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OMG! This is crazy (Another trip in the escapades of Monel)

M

Monel Funkawitz

Diamond Member
I was just over a friend of mine's house (Sarah) who lives down the street. (Actually typing this from her puter)

Anyway, she is a amphibian freak. She has this huge 300 gallon terranium (sp?) and keeps all these frogs, fish, and stuff in it. It is set up with dividers to mimic the climates of the world. Really cool. Anyway, she always wanted to get a snake. She does not know much about snakes, but she thought a cool snake to have would be a Scarlet King Snake, because of the colors, and it would set her terranium off real nicely.

I got a call from her, and she said she got one today. She got it from a guy she knows that deals in amphibians and snakes. She got it in a snake shipping box thing, and opened it to take a look at the snake.

Here is where it gets interesting...

She opened the box, and fell in love with the snake. She handled it for awhile, and put it in the tank. About this time she called me to take a look at it. I get over her house, to see this snake curled up on her couch, and a couple of things stuck me as odd...

#1, This snake looked strange to me for some reason.
#2, This thing is really pissed.
#3, This thing is trying to strike at her hand.

I said "That is a King Snake?" She said yeah, and she thinks it is just stressed from travel. A closer look, and I realize...

THIS THING IS A DAMN CORAL SNAKE!

I am no professional snake person, but it had red and yellow bands touching!! I showed her, and she freaked. She flew down to the hospital to make sure she did not get struck anywhere. I killed it, and we are sending it back to the guy (Already called him, he said ok) Is there any kind of law against killing these things? I was afraid one of us were going to get hurt by the time we captured it. The guy that sold it to him freaked out too. He said that he hired some help around the store, and the new guy loaded the wrong snake up, and damn near got bit also. I am still kinda shook up from it. :Q

BTW, Sarah just walked in... no bites. Whew 😛

Anyone want a dead Coral snake? 😀

Picture Sarah took of snake when alive and in tank.
 
All I remember of the rhyme is 'red on yellow kill a fellow"... which would make that one deadly coral snake!

I'm going to look it up - by the time I get back or even post this, I'm sure someone else will confirm/deny it! 😀
 
What color was its head?

From Ask Jeeves:

"A coral snake has a black head with alternating red, yellow, and black stripes. It is poisonous and very dangerous. The Florida King snake looks like the coral snake except that its head is red.

The coral snake feeds on small animals like lizards, which it injects with poison through its hollow fangs. Many larger animals eat the coral snake, but when they see those stripes, they sometimes go away.

The coral snake lives in the hardwood hammocks of the Everglades, sometimes under the bark of trees. They stay covered most of the time and are very hard to see. Like most reptiles, coral snakes lay eggs.

If you get bit by a coral snake, you should go immediately to a doctor. If you don't, you could die."

 
HOLY CRAP!

Yeah, I heard that same rhyme optimus, "red on yellow can kill a fellow."

If you killed the snake because it was going to bite people, you are fine.

How did you kill it by the way? With a double barrel shotgun or the cleaner approach, the Baretta 92FS w/ silencer? 😉 jk
 
Looks like:

Black head - deadly coral snake

red head - harmless King snake

But - according to the Belize zoo web site:

(caption under a picture)



<< King Snake (notice &quot;red on black&quot; as opposed to the Coral Snakes &quot;red on yellow&quot; >>



Still not sure - researching...
 
More, from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Kid's page:



<< Only one species of coral snake is native to Texas. Shy and rarely seen, it has, in order, briliant red, yellow and black colors. (Other, harmless snakes have similar colors in a different order. The rhyme &quot;red and yellow kill a fellow&quot; has helped many remember that the coral snake's red and yellow colors touch, but the harmless milk snake's red and yellow don't touch.) The coral snake has a small mouth, and is usually non-aggressive. Its bites are dangerous, but extremely rare. >>

 
thats freaky... lol, hope she gets her money back 🙂

you must have quite an interesting life there Monel 😛
 
Aaaaaaand the National Aquarium in Baltimore:



<< Remember: &quot;black on yellow, kill a fellow; red on black, friend of Jack&quot;. Check the color bands on a coral snake and take warning. The bite fools you, with minimal pain and swelling at first and only tiny punctures. But the powerful nerve toxin symptoms a re delayed from this cobra relative and a bite can be fatal if not treated. >>



/Edit:

Found this too:



<< The narrow yellow rings touch the red rings, a pattern distinguishing this species from the scarlet kingsnake and the scarlet snake. The nose is always black, followed by a wide yellow band. >>



BUT, found this too:



<< It is distunguished from certain similarly marked non-poisonous snakes by its black snout and by the fact that its bands almost circle the body completly. >>



which does NOT mention the red on yellow thing at all...

Hmmmmm - what color was its head, Monel?
 
Then I'd say it was a coral snake... scary stuff, man!

Hey - look what I learned today! 😀

Monel - what did the seller say about it? Was it wild-caught or something and he is just ignorant? Not that I knew, but if I were selling a snake known for looking like a deadly one I'd probably spend 2 minutes looking up the difference! 😕
 
/me sees a valuable opportunity for a lawsuit 😉


&quot;it bit mee!!! it bit meeeeeeeee!!&quot;


cha-ching!
 
Yea, it would have been a definite opportunity for a lawsuit if you or your friend would have been bitten, but I'm glad you both are doing ok. 🙂
 
From talking to Sam personally, what sounds like happened is the new help he hired got the snakes switched. Both look the same (Albeit a small size &amp; color difference) and to someone that has no idea about snakes, it is a very easy mistake. He is licenced to carry poisonous reptiles. He said that he is in the process of changing the setup of his store, making this impossible in the future. All tanks are locked, but he is now going to lock venomous ones with an additional lock that only he has a key for.

He has offered to send a replacement (*Shudder* 😀) and both of us new 100 gallon full aquarium setups... filter... everything, because of the incident. I am giving mine to my 2nd cousin, because she has been wanting a fish tank for awhile now.

Anyhow, I don't wanna press charges. He didn't do anything wrong, and has been more than helpful and courtious in getting this situation fixed, plus is somewhat of a friend of Sarah's. She feels the same as I do.

I felt bad about killing the poor thing, but I didn't want us getting bitten trying to save it. I have this accute fear about getting horse serum/Anti-venom, ya know? 😀

Pretty little thing, though. 🙁
 
Wow, that is some kinda story - thank God nobody was hurt! Someone will no doubt correct me, but I believe the coral snake is the most poisonous in North America. If either of you had been bitten, the seller would be out of business and you would own all his assets in a heartbeat. Any business that involves lethal wild animals gives rise to strict liability as an ultrahazardous activity - even if the guy had an excuse for erroneously sending the coral, he would be liable as a matter of law.

I would presume the seller would also lose his license if this information got to whatever agency regulates these kinds of things. I am impressed with your good attitude in keeping your perspective and being reasonable about this shocking &quot;mistake&quot;.
 
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