carry the TV outside, or is it immoveable? It would be nice not to have to trap it.
Merry Luskin, Oakland CA
Reference librarian and handspinner
Great site: Librarians' Index to the Internet
http://lii.org
---------------------------------
I hope you can retire at night secure in the knowledge that the snake is
outside somewhere. My doctor says her pets bring in snakes and she
accidentally steps on "cold ropes" on her way to the bathroom at night.
Ewww.Margaret L
We finally got him. He decided to head to the living room closet and I
blocked the space under the door. By the time my husband got home, the
snake had managed to get OUT of the closet somehow (I'm still not sure how)
and was in my eldest son's room. Rat snakes are not poisonous but they do
bite so it was fun listening to the guys as they tried to get him. My
husband came downstairs with the snake wrapped around his arm more than six
times and hanging on tightly.
While the snake would be most welcome outdoors, we're not sure how he got
in so we decided to put him in the forest about a mile from the house. I'm
sure he'll be happy there. He was pretty but not the sort of thing I"d want
hanging around while I'm trying to sleep! Tomorrow the husband checks the
fireplace chimney to see if he got in that way. It was amazing how he was
lying again the bricks vertically just like a lizard only 5 feet long! He
skin was very bright so he must have just shedded.
I took photos but on the instant camera instead of the digital one so we'll
have to wait for them to be developed : )
I'm glad he didn't get electrocuted in the tv or tear up the tv. That tv is
20 years old and not something we can afford to replace.
Laura
Moira, I love to hear about your stories of living in Kenya. Cobras in the
house!
I think in our case the rat snake made his/her way in because rat snakes
are good climbers. Timber rattlers (we see often) are too fat to climb and
hopefully copperheads (we see often) don't climb but we'll still try to make
sure this doesn't happen again : ) This rat snakes was actually quite
friendly and surprised that we didn't want him around! His markings were
very similar to a cane-brake rattler so it wasn't until I had a good look at
his eyes and tail that I calmed down.
And now back to planting!
Laura
The other occasional snake to appear in the house was not at all welcome
MLuskin wrote:
> Laura - If you are really the snake is inside the TV, can you carry the
> TV outside, or is it immoveable? It would be nice not to have to trap it.
I would be inclined to guess that the snake has found a lovely warm
hide-away, and if removed, is likely to come back!
Are rat snakes dangerous?
When Moira was growing-up in Africa, her family found a grass snake
(small, harmless) curled up inside the family radio! That was in the
days when radios had valves - tubes - that lit up when switched on, and
got quite warm.
If rat snakes are harmless, you /could/ just leave it I suppose, but
there would be some risk of it blocking ventilation and causing the TV
to overheat - and perhaps even catch fire.
Tony
--
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ. Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
NEW PICTURES AND DIAGRAMS ADDED 20/Feb/2005
I loved snakes as a kid. Used to bring them in the house and feed them
earthworms. We'd step on their necks right behind their heads (it probably
wasn't good for the snakes). They'd be pinned and we could get a hold of
them right behind the head so they couldn't bite, then we'd play with them,
put them in jars or old aquariums, and eventually turn them loose. One time
all my aquariums were full of fish, so I tried to put a big guy I had in a
large goldfish bowl. I put a book almost completely covering the top to
keep him in while also letting in air. Things were fine until the next
morning, when he crawled out onto my desktop.
These were the 80's, and I had a special curling iron I'd bought from my
stylist that my mother and sisters were always borrowing without asking.
They had their own irons, of course, but mine heated up faster and got
hotter (that's why I bought it). That particular morning my mother, intent
on poaching my curling iron, reached in the doorway and put her hand on the
dark, coiled object on my desktop.
She wasn't bitten or anything, just startled. I wasn't allowed to keep
snakes in the house after that. Of course, now that I'm the mom I'm the one
that won't allow snakes. My son would love to buy a snake, but those little
pink mousies with their little quivering noses pull at my heartstrings.
I've told him he can have anything that will eat kibble or vegetables.
Chris
oinonenehren@comcast.net
wonderful story!!
susan
Laura McKenzie wrote:
> We finally got him. (Snip)
> I'm glad he didn't get electrocuted in the tv or tear up the tv. That tv is
> 20 years old and not something we can afford to replace.
Hi Laura
Good to know you managed to persuade your visitor to leave without to
much hassle. In Kenya there was a cute little bright green grass snake
which often turned up in the house. It was totally harmless and used to
disappear again without causing any panics. On one occasion though,
around 1940, one decided our big valve radio was a great place to
cuddle up in as it got nice and warm and my Pa did have to persuade him
to move on.
The other occasional snake to appear in the house was not at all welcome
though. From time to time we got invaded by the odd cobra. who was
swiftly made very unwelcome. Fortunately nobody ever got bitten, though
one of our dogs once got a spurt of venom in the eye (he subsequently
recovered.)
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ. Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
NEW PICTURES AND DIAGRAMS ADDED 20/Feb/2005
> Moira, I love to hear about your stories of living in Kenya. Cobras in
the
> house!
Yeah, I'm green with envy as well.
john
