I'm not sure that is a thing. The only poisonous snake I ever heard of in Iowa was the Cottonmouth.
45 Rattlesnakes Removed From Home
- Thread starter knowlesjam
- Start date
There are no cottonmouths in Iowa.
https://khak.com/the-four-venomous-snakes-that-live-in-iowa-and-where-to-find-them/
The four species of venomous snakes in Iowa are so rare you can pretty much spend your life in Iowa and never see them. I have searched for them all and seen only two: Massasauga Rattlesnake (3 times); and Timber Rattlesnake (2). The Copperhead is as rare of snake in Iowa as can be named. I spent the most time looking for the Prairie and never could find it in western Iowa.
I set out for what would have been a five mile trail run last summer, saw a big rattlesnake about 300 feet into the start of the trail, done for the day and took other trails for a good two or three months.
I've seen a handful since getting into California outdoor life and my reaction could not be more cowardly. I actually have a more fearful reaction than when I've seen a bear.
I've seen a handful since getting into California outdoor life and my reaction could not be more cowardly. I actually have a more fearful reaction than when I've seen a bear.
I've only ever seen two copperheads, and one timber rattler, and I've been a life-long hunter and outdoorsman.I know the prairie rattlers are in western Iowa. Are the massasauga in SE Iowa? Totally agree on the rareness, though I think the timber rattlers are making a bit of a comeback in NE Iowa (bluff country).
Were the snakes drugged? Because I think it was discovered that some of the animals that Turtle Man 'rescued' were drugged or something.
That said, the time he was on Finding Bigfoot needs more recognition.
If you positive on your ID of the Copperhead, that's a great find. Milk Snake and Prairie Kingsnake can look like them.
I lived in NE Iowa and It is hard to believe that the Timber Rattlesnakes are increasing (though all species noted here are protected). The Massasauga is scattered mostly around the eastern one-half of Iowa. Bremer county has a few, maybe the most, I know of in Iowa. Map: https://www.iowaherps.com/species/sistrurus_catenatus
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Why would you actively search for these god awful creatures? Hopefully to kill them and end their existence
BOO!
On Edit: This is a very interesting Iowa species! Eastern Hognose Snake rolls over and plays dead if you disturb it. Totally harmless! Right it and it will roll over again. Cute little buggar. I found it in a rare sand prairie in NE Fayette Co.
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Wait, you went looking for snakes? The **** is wrong with you?
The Massasauga are pretty thick in the Sweet’s Marsh area by Tripoli and up and down the Wapsipinicon River.
I didn't realize Turtle Man was so weak until you mentioned it. He rescued a tranquilized Zebra. Well, back to Van Damme or nuclear blasting those suckers.
I hate you all for this thread.
I spent a lot of time as a kid in eastern Iowa riding dirtbikes and hiking on timber trails near Dubuque. I never saw anything more than a garter snake.
A couple of years ago, i was home for the 4th, and suddenly, my mother was very disturbed by the idea that I might go hiking in the woods. She gave me a lecture about timber rattlers. I spent the next hour reading online to reassure myself that the eastern Iowa timber rattlesnake is one of the more passive rattlesnakes. I still went hiking, but asked my mom why this mattered now at 30 but didn't when I was 10-18.
Apparently, there used to be bounties paid on rattlesnake skins. Delaware and Clayton county had two of the highest bounty counts paid out. I was told my grandma and her sister would kill rattlesnakes while hiking in the same woods I was traversing.
I spent a lot of time as a kid in eastern Iowa riding dirtbikes and hiking on timber trails near Dubuque. I never saw anything more than a garter snake.
A couple of years ago, i was home for the 4th, and suddenly, my mother was very disturbed by the idea that I might go hiking in the woods. She gave me a lecture about timber rattlers. I spent the next hour reading online to reassure myself that the eastern Iowa timber rattlesnake is one of the more passive rattlesnakes. I still went hiking, but asked my mom why this mattered now at 30 but didn't when I was 10-18.
Apparently, there used to be bounties paid on rattlesnake skins. Delaware and Clayton county had two of the highest bounty counts paid out. I was told my grandma and her sister would kill rattlesnakes while hiking in the same woods I was traversing.
I was huge into reptiles and especially snakes growing up. The last copperhead I saw was over 30 years ago, when I was in my 20s. The first was when I was about 10. My dad killed it (unfortunately). The timber rattler was in Yellow River State forest, while squirrel hunting, just a few years ago. A place you're no doubt familiar with. I grew up in NE Iowa (Dubuque).
I grew up in Abilene, Tx just east of Sweetwater. We harvested wheat there for over 40 years and I never got bit by one by have seen hundreds of them. It's just a matter of adapting to your circumstances. You folks in Iowa don't run around barefooted and half naked when it's 20 below and neither did we around rattlesnake areas. When we moved from Abilene to Waco I had two cigar boxes full of rattlers that we had cut off and saved.
When you harvest a wheat field that's next to a pasture you'll usually see a half dozen of them on the first round or two because they come into the wheat to catch rats and baby rabbits. I carried a catcher on the combine and would often get out and kill the snake and cut off the rattlers especially if it was a big one. It's not that hard to do. People think they can leap 8 feet in the air and get you, but not so. I went to the Sweetwater hunt one year just too see the piles of them they had caught out of the rocky hills there. They have a cookout every year and I tried it. It doesn't taste like chicken as they try to convince you. It's a snake so it tastes more like a lizard. And they're not bad either. But after you eat it if you're not careful it will feel like it's crawling in your stomach. Not for the wheezy or faint of heart.
When you harvest a wheat field that's next to a pasture you'll usually see a half dozen of them on the first round or two because they come into the wheat to catch rats and baby rabbits. I carried a catcher on the combine and would often get out and kill the snake and cut off the rattlers especially if it was a big one. It's not that hard to do. People think they can leap 8 feet in the air and get you, but not so. I went to the Sweetwater hunt one year just too see the piles of them they had caught out of the rocky hills there. They have a cookout every year and I tried it. It doesn't taste like chicken as they try to convince you. It's a snake so it tastes more like a lizard. And they're not bad either. But after you eat it if you're not careful it will feel like it's crawling in your stomach. Not for the wheezy or faint of heart.
I don't like snakes.
My favorite movie is still Raiders of the Lost Ark, and yet the scene where Indiana is left in the snake pit still makes me squirm. That snake sliding out of the skulls mouth...you know the one.
I think it is the idea that snakes can wrap themselves around you, just creeps me out...that and their forked tongue and evil eyes.
I also don't like people that keep snakes as pets.
There I said it.
My favorite movie is still Raiders of the Lost Ark, and yet the scene where Indiana is left in the snake pit still makes me squirm. That snake sliding out of the skulls mouth...you know the one.
I think it is the idea that snakes can wrap themselves around you, just creeps me out...that and their forked tongue and evil eyes.
I also don't like people that keep snakes as pets.
There I said it.
